Spartan

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Spartan is a deep marroon-coloured apple with an excellent refreshing sweet flavour. Apple text books often describe the flavour as "vinous" and it can indeed have a slightly wine-like quality, although this is first and foremost a crisp sweet juicy unpretentious apple.

Spartan ripens quite late in the season, usually around early October in the UK. The apples will remain on the tree over a 2-3 week period, which means you can pick a few at a time rather than have to deal with a glut. This is also the best way to enjoy them because although they keep fairly well, the flavour and crispness fade in storage.

Spartan does not have the high reputation of many heirloom apple varieties and perhaps might not appeal to the connoisseur, but if you just like apples then a Spartan eaten straight from the tree on a crisp cold autumn morning is a real delight.

Spartan apple trees for sale (2009/10 season)

Delivery to the mainland UK (price includes delivery)

Item	Quantity
Very small - 2-year 12L container - M27 rootstock	No stock £38.00

Small - 1-year Bare-root - M9 rootstock	No stock £30.00

Small - 1-year 3L container - M9 rootstock	No stock £28.00

Medium - 1-year Bare-root - M26 rootstock	No stock £30.00

Medium - 2-year 12L container - M26 rootstock	£38.00

Large - 1-year Bare-root - MM106 rootstock	£30.00
Large - 2-year Bare-root - MM106 rootstock	£36.00

Large - 2-year 12L container - MM106 rootstock	£38.00

More about: Product formats, Bare-root or Container-grown, Delivery Rootstocks

All prices include delivery. We offer a discount on orders of multiple bare-root trees for delivery at the same time - this will be shown at the checkout.

We accept orders year-round, but delivery is only possible in the stated delivery periods.

Uses

Flavour quality - Good
Flavour style - Sweeter
Good for eating fresh
Good for juice
Picking season - Late
Use / keeping - 1 week

Growing

Cropping - Heavy
Fertility - Self-sterile
Flowering group - 3
Good pollinator
Gardening skill - Easy
Disease resistance - Average
Vigour - Average growth

Climate

Suitable for warm climates
Suitable for temperate climates
Suitable for N. England? - Yes

Pollination partners for Spartan

Spartan is in flowering group 3. It is self-sterile and needs a pollination partner nearby. The following varieties will pollinate Spartan:

Important: advice about pollination

Horticultural characteristics of Spartan apple trees

Spartan is very easy to grow in almost any climate. It crops reliably and heavily. The fruit tends to be small but moderate thinning is very effective and the remaining apples will be a good medium/large size. There are few disease problems, and birds and aphids are not often a problem either. Spartan also tends to produce a reasonably attractive tree, and the large quantity of blossom makes it a good pollinator for other apple varieites. All in all, you won't regret giving it space in your apple collection.

Historical details

Spartan is one of the most widely-grown of the McIntosh family of apples, which are characterised by their deep marroon colours and bright white flesh. Spartan was developed at the Canadian Apple Research Station in Summerland, British Columbia, in the 1920s, and is a cross between McIntosh and Newtown Pippin. Although a classic Canadian apple variety, Spartan rapidly gained favour in the UK and unlike many North American varieties is remarkably well-suited to the UK climate. It has been popular in the UK in small orchards and gardens for many decades.

More information

More information and discussion about Spartan apple trees on the main Orange Pippin website.

Spartan - Fruit

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Example trees as supplied (container-grown only)

This is an illustration of what our products look like as delivered. Please remember that trees are natural products, so this information is for general guidance only. The trees you receive may differ from those shown here, for some of the following reasons:

Many of these photos were taken in early autumn - trees delivered during winter will not have leaves.
There can be a considerable size variation between different varieties of the same species.
Some varieties naturally "feather" or produce many side branches at an early age. Others may not feather at all.
In some cases we may have to "tip" the tops of trees to fit in our delivery cartons. Please do not be alarmed, as this will be carried out immediately prior to despatch, and is actually good practice when planting a new tree.

For comparison purposes the model in our photos is 5ft 6" / 1m 68cm tall. Click any of the images to view a larger one.