tropics

Apples for the Tropics

Apples have been grown in the tropics for years. Anna and Dorsett Golden have been the standard varieties for forcing two to three crops a year, but traditional northern varieties like Wealthy and Rome Beauty have also found success in hot, humid climates like Thailand, Indonesia, Nicaragua, and Honduras.

From our trials I've picked 7 varieties that have produced outstanding apples in our low-chill and high-heat climate. They set reliable crops, blossoming in even 100 degree F. heat and ripening during warm nights. All of them come into bearing young. One of the selections is from the PRI breeding program with built-in disease resistance. While each location has its own micro-climate, I believe these selections give a high chance of success in most tropic areas.

Scroll down to the bottom to see our inspection and shipping procedures. You can see the full descriptions and history of these apples on our Apple List page.

Left: March 3, 2009- Our shipment of 200 apple trees successfully made it to Rwanda! The tree under the girl's hand shows the growth after four months.

How to order Benchgrafts

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Anna and Dorsett Golden- These two apples are the first ones that should be planted in any tropic orchard, as they have proven themselves over 50 years as being top producers in a warm climate. They go together as they pollinate each other to make the nice fat apples you see in the photo. Excellent quality and versatile, they make great fresh-eating and pie apples.

Williams' Pride- Ripening early summer, the deep-red, almost purple apples are striking in appearance. They color up well despite warm nights. The yellow flesh of Williams' Pride is crisp and spicy, good for fresh use, cooking, and processing. They keep fairly well for an early apple. Wait until the stem end is completely red to pick. Field immune to Scab and Cedar Apple Rust, they are highly resistant to fire blight and resistant to powdery mildew. A product of the PRI (Purdue, Rutgers, University of Illinois) breeding program. The patent expired and it may be freely propagated.

Hawaii- Starting in early summer Hawaii will ripen for several months, a trait that would be annoying for commercial growers but most welcome in the home garden. It is sweet and delicious even when quite green, and holds on through the worst of heat. The tree is extremely productive. The texture was crisp and firm, and had a sweet, tropical taste. Some slight sunburn does not affect the quality, but could harm its commercial appeal.

Arkansas Black- Grown in the South in the USA since 1870, Arkansas Black is known in colder climates for being hard as a rock upon picking and is only edible after a month in storage. We found that when grown in a hot climate, right off the tree the flesh is wonderfully crisp and juicy with a deep, rich, dark, "wine" taste and aroma that equals the incredibly beautiful exterior. The apple is well-named in that when ripe the skin develops a dark burgundy, almost black color that is striking and colors up even with warm nights. It keeps well and also makes wonderful pies and cider. A triploid that is pollen sterile.

Wealthy- From the American frigid north (Minnesota) in 1868 comes this apple well-adapted to tropical climates (believe it or not, northern Minnesota does not receive many chilling hours- either it's freezing winter or summer, never in-between). Even on seedling rootstock comes into bearing in three or four years. It ripens early and the white flesh has a wonderful fine-grained, crisp, juicy taste that is full-flavored and would make terrific cider. It has been tested in the tropics of Nicaragua.

Terry Winter- A high-quality apple well-adapted to tropic conditions since 1868. It is on the smaller side unless thinned heavily, which limited its commercial success; however it is an excellent keeper even without refrigeration. It ripens late and has a dense texture and pleasing sweet/tart taste. The tree will overproduce and tend to be biannual if not thinned heavily.

How to order Benchgrafts International Shipping Information: The cost to ship 200 trees via Express Mail is about $240 US. It arrives at your port of entry in about 8 days, well within the dormancy period. We need to ship to an airport that has a customs and agricultural inspection station, which is usually at major international airports. Plant Import Restrictions: Your country wants to make sure you are not importing insect or disease pests that could harm your agricultural industry. Unless you make arrangements for inspection, your shipment could be seized and be put in quarantine, and could die before it is released to you. We can provide a Phytosanitary Inspection Certificate, which costs $65 US. You will need to find out from your Ministry or Department of Agriculture if there are any restrictions on importing apple (malus) plant material from the USA (there most likely is not). We can also check from our end through our Department of Agriculture. You will probably be required to apply for a Plant Import Permit, which has a nominal fee. It helps to get a letter or certificate of permission from the receiving inspection agency to display on the exterior of the box, which makes things easier since your inspection agency most likely is not accustomed to receiving apple plant material. As you can see from these expenses and trouble that it is usually more efficient to place a larger order, possibly split up between several people if you can't use that many trees. Shipping dates We have to ship our trees and scionwood when the trees are dormant, which is between January and the end of March. You need to be able to plant them once they are received. Often your season is opposite of ours, but the trees will adapt in a year or so and do just fine. In order to comply with the import requirements you will need to plan ahead. Remember, there's always next year. If you are considering an international order, just email us. We're happy to answer any more questions you may have. Return to the Apple Nursery page Return to the Apple Variety List page