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Granny Smith apple trees

Malus domestica
Granny Smith apples
Granny Smith is listed in the RHS Plants for Pollinators
  • Picking season: Very late
  • Self-fertility: Self-fertile
  • Flowering group: 3

Granny Smith is usually available year-round in supermarkets, and most of us are familiar with the dense sharp acidic flavour - so why grow your own? Well, the flavour of home-grown examples can be more complex and interesting, particularly if you allow the apples to ripen fully on the tree - at which point the characteristic bright green skin is likely to take on a red flush that you won't see in shop-bought examples.

Granny Smith is a versatile apple, great for eating fresh of course, but also a good apple for sweet and savoury salads (since it does not go brown readily) and a good choice for apple pies - slices keep their shape when cooked. (For best cooking results, pick when slightly under-ripe).

It also keeps well - it is one of the best apples for home storage.

Bio / Organic  fruit trees

Granny Smith organic apple trees for sale

  • 11 yeartree on M116 rootstock23.25€
    Medium tree (2m-3.5m after 10 years) Bare-root
  • 21 yeartree on Bittenfelder rootstock23.25€
    Very large tree (5m-6m+ after 10 years) Bare-root
    Sold-out
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Growing and Training

Granny Smith requires a warm summer and a sunny autumn for the apples to fully ripen.

It is generally easy to grow, but it can lapse into biennial bearing if allowed to over-crop. Cropping is usually very good but the famous bright green color is only achieved in areas of warm days and nights. In cooler climates where autumn temperatures drop overnight Granny Smith can develop an attractive red flush.

One of the unusual features of Granny Smith is that the apples tend to grow behind the foliage, on the inside rather than the outside of the tree.

Granny Smith is a very good pollinator of other apple varieties, making it an excellent choice if you are establishing a small orchard in a warmer area.


History

Granny Smith was discovered by Maria Smith a housewife and grandmother from Australia, in the 1860s.


Granny Smith characteristics

  • Gardening skillAverage
  • Self-fertilitySelf-fertile
  • Flowering group3
  • Disease resistanceAverage
  • Picking seasonVery late
  • Season of use3 months or more
  • Food usesEating freshCulinary
  • Cold hardiness (USDA)Zone 5 (-29C)
  • Summer average maximum temperaturesWarm (25-30C / 76-85F)Hot (>30C / 86F)
  • Chill requirementLow-chill - 600 hours
  • Country of originAustralia
  • Period of origin1850 - 1899
  • Fruit colourGreen

Similar varieties

  • See also Cabarette
    Cabarette
    A traditional very-late season dessert apple, found in northern France, Belgium and the Netherlands.
  • See also GoldRush
    GoldRush
    A modern disease-resistant apple, like Golden Delicious but with a better tart/sweet balance. Good for eating fresh and juicing / cider.
  • See also Queen Cox
    Queen Cox
    A modern self-fertile form of the renowned Cox's Orange Pippin, with arguably even better flavour.
  • See also Reine de Reinettes
    Reine de Reinettes
    A traditional French dual-purpose apple, which was also known in the Victorian England as King of the Pippins.

This variety description was researched and written by Orange Pippin staff. Last checked: 2024.