Our Variety Assessment

Its strengths, growing requirements and the conditions in which it performs best.

Monty’s Surprise is a New Zealand variety remarkable for its exceptionally large fruit. The crisp and juicy flesh has a good balance of sweetness and acidity, often with a light citrus finish. It is suitable for fresh eating, juice and cooking. The tree is robust, but the apples need to ripen fully on the tree to develop their best flavour.

Monty’s Surprise

Price range: 26,50 € through 59,75 €

A recent New Zealand apple variety which is noted for very high levels of anti-oxidant compounds.

Pre-orders are open

No payment today. You are reserving your trees before the inventory in early August.

After inventory, we will confirm the available trees and send you a payment link.

Dispatch generally takes place from late November to February, depending on the weather and the progress of lifting the trees.

Choose your tree form

1 year old grafted tree – approx. 1–2 m

Half-standard – 1 to 1.5 m stem

Low-stem tree – approx. 60 cm stem

Standard tree – 1.8 m stem and over

Apple rootstock options

Bittenfelder – approx. 6 m mature height

EM9 – approx. 2.5 m mature height

M116 – approx. 4 m mature height

MM111 – approx. 4 m mature height

Clear

Tree size guide

Tree Establishment Guarantee — We support you if your tree fails to establish. View the conditions

SKU: 1883 Categories: Apple trees, Eating apple trees

Description

Monty’s Surprise is a late-season dual-purpose apple from New Zealand, primarily used for eating fresh.

The apples are typically quite large, often 300g-400g per apple, with a pale green skin extensively covered wtih red flush.

All apples have anti-oxidants in the skin and flesh and pips, but Monty’s Surprise apples typically have very high levels of these compounds, which are thought to be beneficial for human health.

The apples do not keep for long, and juicing is perhaps the best way to preserve the valuable anti-oxidants – the juice can easily be frozen.

Monty’s Surprise has average disease-resistance but it is not widely grown so its track-record against scab and canker is not established. It appears somewhat susceptible to fireblight. The skin also bruises extremely easily, and bruised apples will not keep. Even the act of picking the apples by hand needs to be done gently.

Variety characteristics

Variety origin

New Zealand chance seedling reintroduced by Heritage Food Crops Research Trust as a late dessert and cooking apple.

Origin

Period of origin

USDA zone

Flowering

Harvest period

Eating / keeping period

Use

Sweetness / acidity

Disease resistance

Self-fertility

Pollinator value

Ploidy

Origin and identity

Parentage

Parentage unknown

Growth and adaptation

Vigour and habit

Medium vigour, upright habit, spur-bearing, regular production

Pollination

Compatible pollinating varieties

For reliable fruit set, plant at least one variety with a compatible flowering period nearby. Flowering period: 3 - mid season.

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Harvest calendar

Extend your harvest season

Discover varieties from the same category harvested just before, at the same time or just after.

About 15 days earlier

October 15-30

Kidd’s Orange Red View this variety

At the same time

October 15-31

Adam’s Pearmain View this variety

Reinette de France View this variety Winter Banana View this variety

About 15 days later

November 1-15

Goldrush View this variety Granny Smith View this variety

Cabarette View this variety

Additional variety information for Monty's Surprise is provided in partnership with Orange Pippin.