Stayman Winesap Apple

Overview

Stayman Winesap is a classic American late-season apple known for its firm texture and bold, spicy-tart flavor. It’s prized for fresh eating by those who enjoy high-acid apples, and it excels in baking and cider blending thanks to its strong aromatics and structure. It is a triploid cultivar, which affects pollination planning.

Origin & History

Stayman originated as a chance seedling selected by Dr. Joseph Stayman in Leavenworth County, Kansas in 1866. It is generally regarded as a Winesap seedling, meaning Winesap is believed to be the seed parent, but because it arose from open pollination, the pollen parent is unknown and no formal pedigree exists. The variety entered commercial trade in the late 1800s, with Stark Brothers commonly credited for its broader introduction around 1895. Stayman became especially important in Mid-Atlantic and Appalachian growing regions, where it developed a reputation for flavor intensity and storage quality.

Fruit & Uses

Fruit is medium to large with a greenish-yellow base and deep red striping or blush, often with some russeting in the stem cavity. Flesh is firm, crisp, and juicy with a distinctive spicy, tart profile. Excellent for fresh eating if you like assertive flavor, and outstanding for pies, baking, and cider. Stores well for an heirloom-type apple.

Growth Habit & Spacing

Trees are vigorous and can become large without pruning. Spacing depends on rootstock vigor. We offer these trees on semi-dwarf M7 and 15 ft spacing is our recommendation. Choose tighter spacing if you plan active pruning, wider spacing for lower input management.

Pollination

Stayman is a triploid, meaning it produces poor-quality pollen and should not be relied on to pollenize other apple trees. In other words, it typically requires two different compatible diploid apple varieties nearby for reliable fruit set, and it cannot serve as an effective pollenizer for other apples. Bloom is generally mid-season. Examples of good pollenizers for Stayman Winesap include: McIntosh/Fred's Mac, Dolgo, Dearborn's Unknown, Prairie Sensation, and all of our applecrabs.

Cold hardiness 

Stayman Winesap had no injury from our cold that approached -30F on 1/13/24. It is at least hardy to this temperature, and likely even hardier. To stay conservative, we are listing this as a zone 4a tree, which would, at least for now, put it as doing well  in most of the warmer valleys of Western MT, but should not be planted even in the warmer valleys east of the divide.

Illustration: “Stayman Winesap” by Royal Charles Steadman, USDA Pomological Watercolor Collection, Rare and Special Collections, National Agricultural Library (POM00003591). Public domain.

Photos: “2024-09-14 12 09 21 Stayman Winesap apples on an apple tree at the Terhune Orchards in Lawrence Township, Mercer County, New Jersey” by Famartin, via Wikimedia Commons, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0; “Stayman Winesap Apples on the tree” by Bonnachoven, via Wikimedia Commons, licensed CC0; “2024-09-14 12 24 57 Stayman Winesap apple trees with ripening fruit at the Terhune Orchards in Lawrence Township, Mercer County, New Jersey” by Famartin, via Wikimedia Commons, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0; “Mele stayman” by Assianir, via Wikimedia Commons, licensed CC BY-SA 3.0.