Spartan apple
Malus domestica
Attractive, crunchy, sweet, easy to grow, and with the characteristic delicate wine-like "vinous" flavor of the McIntosh family of apples - but flavour fades rapidly in storage so definitely best eaten straight from the tree.
Spartan is a small sweet apple, and a great favourite with children. It is very much a "McIntosh" style apple, bright crimson skin and whiter-than-white flesh. We leave ours on the tree as long as possible, until they are crimson all over, as this allows the flavour to develop. Straight from the tree the flesh is very crisp and juicy, but it softens a bit within a week or so of picking - although remaining juicy. This is also a good variety for juicing - the juice colour is not especially remarkable but the flavour is good. Spartan is an excellent garden apple, being easy to grow, resistant to scab, fairly resistant to mildew, and it crops very reliably. However it can be prone to canker in wetter regions.
Spartan is a historically interesting apple, being probably the first new variety to be developed as the result of a formal scientific breeding programme. It was created at the Canadian Apple Research Station in Summerland, British Columbia, in the 1920s, and is a cross between McIntosh (of course !) and Newtown Pippin - both popular North American apples of the time. Before this, most new varieties were developed either by chance or by amateurs cross-pollinating varieties and hoping for the best.
If you only have space for one of the McIntosh-style apple varieties in your garden orchard, this is the one to go for - straight from the tree on a cold autumn morning, the vinous sugar-rush is hard to beat!
Summary
- Parentage: McIntosh x Newtown Pippin
- Origin: Canada
- Introduced: 1926
- Orange Pippin Cultivar ID: 105800
Identification
- Bultitude apple group: 6. Red flushed, smooth, sweet
Using
- Good for eating fresh
- Good for juice
- Flavour quality: Good
- Flavour style: Sweeter
- Ripening period: Late season
- Use / keeping: 1 week
Growing
- Cropping: Heavy
- Flowering group: 3
- Fertility: Self-sterile
- Good pollinator
- Vigour: Average growth
- Gardening skill: Easy
- General disease resistance: Average
Climate
- Suitable for warm climates
- Suitable for temperate climates
- Suitable for N. England?: Yes
Disease resistance
- Scab - Some resistance
- Mildew - Some resistance
- Bacterial canker Pseudomonas syringae - Some susceptibility
Mature tree heights for this variety (approximate)
| Rootstock | Soil quality | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Poor | Below average | Average | Above average | Very good | |
| P22 | 2.1 ft 0.6 m |
2.6 ft 0.8 m |
3.2 ft 1.0 m |
3.7 ft 1.1 m |
4.2 ft 1.3 m |
| M27 | 2.8 ft 0.9 m |
3.5 ft 1.1 m |
4.2 ft 1.3 m |
4.9 ft 1.5 m |
5.6 ft 1.7 m |
| M9 | 4.2 ft 1.3 m |
5.3 ft 1.6 m |
6.3 ft 1.9 m |
7.4 ft 2.3 m |
8.4 ft 2.6 m |
| Bud.9 | 4.2 ft 1.3 m |
5.3 ft 1.6 m |
6.3 ft 1.9 m |
7.4 ft 2.3 m |
8.4 ft 2.6 m |
| Geneva 16 | 4.2 ft 1.3 m |
5.3 ft 1.6 m |
6.3 ft 1.9 m |
7.4 ft 2.3 m |
8.4 ft 2.6 m |
| Geneva 11 | 4.9 ft 1.5 m |
6.1 ft 1.9 m |
7.4 ft 2.3 m |
8.6 ft 2.6 m |
9.8 ft 3.0 m |
| M26 | 5.6 ft 1.7 m |
7.0 ft 2.1 m |
8.4 ft 2.6 m |
9.8 ft 3.0 m |
11.2 ft 3.4 m |
| Geneva 30 | 5.6 ft 1.7 m |
7.0 ft 2.1 m |
8.4 ft 2.6 m |
9.8 ft 3.0 m |
11.2 ft 3.4 m |
| MM102 | 5.6 ft 1.7 m |
7.0 ft 2.1 m |
8.4 ft 2.6 m |
9.8 ft 3.0 m |
11.2 ft 3.4 m |
| M7 | 6.3 ft 1.9 m |
7.9 ft 2.4 m |
9.5 ft 2.9 m |
11.0 ft 3.4 m |
12.6 ft 3.9 m |
| M116 | 6.3 ft 1.9 m |
7.9 ft 2.4 m |
9.5 ft 2.9 m |
11.0 ft 3.4 m |
12.6 ft 3.9 m |
| MM106 | 7.0 ft 2.1 m |
8.8 ft 2.7 m |
10.5 ft 3.2 m |
12.3 ft 3.8 m |
14.0 ft 4.3 m |
| MM111 | 8.4 ft 2.6 m |
10.5 ft 3.2 m |
12.6 ft 3.9 m |
14.7 ft 4.5 m |
16.8 ft 5.2 m |
| Bud.118 | 9.8 ft 3.0 m |
12.3 ft 3.8 m |
14.7 ft 4.5 m |
17.2 ft 5.3 m |
19.6 ft 6.0 m |
| M25 | 11.2 ft 3.4 m |
14.0 ft 4.3 m |
16.8 ft 5.2 m |
19.6 ft 6.0 m |
22.4 ft 6.9 m |
Relationships to other varieties
Parents and other ancestors of this variety:
Siblings of this variety (same parentage):
- Empire - Spartan and Empire are half-brothers
