Sunrise apple
One of the best early apple varieties, ripening in the UK in late August.
Sunrise is an attractive modern apple variety, developed in the late 20th century at the famous Summerland Research Station in Canada (home of the Spartan apple), and it is one of the best early-season apple varieties. It's easy to guess the parentage of Sunrise: the conical shape and long stalk suggests Golden Delicious, and the strong red unblemished skin colours and bright white flesh suggest McIntosh. However it is not quite that straightforward, because there is another un-named cultivar in the mix. Sunrise, as the name suggests, is an early apple variety - unlike Golden Delicious and McIntosh - so perhaps the other cultivar is responsible for the early ripening of Sunrise.
Confusingly there are actually two different apple varieties called "Sunrise", since the name was first applied to an English variety from the Victorian era which is now little known. The variety described here is the modern Canadian-developed variety, and the one most widely available from tree nurseries and farm shops.
Both Golden Delicious and McIntosh apple varieties tend to be easy apples to grow in the garden - heavy cropping and not much to go wrong. Sunrise is very much in the same vein and is therefore an ideal apple variety for the gardener who wants fresh apples in late August with minimal effort. It is good competition for other popular early varieties such as Katy which ripens at exactly the same time, yet has a completely different parentage (Katy comes from James Grieve and Worcester Pearmain - a far more conventional early variety parentage than Sunrise).
As with all early apple varieties, flavour can be an issue, but Sunrise is undoubtedly one of the best apple varieties in this respect. It has a fairly good sweet/sharp balance, still fairly acidic but a bit sweeter than Katy. For such an early variety the flesh is remarkably crisp, and fairly juicy. It benefits from being picked early in the morning when it has been cooled overnight. It keeps for about a week in the fridge, which is better than most early varieties (and we think it is best served slightly chilled). Another big advantage of Sunrise as an early garden apple variety is that it ripens over quite a long period, so apples can be left on the tree until you are ready to eat them.
Our photo shows a Sunrise apple picked from an espalier tree (MM106 roostock). Since early varieties have so little time to colour-up, growing as an espalier is the best way to get a good colouration, as it exposes the fruit to the sunlight better than a conventional bush tree. Apples that do not get full sunlight will be a very pale green colour, with patches of deep red where the sun catches them.
All in all, if you want an early apple variety to grow in the garden (and who doesn't want fresh apples in August) then you won't go wrong with Sunrise.
Summary
- Species: Malus domestica
- Parentage: McIntosh x Golden Delicious x un-named cultivar
- Origin: Canada
- Introduced: 1990s
- Orange Pippin Cultivar ID: 111500
Using
- Good for eating fresh
- Flavour quality: Good
- Flavour style: Sweet/Sharp
- Ripening period: Early-Mid season
- Use / keeping: 1 week Must be kept in the fridge.
Growing
- Cropping: Heavy
- Flowering group: 2
- Fertility: Self-sterile
- Triploid: No
- Vigour: Average growth
- Gardening skill: Very easy
- General disease resistance: Average
Climate
- Suitable for NW. Scotland?: Yes Possibly
- Suitable for N. England?: Yes
Relationships to other varieties
Parents and other ancestors of this variety:
- Golden Delicious (parent)
- McIntosh (parent)
See also:
- Katy - Katy and Sunrise ripen at the same time (late August in the UK) yet have completely different parentage
Sunrise identification photos from official fruit collections
Sunrise identification photos from website visitors
Fruit tree register
Do you have a tree of this variety in your garden or orchard? If so please register the details here and contribute to our international register of fruit trees.
The following Sunrise trees have been registered - click the name to view more details of each tree.
You can also view these trees on a map.
United Kingdom
- Colin Bowen in
- Ian Oconnell in BEVERLEY, EAST YORKSHIRE
- John Throssell in PLYMOUTH, DEVON
- Rhiannon Harrington in READING, BERKSHIRE
- Richard Borrie in YORK, Yorkshire
- Sarah Bronzite in ABERDEEN, -
Canada
- James Young in NARAMATA, BRITISH COLUMBIA
Latest Spring blossom records for this variety
2011 season
- 23rd April 2011 - tree owned by James in NARAMATA, Canada
2010 season
- 21st April 2010 - tree owned by James in NARAMATA, Canada
2009 season
- April 2009 - tree owned by James in NARAMATA, Canada
Record your blossom dates in our Fruit Tree Register - more >>.
Latest harvest records for this variety
2011 season
- 1st week September 2011 - tree owned by James in NARAMATA, Canada
2010 season
- 3rd week August 2010 - tree owned by James in NARAMATA, Canada
2009 season
- 1st week September 2009 - tree owned by Richard in YORK, United Kingdom
Mature heights for Sunrise trees
This table shows the likely mature height for a Sunrise tree taking into account the vigor of the variety, the rootstock, and soil conditions.
| Rootstock | Soil quality | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Poor | Below average | Average | Above average | Very good | |
| P22 | 2.5 ft 0.8 m |
3.1 ft 0.9 m |
3.7 ft 1.1 m |
4.3 ft 1.3 m |
4.9 ft 1.5 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 | 5.3 ft 1.6 m |
6.6 ft 2.0 m |
7.9 ft 2.4 m |
9.2 ft 2.8 m |
10.5 ft 3.2 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 | 9.1 ft 2.8 m |
11.4 ft 3.5 m |
13.7 ft 4.2 m |
15.9 ft 4.9 m |
18.2 ft 5.6 m |
| M25 | 10.5 ft 3.2 m |
13.1 ft 4.0 m |
15.8 ft 4.8 m |
18.4 ft 5.6 m |
21.0 ft 6.4 m |
From an idea by N. Buck - more details.
Where to buy apple trees
The following fruit tree nurseries offer Sunrise apple trees for sale:
-
Orange Pippin Fruit Trees (UK)
United Kingdom Supplier's website >> -
Cummins Nursery
United States More >> -
Keepers Nursery
United Kingdom More >>
Where to buy apples
The following orchards and suppliers offer Sunrise apples for sale. map >
United Statesmap >
-
Coloradomap >
- Masonville Orchard, Fort Collins
-
Indianamap >
- Crosby's Orchard, Lawrenceburg
-
Pennsylvaniamap >
- Weaver's Orchard, Morgantown
-
South Dakotamap >
- Hoversten Orchards LTD, Brandon
-
Wisconsinmap >
- Cattleana Ranch, Poygan Township/Omro
United Kingdommap >
-
England - midlandsmap >
Canadamap >
-
British Columbiamap >
- Apple Farm & Country Store, Yarrow
- Apple Luscious Organic Orchards, Salt Spring Island
- Blush Lane Organic Orchard, Keremeos
- Roseridge Orchards, Kelowna
Rate this variety for flavor