Wolf River Apple Tree | Bare Root, Zone 2

A box of freshly picked Wolf River apples with leaves

Wolf River 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 resistanceResists 2 of 4

Apple scab : Resistant, 4 of 5
Cedar-apple rust : Moderate, 3 of 5
Fire blight : Susceptible, 2 of 5
Powdery mildew : Resistant, 4 of 5

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: Wolf River Apple is an apple tree rated hardy to zone 2 in our ratings (winters to -50°F), not self-fertile, so it needs a different variety nearby as a pollenizer (bloom group 4 of 7, mid for an apple or crabapple), and it ripens about Sep 14 to Sep 28 in Missoula (our Missoula estimate).

Hardy to	Zone 2 to 7. A bare number means the whole of zone 2, colder half included (winters to -50°F). Our notes have it taking -50°F. Find your zone with our cold hardiness calculator.
Chill hours	About 1,050 hours (1,000 to 1,250). Well documented. Independent sources agree. 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. Its pollen quality isn't confirmed yet, so don't count on it as the only pollenizer for another tree. Good partners we carry: Otterson Crabapple, Trail Crabapple, Alexander Apple, Burgundy Apple and 103 more. Apple Pollination Map.
Ripens	About Sep 14 to Sep 28 in Missoula (a Missoula estimate from published sources). Real years swing about a week either way. See the date for your town.
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. Spy 227: full size. A Northern Spy selection. Plant 14 to 18 ft apart. Our rootstock guide.
Good for	Sauce and butter (8/10), cooking and roasting (7/10), drying (7/10), canning and freezing (7/10), jams and jellies (7/10). 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

Wolf River originated as a chance seedling in Wisconsin, dating back to at least 1875. It quickly gained a reputation for its massive fruit size, making it one of the largest apples we’ve seen growing in Montana—second only to Spokane Beauty.

Flavor & Uses

Great for fresh eating, but especially valued for its rich, fluffy apple butter, which develops beautifully after slow cooking for hours.

A true old-fashioned apple that shines in both flavor and function.

Hardiness & Performance

Hardy to -50F or more, Wolf River does exceptionally well even east of the Continental Divide, where conditions are colder, drier, and windier.

For more on its Montana performance, check out research from the Western Ag Research Center in the Bitterroot Valley.

Rootstock & Tree Size

Grafted onto Spy 227 rootstock, a full size rootstock hardy to -50F or colder, as well as Bud 118. For Bud 118, a practical spacing range is 14–18 feet between trees, depending on how hard you plan to prune for size control and how vigorous your site is. In richer soils or irrigated ground, wider spacing reduces shading and improves airflow; in leaner soils with consistent pruning, spacing can be somewhat tighter.

Photo of the apple in hand courtesy of WARC

Photos: “Wolf river apples by William Palmer” by William Palmer / Watershed Post, via Flickr, licensed CC BY 2.0; “Ailly-le-Haut-Clocher, Apple festival 04 et 05-11-2023 (apples) (57) - Wolf River” by APictche, via Wikimedia Commons, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Questions we get about Wolf River Apple

Does Wolf River Apple need a pollenizer?

Yes. Wolf River 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. Its pollen quality isn't confirmed yet, so don't count on it as the only pollenizer for another tree. Partners we carry include Otterson Crabapple, Trail Crabapple, Alexander Apple.

How cold hardy is Wolf River Apple?

We rate Wolf River Apple hardy to zone 2, which means winters down to about -50°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 Wolf River Apple need?

About 1,050 hours of winter chill (we count hours at or below 45°F), likely somewhere between 1,000 and 1,250. That figure is well documented: independent sources agree. A higher-chill apple at roughly 1,000 to 1,200 hours. Great for cold country, a poor pick for mild-winter areas. Our chill hours guide has a calculator for your winters, and our research page lists the sources.

When does Wolf River Apple ripen?

About Sep 14 to Sep 28 in Missoula, Montana (an estimate built from published sources and our climate). Warmer places run earlier and cooler places later; our ripening map converts the date to your town.

How big does Wolf River Apple get?

We graft Wolf River 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. Some sizes are on Spy 227. Plant 14 to 18 ft apart.

What is Wolf River Apple good for?

Our top use scores for Wolf River Apple are sauce and butter (8/10), cooking and roasting (7/10), drying (7/10), canning and freezing (7/10). Anything scored 8 or higher makes our Best Of lists.

Is Wolf River Apple disease resistant?

For some diseases, yes. It's resistant to apple scab and powdery mildew. It holds up moderately well against cedar-apple rust. It's prone to fire blight. Our apple disease resistance chart has every rating, the notes and the sources.

Will deer eat Wolf River Apple?

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

Juice data

SG (Brix)	Acid g/L	Tannin g/L	pH
1.053 (13.0) M	7.8 M	1.1 P	3.3 M

On these numbers it's a sharp on the Long Ashton scale. Fruit grown in Wisconsin, Vermont. Letters show how solid each number is: M measured, P published but weaker, E our estimate.

12.1 to 14 Brix, 7.8 g/L, tannin 0.11% (method not printed), pH 3.17 to 3.4.

Sources: Brix Cider (Wisconsin), SARE single-varietal cider evaluations; Walden Heights Nursery (Walden, VT, zone 3a), SARE fruit evaluation 2014, Table 7

Run Wolf River Apple through the hard cider calculator to see what it does in a blend.

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Pollination partners

Trees that will pollenize Wolf River Apple

Wolf River 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 Not tested yet

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