The best apple varieties: sour, sweet & Co.

The apple is the most popular fruit tree for the garden. But which is the best apple variety for the home garden?

The dream of having their own apple tree, which annually delivers tasty fruit directly for snacking, baking and cooking, is present almost everywhere among garden owners. Nonetheless, it is not uncommon for people to complain about the hopefully planted tree: it is too big, it is just carrying every other year or not at all, I am constantly sick, the apples are scabbed or the whole tree from Fruit tree cancer infested.

Before deciding on an apple variety, it is important to consider which criteria the perfect apple for your own garden should meet. How should the apple taste? Do you want to harvest small or large apples? And above all: What are the cultivation conditions like in the garden? Because not every apple variety is suitable for all gardens. If you have found an answer to all of these questions, it is much easier to advise you when buying a product.

So that you can better find your way through the jungle of various apple varieties, we have summarized everything you need to know in extensive variety articles. For more detailed information on specific apple varieties, simply follow the respective link.

Tip: In order to only present you the easier-to-care-for of the best apple varieties, we have sorted out particularly disease-prone or otherwise problematic varieties for you in advance.

Sour apples: the best varieties

Not everyone loves sugar-sweet fruit - on the contrary: Many particularly prefer the tangy and refreshing acidity that characterizes many apple varieties. In fact, wild apples are often extremely acidic, so they can rarely be used as a table apple. It was only through targeted breeding and selection of the varieties that ever sweeter and tastier varieties were selected. We have put together for you the best sour apple varieties that have mastered the balancing act between tangy acidity and pleasant taste.

1. ‘Boskop’: Well-known and well-tried big, sour apple; Particularly suitable for baking or as a baked apple, but can also be used as a sour table apple; known for its shelf life into April.

2. ‘Roter Berlepsch’: Strongly aromatic, tartaric apple with juicy pulp; particularly suitable as a sour apple for direct consumption; Can be stored well into March.

3. ‘Freiherr von Hallberg’: Juicy, sour apple with a spicy aroma; crisp pulp and unusually small core; very suitable as a table apple.

4. 'Red Moon': Strongly sour taste; attractive red coloring of the pulp; due to the high acid content only partially suitable as a table apple; good cider apple.

5. ‘Ontario’: Juicy apple with an excellent sweet and sour taste; rather undemanding in cultivation and also suitable for late frost locations; late harvest from the end of October and good storage properties.

Other sour apple varieties for the home garden:

• ‘Holsteiner Cox’
• 'Discovery'
• ‘White clear apple’
• 'Idared'
• ‘Jamba’
• ‘Topaz’

Tip: Most apple varieties are grafted, which means that they consist of a base and a noble variety. The base usually forms the roots and is therefore the most important factor for water and nutrient absorption and thus also for the vigor. The tree's vigor can vary, depending on which base was used. In our variety articles we explain which rootstock is suitable for which tree.

Sweet apple varieties

Sweet apples are not only ideal as a snack, but are also healthy because, unlike other sweet fruits, apples have only a low sugar content. The following varieties have particularly sweet apples in the garden:

1. ‘Rhenish winter rambur’: Large, yellow-green apples with red stripes; very sweet aroma with little acidity; low demand for location and maintenance.

2. ‘Helios‘: Medium-sized, yellow fruits; fine aromatic, sweet aroma with little acidity; scab resistant with high yield.

3.‘Red ice apple‘: Dark red fruit with an excellent, sweet taste; firm and easy to store; robust and healthy with a good yield.

4. ‘James Grieve’: Juicy apple with a sweet, spicy aroma; low demands on care and location; Thanks to the thin shell, it can only be stored to a limited extent.

Other sweet apple varieties:

• 'Opal'
• ‘Resi’

The healthiest apple varieties

An old saying goes that just one apple a day keeps the doctor away. In fact, there is a real core to this statement: apples have always been considered healthy food because of their high content of vitamins, fiber and phytochemicals. In addition, even sweet apple varieties are only moderately rich in sugar. But which is the healthiest apple variety? Researchers believe many old apple varieties are particularly healthy, as they have an increased content of polyphenols, which various have health-promoting effects and, among other things, antioxidant, anti-inflammatory and cancer preventive can work. In addition, some apple allergy sufferers tolerate varieties with a high polyphenol content better. The following are therefore among the particularly healthy apple varieties:

1. 'Red Moon': Very old apple variety with red pulp; extremely high content of anthocyanins, which act as antioxidants; is considered allergy-friendly.

2.‘Goldrenette Freiherr von Berlepsch’: Old apple variety with a high polyphenol content; high vitamin C content; aromatic, sweet and sour taste; good shelf life.

3. ‘Damsonrenette‘: Old variety with high polyphenol content; often allergy-friendly; pleasant sweet and sour taste with good shelf life.

4.‘Boskop’: High in fiber and polyphenols; often well tolerated by allergy sufferers; sour taste and good shelf life.

5. ‘Metzrenette‘: Juicy, noble aroma; very high polyphenol content and allergy-friendly; robust and healthy to grow.

Other healthy apple varieties are:

• ‘Gravensteiner’
• ‘Croncels’
• ‘Dülmen rose apple’
• ‘Notaris’

Apple varieties with large apples

Many gardeners prefer apple varieties with large fruits. Not only do these often look more attractive, they are also often easier to handle because they are easier to peel. If you are looking for an apple variety with large apples, you should look around for the following varieties:

1.‘Graham's Jubilee Apple’: Large, sweet apples with a light base color; Autumn apple with low shelf life; good suitability for fresh consumption, for baking and canning.

2. ‘Landsberger Renette’: Old variety with large, sweet-wine apples; good shelf life until the end of January; suitable as a table and kitchen apple.

3. ‘Winter banana apple’: Large, yellow-green to light orange apples with a sweet taste; later winter apple with good storability; good table and cider apple.

4. ‘Bismarck apple‘: Old, sour-tasting variety with large apples; also suitable for high altitudes; very good storage properties.

5. ‘Cardinal Bea’: Dark red, large apples with sweet, juicy flesh; robust in cultivation; good suitability as table or cider apple.

Other apple varieties with large fruits are:

• ‘Boskoop’
• ‘Emperor Alexander’
• ‘Mother apple’
• ‘Rhenish crook’

Crunchy apples for the home garden

The first bite into a crunchy apple is certainly a nice feeling. Unfortunately, not every variety has a crunchy texture. If you don't want to miss out on an apple with firm flesh, you should look out for the following varieties:

1. ‘Rubinola‘: Autumn apple with crisp, juicy flesh; sweet-sour, spicy taste; robust, healthy apple variety.

2. ‘Böhmer Cox‘: Large, red marbled fruits; crisp pulp with balanced sweetness; good table apple.

3. ‘Gerlinde‘: Crunchy apple with a sweet taste and fine acidity; small to medium sized apples with red cheeks; resistant to scab and not very susceptible to powdery mildew.

More crunchy apple varieties:

• ‘Mother apple’
• 'Pilot'
• 'Discovery'
• ‘Florina’

Robust and easy-care apple varieties

A healthy, robust apple tree saves its owner a lot of work and is often a guarantee for regular yields even in suboptimal site conditions. You should know these particularly easy-care apple varieties:

1. ‘Rebella‘: Resistant to scab, powdery mildew and fire blight; little susceptible to spider mites; very frost hardy.

2. ‘Rewena’: Resistant to fire blight, scab and powdery mildew; tart and sour aroma; high and regular yields.

3. ‘Maunzenapfel’: Particularly robust apple variety; also suitable for high altitudes and strong frost; hardly susceptible to pests and diseases.

Other robust apple varieties:

• ‘Liberty apple’
• ‘Korbinians apple’
• ‘Rhenish crook’
• ‘Joseph Musch Apple’
• ‘Florina’
• ‘Reglindis’

Particularly juicy apples

Apples can not only be used for direct consumption or baking - processing into apple juice is also a popular option. Cider apples, which are preferred for the production of juice, not only have to shine with their taste, but also have to be particularly juicy. But even when eating straight from the tree, many love the bite into a juicy pulp. Those who prefer a particularly juicy apple should look out for these juicy apple varieties:

1. ‘Red Trier Wine Apple’: Firm, juicy pulp; tart and sour aroma; Cider apple with good storage properties.

2. ‘Florina‘: Medium-sized apple with juicy, sweet flesh; brings high yields early; very robust and healthy.

3. "Sun host apple": Coarse-celled, juicy pulp; slightly sour, fruity taste; very good suitability for must, baking and direct consumption.

Other juicy apple varieties:

• ‘Rewena’
• ‘Boskoop’
• ‘Pinova’
• ‘Topaz’
• ‘Dülmen rose apple’

Nice apples and trees

An apple tree not only provides us with delicious fruit, but can also be an eye-catcher in the garden: Dreamlike blossoms, picturesque growth and particularly intensely colored apples transform the apple tree into a real one Eye catcher. But which varieties shine with particularly beautiful apples? We introduce you to the most beautiful apple varieties:

1. ‘Baya Marisa’: Apple with an intense red color on the skin and pulp; pink, impressive flowers; no tendency to brown; The red color remains even after processing.

2. ‘carnival‘: Unusual fruit coloring with red stripes on a yellow base color; balanced, slightly sour taste; white-pink flowers.

3. 'Redlove': Various red-fleshed apple varieties with an intense red skin; Flowers in pink and red tones; The red color remains after must and baking.

More beautiful apple trees:

• ‘Heslacher Gereutapfel’
• ‘Blue Cologne’
• ‘Silver Pearl’

Have you found the right apple tree for you? In our article on the subject of "Plant apple tree“.