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A red-striped Yates apple ripening on the branch
  • A red-striped Yates apple ripening on the branch
  • Young Yates apple tree carrying fruit
  • Historic USDA watercolor of the Yates apple, whole and cut
  • A red-striped Yates apple ripening on the branch
  • Young Yates apple tree carrying fruit
  • Historic USDA watercolor of the Yates apple, whole and cut
Yates Apple (Spring 2027)

Yates Apple (Spring 2027)

$74.99
Rootstock/Size

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: Yates Apple is an apple tree we've estimated at zone 4 (winters to -30°F, untested in cold climates), 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 900 hours (800 to 1,000). From published figures. 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. Not self-fertile. Plant a different apple or crabapple variety nearby that blooms at about the same time (bloom groups 3 to 5 on our chart). Good partners we carry: Otterson Crabapple, Trail Crabapple, Alexander Apple, Burgundy Apple and 103 more. Bloom group is our estimate from the variety's origin and relatives. 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 Winter storage (9/10), hard cider (8/10), fresh eating (7/10), sauce and butter (7/10), cooking and roasting (6/10), canning and freezing (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, 4-6 ft. Shipped or picked up in Missoula in spring, roots wrapped in moist sawdust. Guaranteed to bud out.

We don't have long-term data from our own mother trees of Yates yet, so everything below is secondhand for now.

Overview

Yates is an old Georgia apple, small and red striped, and known as a good keeper.

Origin and History

According to Downing's The Fruits and Fruit-Trees of America, Yates "originated in Fayette Co., Ga." We haven't found a date or parentage for it. Downing's entry is the only detailed old description we've been able to track down, so everything below comes from him.

Fruit and Uses

Downing describes the fruit as small, oblate or oblate-conic, "whitish yellow, overspread, shaded, splashed, and striped with shades of red, many light dots." The flesh is white, "sometimes stained next the skin, tender, juicy, pleasant subacid." He rated it "good" and called it a "good keeper."

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. Downing called the tree a "very upright grower" and a "great bearer."

Pollination

It needs a pollenizer. We're estimating it blooms mid-season, so pair it with something like Haralson, Macoun, Cortland, Frostbite, Wolf River or Kerr.

Cold Hardiness

Yates is a southern apple, and we haven't found any published hardiness data for it. We've listed it at zone 4 as an estimate. Treat that as untested until we have our own winter data.

Photos: “starr-201126-8560-Malus pumila-Yates fruit-Hawea Pl Olinda-Maui” by Forest and Kim Starr (Starr Environmental), via Flickr, licensed CC BY 2.0; “starr-201126-8559-Malus pumila-Yates fruiting habit-Hawea Pl Olinda-Maui” by Forest and Kim Starr (Starr Environmental), via Flickr, licensed CC BY 2.0; “Pomological Watercolor POM00000919” by Heiges, Bertha, via Wikimedia Commons, public domain.

Questions we get about Yates Apple

Does Yates Apple need a pollenizer?

Yes. Yates Apple needs pollen from a different variety that blooms at about the same time. Plant a different apple or crabapple variety nearby that blooms at about the same time (bloom groups 3 to 5 on our chart). Partners we carry include Otterson Crabapple, Trail Crabapple, Alexander Apple.

How cold hardy is Yates Apple?

We list Yates Apple at zone 4 for now, which means winters down to about -30°F. It's a southern apple and we haven't found any published hardiness data, so treat that as an untested estimate until we have our own winter data.

How many chill hours does Yates Apple need?

About 900 hours of winter chill (we count hours at or below 45°F), likely somewhere between 800 and 1,000. That comes from published figures for this variety. Our chill hours guide has a calculator for your winters, and our research page lists the sources.

How big does Yates Apple get?

We graft Yates 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 Yates Apple good for?

Our top use scores for Yates Apple are winter storage (9/10), hard cider (8/10), fresh eating (7/10), sauce and butter (7/10). Since we're still new to it, those scores lean on Downing's description rather than our own harvests. Anything scored 8 or higher makes our Best Of lists.

Is Yates Apple disease resistant?

We don't know yet. Nobody has published solid disease data on Yates 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 Yates Apple?

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

What arrives, and when does Yates 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: 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.

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Pollination partners

Trees that will pollenize Yates Apple

Yates 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.

See every pairing on the Apple Pollination Map Yates Apple's bloom group is our best estimate. Watch it bloom and tell us what you see.

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