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Zestar!® Apple on G.11 (Spring 2024)


An excellent, early-season, disease-resistant dessert apple. Also known as Minnewashta.

Zestar!® is a low-moderate vigor tree with an upright-spreading habit. It is precocious and reliably productive, cold hardy, and resistant to fireblight, powdery mildew, and CAR. Unfortunately it is very susceptible to scab, but this is, in all other respects, a great early-season apple. The bloom time for Zestar!® is very early; care should be taken when selecting a pollenizer.

It is a very pretty, round, rosy red apple. The flesh is juicy and crisp, with a sprightly zest (hence its name) that is sweetened with caramel sugars. It stores well for six-eight weeks, and is firm enough to please most bakers. Zestar!® has an extended harvest time and requires a couple of pickings, making it a great apple for home orchardists.

Zestar!® comes from the prolific breeding program at the University of Minnesota, whose other creations include Haralson, Snowsweet, Sweet 16, and Honeycrisp. It is a cross of State Fair and MN 1691 (Conell Red x Goodland), and it was released in 1999. Zestar!® is a trademark name; the cultivar is called Minnewashta.

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Zestar!® is a low-moderate vigor tree with an upright-spreading habit. It is precocious and reliably productive, cold hardy, and resistant to fireblight, powdery mildew, and CAR. Unfortunately it is very susceptible to scab, but this is, in all other respects, a great early-season apple. The bloom time for Zestar!® is very early; care should be taken when selecting a pollenizer.

It is a very pretty, round, rosy red apple. The flesh is juicy and crisp, with a sprightly zest (hence its name) that is sweetened with caramel sugars. It stores well for six-eight weeks, and is firm enough to please most bakers. Zestar!® has an extended harvest time and requires a couple of pickings, making it a great apple for home orchardists.

Zestar!® comes from the prolific breeding program at the University of Minnesota, whose other creations include Haralson, Snowsweet, Sweet 16, and Honeycrisp. It is a cross of State Fair and MN 1691 (Conell Red x Goodland), and it was released in 1999. Zestar!® is a trademark name; the cultivar is called Minnewashta.


The Fruit

Fruit Type

Category: Apple
Subcategory: Disease-Resistant, Cold-Hardy, Hot-Climate

Fruit Uses & Storage

Uses: fresh eating, baking
Storage duration: one to three months (approximate, depending on storage conditions)

Fruit Appearance

Skin color: red
Flesh color: cream

Fruit Origins

Parentage: State Fair x MN 1691 (Conell Red x Goodland)
Origin: Minnesota
Introduced in: 1999
Introduced by: University of Minnesota Fruit Breeding Farm

The Environment

Calendar & Geography

USDA zones: 4 - 8
Chill hours: Not yet determined
Ripening date: Aug 25 (approximate, in New York State) 21 days before McIntosh

Tree Height & Spacing

Rootstock: G.11 Rootstock
Rootstock size class: Dwarf (25% of Standard)
Tree spacing (natural spread of tree): 8'
Good for wildlife planting? N

Diseases & Pests

Fireblight: Resistant
Powdery Mildew: Resistant
Apple Scab: Very Susceptible
Cedar-Apple Rust: Resistant

Pollination

Pollination Factors

Bloom group: 1
Is it self-fertile? N
Is it fertile? Y
Ploidy: Diploid
Rootstock size class: Dwarf (25% of Standard)

Pollination Partners

This table shows the first few results from a full search for pollenizers of Zestar!® Apple on G.11. Please see our Pollenizer Search to run other queries and read how the application uses various factors. Also read more about fruit tree pollination.

Tree Ships Currently in Stock
Crimson® Topaz CV. Apple on G.11 2024 124
Brown's Apple Apple on G.11 2024 122
Newtown Pippin Apple on G.11 2024 91
Williams' Pride Apple on G.11 2024 66
Empire Apple on G.41 2024 52
CrimsonCrisp™ Apple on G.11 2024 43
Fortune Apple Apple on G.11 2024 43
Geneva Tremlett's Bitter Apple on B.9 2024 41
Dayton Apple on G.11 2024 41
Sunrise Apple on G.214 2024 40
Galarina™ X-4982 CV. Apple on G.11 2024 40

See all pollination matches for Zestar!® Apple on G.11






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