Pixie Crunch Apple Tree

Pixie Crunch™ Apple (Malus 'Co-op 33') is a smaller, red fruit with wonderful crispness. Kids go bananas for the great, sweet flavor and easy-to-bite size!

The perfect size for a snack, Pixie Crunch™ features a long hang time on the tree during harvest. This makes it a favorite Apple for many. Just head outside and grab yourself an incredible fresh, tasty treat. It doesn't get any better than that!

People love how the fine-textured flesh snaps off crisp, breaking cleanly from the core. This isn't a quiet Apple either, so enjoy munching and crunching your way through these cuties. Pixie Crunch™ is even sweeter than Honeycrisp. It has a wonderful, complex flavor that balances sugar and acid content. You might find it hard to stop at just one!

Pixie Crunch™ is also a pretty tree. It will be smothered in clouds of fluffy white blooms in springtime that pollinators go crazy for! Then the lush summer-green foliage can shade and screen for you all season long. Watch the developing fruit become a brilliant red. The abundant fruit set makes a highly ornamental display.

You will need to plant another Apple tree as a pollination partner. Choose one of many varieties (see below) to boost pollination on both trees while extending your harvest season. Plant this September ripening Apple with an early-season or late-season variety!

These snack-sized Apples are very popular and our supply is limited. Act now, or risk having to wait!

How to Use Pixie Crunch™ Apple Tree in the Landscape

Enjoy your Pixie Crunch™! It makes the perfect fit for edible landscaping. Get the most from your sunshine and soil.

There are several ways to get the most from your fruit trees. The first is to consider them edible ornamentals and use them as a hard-working accent tree. Allow them to grow to their full height and spread, and place them in a mulched planting bed.

Can you imagine a series of 2, 3 or 4 Apple Trees as a backdrop near your fence line? How Instagram-ready would two varieties look placed in your front lawn, on either side of your front walkway?

Use Pixie Crunch™ and a partner tree as a large-scale privacy screen behind your patio furniture. Give yourself plenty of space for harvest, and enjoy watching the developing fruit.

The other way you can keep Apple trees is by creating a backyard orchard. Grow them in high-density plantings, such as a 3-in-1 hole or 4-in-1 hole. Or, create a hedgerow by planting several varieties 7 feet apart on center. Measure from the center of one to the center of the next.

Every day with an Apple tree is a learning moment. If you have small kids, these trees make an excellent choice nearly anywhere throughout your yard. Keep it easy for yourself. Remove lawn and mulch underneath Apple trees.

• Fragrant White Blooms In Spring
• Excellent Mid-Season Fresh Eating Apple
• Very Sweet & Juicy - Kids Love the Astounding Crunch
• Great Backyard Variety, Not Easily Found in Stores
• Harvest For Weeks & Stores Well for Months

#ProPlantTips for Care

Pixie Crunch™ Apple trees need full sun to thrive. Plant them in a spot that will receive at least 6 hours of direct sunlight a day. The morning sun is best for fruit trees. That is the drying sun and it quickly dries off the foliage. You'll want to keep the leaves dry whenever you can. Good air circulation in your planting site will help.

Also, look into drip irrigation solutions, rather than rely on overhead lawn sprinklers. If you must water using sprinklers, set the timer to run in the early morning. Provide a moderate amount of water on a regular basis.

Pixie Crunch™ will work well in warm, humid climates, but should be mulched to keep the root system nice and cool. Apply a thick, 3-inch layer of mulch and spread it out to 3 feet past the canopy. Pull the mulch back several inches all around the trunk. Please don't let the mulch touch the main trunk.

Prune in late winter to correct the shape, and open the canopy to sunlight and air circulation. Remove crossing branches at that time. Prune in summer to keep the height where you want it. This will be an annual job in high-density plantings. Tip prune to an outside-facing bud. Spending a few minutes each year pays off big dividends when harvest time rolls around. Smaller plants are easier to harvest! Summer pruning is the key to controlling the size. Trees can be held to any size, from 5 feet tall to 10. It's up to you. Make your decision and keep your tree pruned to that size.

Mature trees may produce a heavier fruit set in certain years, if conditions are just right. Thin the fruit early in the season to ensure you'll get a chance to enjoy full-sized (although still petite!) Pixie Crunch™ Apples.

If you live in an area with fire blight, apple scab, or cedar apple rust, please contact your local County Extension Office. They'll be able to give you excellent advice for annual protocols.

Pixie Crunch™ can be grown organically and you will feel great knowing what went into and onto your tree! Whether this is your first Apple tree, or you have dozens in a backyard orchard, you'll appreciate the ease of care. Pixie Crunch™ is a modern Apple, bred to be resistant to disease.

Be sure to look at our #ProPlantTips on YouTube and on the Nature Hills Garden Blog for more information on caring for fruit trees. There is nothing more satisfying than having fresh fruit at your fingertips.

• Full Sun Trees
• Well-Drained Enriched Soil
• Regular Moisture Needs
• Prune When Dormant
• Disease Resistant
• Wonderful Variety for Beginners
• 600-800 Chill Hours

You may hear Pixie Crunch™ nicknamed 'Co-op 33', which was its original development name. You'll want to give that name to the horticulturists at your local Ag Extension, too.

One taste, and you'll agree. This wonderful fresh-eating fruit is destined for great things. People love the satisfying snap and luscious taste of this snack-sized fruit.

Grow your own Pixie Crunch™ and savor this healthy snack. Hurry, many others around the country want to get their hands on this amazing variety, too. If you see it in stock, order now!

Pixie Crunch™ Apple Tree Frequently Asked Questions

When to Plant Pixie Crunch™ Apple Trees

Planting Bareroot trees as soon as you can dig a hole in spring and until hot weather, the earlier the better. Plant container Apple trees throughout the growing season with complete success - that is the benefit of container plants - to extend the planting season. Your County Agricultural Extension Office is a great resource for first and last frost dates in your area.

How to Plant Pixie Crunch™ Apple Trees

Dig a large hole only as deep as needed to accommodate the bareroot or container root ball, and twice as wide. Add Nature Hills Root Booster to speed root establishment. Remove the pot or bag and situate it into the hole so the top of the soil (soil line if bareroot), is level with the new location's soil being careful not to plant too deep. Water in again very well and backfill with the same soil you dug up, tamping down gently to ensure there are no air pockets.

Top off with a 3-4 inch thick layer of Arborist mulch. Consider staking your tree to keep its trunk growing straight for the first year to ensure it stands tall against strong winds and drifting snow.

When to Prune Pixie Crunch™ Apple Trees

Trim off any broken branches from delivery as soon as you take them out of the box. Prune and trim Apple trees while dormant, in late winter or early spring, before you see new growth.

How to Prune Pixie Crunch™ Apple Trees

Dormant prune to:

• Remove any double leaders or narrow crotch angles
• Eliminate any crossing branches
• Thin interior branching and leave the fruiting spurs and strong branches in place opening up the canopy
• Branching at least 24-36 inches above the ground

Prune Apple trees in the summer to:

• Control size and shape by reducing the length of longer new growth on vigorous trees
• Remove water sprouts on the main trunk or older branches in the crown
• Remove suckers at the base of the trunk
• Thin fruit during heavy years on established trees

How to Care for Pixie Crunch™ Apple Trees

Growing an Apple tree is easy when proper soil, good drainage, attention to moisture, and regular fertility are maintained. Once you've chosen an apple tree that works for your climate, in the size you need for your landscape, and its pollinator, then you've accomplished half the battle!

• Apple trees do best in full sun and well-drained soil
• Water your apple trees when they get dry - especially during the fruit production stage, and drought periods to keep your tree stress-free
• Use arborists' wood chips to mulch over the roots of your apples and have your soil tested to see what your soil may be lacking before adding fertilizers
• Maintenance pruning and shaping

Apple trees will tolerate a wide range of soils, so long as water and nutrients are not limited and the pH level is adequate.

How to Fertilize Pixie Crunch™ Apple Trees

For the first year, water alone is most important. It is always best to get a soil test to see what your soil is lacking before adding more fertilizers. Once established, a fertilizer routine may be beneficial. We do offer some excellent slow-release organic options, applied according to the package directions.

Fruit trees need more phosphate and it's possible to apply too much nitrogen which affects the soil's pH. Test soil acidity or alkalinity using a pH Tester.

Fertilize in spring when you first see new growth emerging.

• Don't overdo it
• Phosphates are your friends
• Pay attention to pH in areas with extremely high or low soil pH
• Follow the directions

Pixie Crunch™ Apple Tree Pollinating Info

Pixie Crunch™ is not self-fruiting and needs a pollinating partner. Pair with one of these varieties:

• White Flowering Crabapples Like Centennial or Chestnut Crabapple
• Cortland
• CrimsonCrisp
• Cox's Orange Pippin
• Cripps Pink and Red
• Empire
• Enterprise
• Freedom
• Frostbite
• Fuji
• Gala Apple Tree
• Golden Delicious Apple Tree
• GoldRush
• Granny Smith
• Honeycrisp
• Jonathan
• Liberty Apple Tree
• Newtown Pippin
• Red Delicious Apple Tree
• SnowSweet
• Wealthy
• WineCrisp
• Wolf River

Harvest Times for Pixie Crunch™ Apple Trees

Pixie Crunch™’s are typically ready to harvest in late August through early September.

Early-Season? Mid-Season? Late-Season? The terminology can be confusing for new apple tree growers. Weather, climate and your tree determine when it's ripe.

For Apples:

• Early-season is usually June-July
• Mid-season can be August-September
• Late-season can be from late September-November

The growing season consists of spring, summer, and fall, and varies with climate and weather. Areas with longer growing seasons in the warmer hardiness zones can greatly affect the harvest times for each particular Apple variety grown in your area. Learn which growing zone you are in.

What Shipping Options Do You Offer?

NatureHills.com works closely with our growers and nursery professionals to ensure we ship when it is most appropriate for your area. Our goal is to deliver the hardiest plants by avoiding extreme high and low temperatures. Check out our shipping schedule for more information and to learn our wills and won'ts when it comes to shipping plants. Find your Pixie Crunch™ Apple Tree for sale here at NatureHills.com!