Pink Princess Apple Tree | Bare Root, Zone 4

A Pink Pearl apple cut open to show its pink flesh, the parent of Pink Princess

Pink Princess Apple (Spring 2027)

$44.99

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 resistanceNot tested yet

Apple scab : Unknown, no published data yet
Cedar-apple rust : Unknown, no published data yet
Fire blight : Unknown, no published data yet
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: Pink Princess Apple is an apple tree provisionally listed at zone 4 (winters to -30°F, though published ratings say zone 5), 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 4 to 8. A bare number means the whole of zone 4, colder half included (winters to -30°F). Find your zone with our cold hardiness calculator.
Chill hours	About 750 hours (550 to 1,000). 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. Plant about 15 ft apart. Our rootstock guide.
Good for	Fresh eating (6/10), pies and baking (6/10). Scores are our 1 to 10 ratings, but we're still new to this one, so they lean on published descriptions and other growers rather than our own harvests. 8 and up makes our Best Of lists.
Deer	A deer favorite. Fence it or cage it.
What you get	Bare root, 3-4 ft or 4-6 ft. Shipped or picked up in Missoula in spring, roots wrapped in moist sawdust. Guaranteed to bud out.

This is our first year growing Pink Princess, so everything below is secondhand until we get more long-term data from our own mother trees.

Overview

Pink Princess is a pink-fleshed apple from Ontario. On the outside it's a green to yellow apple with a few faint red stripes. Cut it open and the flesh is pink.

Origin and History

It was bred in 1967 by Fred Jansen, an Ontario breeder and collector. One parent is Pink Pearl, Albert Etter's red-fleshed apple (we carry Pink Pearl too). The other parent is disputed. Most sources say King of the Pippins, and a few say a bronze-leaved crab. It was originally called Pink Lady (or Pink Old Lady), and the name was changed after Pink Lady became the trade name for Cripps Pink.

Fruit and Uses

Medium sized, light green turning yellow, with a few faint red stripes. Trees of Antiquity says the flesh is pink like Pink Pearl's "but sweeter, with a nice fruity flavor." It's mainly an eating apple, and some growers use it for cider and pies. It doesn't keep long, three to four weeks at most, so eat it or use it. Ripening dates vary by source, and Honey Creek Orchard in Cedarburg, Wisconsin picks theirs in early to mid September.

Growth Habit and Spacing

Ours are on Bud 118 semi-dwarf rootstock. Plan on about 15 feet between trees, up to 18 feet for airflow.

Pollination

It needs a pollenizer and blooms mid-season. Haralson, Frostbite, Kerr, Wolf River, Cortland and Otterson crab all overlap.

Cold Hardiness

We've listed it at zone 4 for now, but the published ratings are more cautious. Trees of Antiquity and Pomiferous both put it at zone 5, and we haven't found any record of it surviving a hard winter. It does grow at Honey Creek Orchard in Wisconsin. Until we've wintered our own trees, we'd give it a protected spot.

Representative photo, not Pink Princess itself: Pink Pearl, its parent, which has the same pink flesh. Photo credit: “Pink Pearl” by John Loo, via Flickr, licensed under CC BY 2.0.

Questions we get about Pink Princess Apple

Does Pink Princess Apple need a pollenizer?

Yes. Pink Princess 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 Pink Princess Apple?

We list Pink Princess Apple at zone 4 for now, but Trees of Antiquity and Pomiferous both put it at zone 5, and we haven't wintered our own trees yet. Until we have, give it a protected spot.

How many chill hours does Pink Princess Apple need?

About 750 hours of winter chill (we count hours at or below 45°F), likely somewhere between 550 and 1,000. 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 Pink Princess Apple get?

We graft Pink Princess 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. Plant about 15 ft apart.

What is Pink Princess Apple good for?

Our top use scores for Pink Princess Apple are fresh eating (6/10), pies and baking (6/10). Since we're still new to it, those scores lean on published descriptions and other growers rather than our own harvests.

Is Pink Princess Apple disease resistant?

We don't know yet. Nobody has published solid disease data on Pink Princess Apple for apple scab, cedar-apple rust, fire blight and powdery mildew, so we list it as unknown instead of guessing. That doesn't mean it's weak. Plenty of the plants we grow have never been through formal disease trials. Our apple disease resistance chart has every rating, the notes and the sources.

Will deer eat Pink Princess Apple?

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

What arrives, and when does Pink Princess 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: 3-4 ft or 4-6 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 Pink Princess Apple

Pink Princess 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.