Northwest Greening Apple Tree | Bare Root, Zone 3

A Northwest Greening apple ripening on the branch

Northwest Greening Apple (Spring 2027)

$49.99

Reliable shipping

Flexible returns

Pollination Needs a partner

Bloom group 4 of 7 (Mid)

See trees that will pollenize it Apple Pollination Map

Ripening

Will it finish before your first hard freeze?

Check it on the Ripening Map (opens in a new tab)

Disease resistanceNo strong resistance

Apple scab : Highly susceptible, 1 of 5
Cedar-apple rust : Susceptible, 2 of 5
Fire blight : Moderate, 3 of 5
Powdery mildew : Unknown, no published data yet

Scored 1 to 5. Higher resists better, and ? means no published data yet.

See it on our apple disease chart (opens in a new tab)

At a glance: Northwest Greening Apple is an apple tree rated hardy to zone 3 in our ratings (winters to -40°F), and not self-fertile, so it needs a different variety nearby as a pollenizer (bloom group 4 of 7, mid for an apple or crabapple).

Hardy to	Zone 3 to 8. A bare number means the whole of zone 3, colder half included (winters to -40°F). Our notes have it taking -50°F. Find your zone with our cold hardiness calculator.
Chill hours	About 1,000 hours (800 to 1,200). Our estimate. No published figure exists for this variety yet. Montana winters give it plenty. In milder climates, make sure your winters average at least this much. Check your chill hours or see our sources.
Pollination	Needs Cross-Pollination. Bloom group 4 of 7 (mid), late spring here. Plant a different apple or crabapple variety that blooms in groups 3 to 5. It has good pollen, so it can also pollenize other apples blooming at the same time. Good partners we carry: Otterson Crabapple, Trail Crabapple, Alexander Apple, Burgundy Apple and 103 more. Apple Pollination Map.
Rootstock and size	Bud 118: semi-dwarf in our dry Montana soils, semi-standard on paper, about 12 to 18 ft tall unpruned. Stands on its own, few suckers. Our rootstock guide.
Good for	Pies and baking (7/10), winter storage (7/10), cooking and roasting (7/10), sauce and butter (6/10), hard cider (6/10), canning and freezing (6/10). Scores are our own 1 to 10 ratings; 8 and up makes our Best Of lists.
Deer	A deer favorite. Fence it or cage it.
What you get	Bare root, 3-5 ft or 5-7 ft. Shipped or picked up in Missoula in spring, roots wrapped in moist sawdust. Guaranteed to bud out.

Overview

Northwest Greening is an American heirloom apple with a unique origin story. Allegedly a cross between Golden Russet and Alexander, it was originally planted in 1849 by Jasen Hatch of Iola, Wisconsin. The resulting seedling was initially used as rootstock for another variety that ultimately failed. However, the tree was left to grow—and it wasn’t until the 1870s, when E.W. Daniels of Auroraville, Wisconsin, tasted the fruit, that it gained recognition. Daniels began promoting the variety and officially introduced it in 1872.

Montana History and Legacy

According to the Western Agriculture Research Center in Corvallis, MT, Northwest Greening was already being grown commercially in Montana by 1900. It was listed as one of the hardiest apples in Ravalli County, and among cultivars found in Dawson, Carbon, Custer, Park, Yellowstone, Sweet Grass, and Rosebud Counties by 1901.

Incredible Yields

What truly caught our attention was a report from Bruce Benson, who noted that in a tough production year (2023), many of his trees failed to produce—except his lone Northwest Greening. That tree, grafted onto semi-standard MM111, produced a whopping 800 pounds (or 20 bushels) of apples from a single tree!

Flavor and Storage

Flavor-wise, Northwest Greening is comparable to Granny Smith when fresh off the tree—crisp, tart, and refreshing. One of its biggest advantages is its storability: the apples last for over three months in storage, and many say the flavor improves over time.

Hardiness

Alexander (one parent): hardy to -50°F
Golden Russet (other parent): hardy to at least -40°F

Based on parentage and anecdotal reports, Northwest Greening is likely hardy to -40°F to -45°F, with some claims of survival even at -50°F. Northwest Greening had withstood temps near -35Fs on Bruce Benson's farm in Missoula (back in the 1980's). The tree seems to not have suffered from that at all. But for now we are listing this a zone 3 apple until we can confirm it can survive lower temps than this.

For Spring 2027, our Northwest Greening trees are grafted onto semi-dwarf Bud 118, hardy to -50F.

Questions we get about Northwest Greening Apple

Does Northwest Greening Apple need a pollenizer?

Yes. Northwest Greening Apple needs pollen from a different variety that blooms at about the same time. Plant a different apple or crabapple variety that blooms in groups 3 to 5. It has good pollen, so it can also pollenize other apples blooming at the same time. Partners we carry include Otterson Crabapple, Trail Crabapple, Alexander Apple.

How cold hardy is Northwest Greening Apple?

We rate Northwest Greening Apple hardy to zone 3, which means winters down to about -40°F. Our notes have it taking -50°F. Our ratings come from real winters at our two Montana sites and from trusted growers across the North, not from a catalog average.

How many chill hours does Northwest Greening Apple need?

About 1,000 hours of winter chill (we count hours at or below 45°F), likely somewhere between 800 and 1,200. Nobody has published a chill figure for it, so that's our estimate from its relatives and origin. Our chill hours guide has a calculator for your winters, and our research page lists the sources.

How big does Northwest Greening Apple get?

We graft Northwest Greening Apple onto Bud 118 (semi-dwarf in our dry Montana soils, semi-standard on paper), which makes a tree roughly 12 to 18 ft tall if you never prune it.

What is Northwest Greening Apple good for?

Our top use scores for Northwest Greening Apple are pies and baking (7/10), winter storage (7/10), cooking and roasting (7/10), sauce and butter (6/10).

Is Northwest Greening Apple disease resistant?

Not really. It holds up moderately well against fire blight. It's very prone to apple scab, and prone to cedar-apple rust. Nobody has published solid data on it for powdery mildew yet, so we list that as unknown. Our apple disease resistance chart has every rating, the notes and the sources.

Will deer eat Northwest Greening Apple?

Yes, deer love it. Protect Northwest Greening Apple with a fence or a cage, especially while it is young.

What arrives, and when does Northwest Greening Apple ship?

A dormant bare-root plant, roots wrapped in moist sawdust with a vapor barrier, shipped or picked up in Missoula in spring. Sizes offered: 3-5 ft or 5-7 ft. We guarantee our plants bud out. Stone fruits can be slow, so if one still has not budded out by August 15, write to us and we credit you for the following spring.

Pollination partners

Trees that will pollenize Northwest Greening Apple

Northwest Greening Apple needs a different apple or crabapple nearby to set fruit. Every tree below blooms at the same time and has pollen that works for it. Plant partners within about 100 feet.

Bloom group 4 of 7 (Mid)

Pollination Needs a partner

Pollen Good pollenizer

107 trees we carry will pollenize it. Showing the best matches, in-stock first.