Red Duchess Apple Tree

If you're looking for a gorgeous tree and a sweet afternoon snack all in one, the Red Duchess Apple Tree (Malus 'Red Duchess') may be the perfect tree for you! People love using these Apples fresh off the tree or in pies and sauces. Imagine making a crisp Apple pie with the homegrown experience!

In the spring there are small white flowers that sprinkle throughout the tree. Bees love them and beneficial insects will be grateful too! You'll love the fluttering white petals and their wafting fragrance! Lush green foliage fills out these trees for the rest of the growing season.

The Red Duchess Apple Tree thrives in zones 3-6. Need to find your hardiness zone? Use our map to locate yours! A red selection of Duchess of Oldenburg Apple tree, this Fruit Tree ripens mid to late summer, just in time for summer BBQs and get-togethers!

Planting and Application:

The possibilities are endless when it comes to fruit trees! Create your dream orchard or decorate your small yard with an edible landscaping shade and flowering ornamental tree that also produces a fantastic crop of tasty fruit around August each year!

Create a home orchard of your dreams with this lovely Apple tree! The more, the merrier! Red Duchess Trees will produce more fruit when they have other fruit trees around them.

You can even prune this tree to grow them low branches for ease of harvest in your yard! Keep the branching to the ground and the tree's 18-25 foot height much shorter for easier harvest! Use these more shrubby forms both pruned or full size as windbreaks, edible landscaping hedges, and property dividing privacy rows that also feed you!

Mix in a few of Red Duchess' many pollination partners into the mix to increase pollination chances for all. Red Duchess isn't self-pollinating, so in smaller landscape situations, try high-density planting techniques or groupings to aid in pollination.

• Tasty Crisp Tart Flavor
• Red Blushed Fruit & With White Flesh
• Early-Season Harvest Time
• White Fragrant Flowers Attract Pollinators
• Lovely Ornamental & Versatile Edible Landscaping Tree

#ProPlantTips for Care:

All fruit trees have their needs, but luckily, growing this Apple is not too complicated! Provide your Apple Fruit Tree with full sun for the most fruit. They love to bask in the sun and the Apples look great when the sun hits them! This tree likes being planted in well-drained soil and topped off with a 3-4 inch thick layer of arborist mulch. This ensures that the soil is moist, but won't drown the roots. If you are ever confused about when to water your tree, you can use the Finger Test. Simply stick your finger into the soil near the base of the tree. If it feels moist, then your tree is happy and fine! However, if it is dry, give it a good soak!

Consider staking your tree to keep its trunk growing straight for the first year, so pick up a Tree Support Stake Kit. Once established, a fertilizer routine may be beneficial. We do offer some excellent slow-release organic options, applied according to the package directions. Many people wonder how to prune an Apple tree. Luckily, it is pretty simple and we wrote a Garden Blog on it. You can get all your Pruning questions answered here.

• Cold-Hardy Down to Zone 3!
• Full Sun For The Biggest Harvest
• Well-Drained Moist & Enriched Soil
• Thin Fruit During Heavy Crops
• 200-300 Chill Hours

Great fruit and gorgeous beauty, the easy-to-grow Red Duchess Apple Tree will delight you and your landscape! Order your own and its pollinator today from Nature Hills Nursery!

Red Duchess Apple Tree Frequently Asked Questions

When to Prune Red Duchess 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 Red Duchess 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

Red Duchess Apple Tree Pollinating Info

Red Duchess is not self-fruiting and needs a pollinating partner. Pair with one of these varieties:

• Cortland Apple Tree
• Granny Smith Apple Tree
• Fuji Apple Tree
• Empire Apple Tree
• Snowsweet® Apple Tree
• Wolf River Apple Tree
• Zestar!® Apple Tree
• Dolgo Crabapple Tree
• Whitney Crabapple Tree

Harvest Times for Red Duchess Apple Trees

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.

Red Duchess's are typically ready to harvest in August.

• 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.

Rootstocks Explained

Apple trees have been grafted onto different rootstocks since before the mid-1800s. Different rootstocks are used to improve the anchoring of trees, eliminate diseases, and reduce the natural mature size of the tree itself. While there are many different types of rootstock, they are all labeled as being either Dwarf, Semi-Dwarf, or Standard.

The Apple descriptions, including flowering, pollination, and Apple characteristics are the same whether the plant is grown on a standard rootstock or some varying dwarfing rootstock. The overall size can vary by climate and soil but the understock used is ultimately what affects the mature size.

There will be some variation in sizes but as a guide, we are suggesting the overall mature size of these Apple varieties are:

Semi-Dwarf Apples

• Height: 12-18 feet
• Spread: 10 - 15 feet

Standard Apples

• Height 18 - 25 feet
• Spread: 15 - 18 feet

Remember that all fruit tree sizes can easily be altered if needed by simple pruning as the trees grow and develop.

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 Red Duchess Apple Tree for sale here at NatureHills.com!