This is a vigorous tree that has a tendency to biennialism. It is very cold hardy, has moderate disease susceptibility, and is a partial tip-bearer.

Almata's charms begin in spring, when it puts out a beautiful display of pink bloom. These flowers then produce apples whose flesh is red all the way through. This striking fruit is the result of research and breeding by Niels Hansen, who in 1897 discovered a large-fruited, intensely red-fleshed crabapple, Malus niedzwetskyana, growing wild in the mountains of Turkestan. The fruit was inedibly bitter, but Hansen imported some wood and interbred the red-fleshed trees with tastier varieties in an effort to produce a red-fleshed apple suitable for cooking and eating. Almata is one of the most successful products of this work. Although the fruit is quite tart, it is not unpalatable. The skin is red over orange-yellow and the flesh is granular, with a watermelon-like appearance. Almata makes a striking applesauce and can be used in baking. Some cider makers have used the juice to add color and acidity to their blends. The fruit does not store well.

Almata is named after the Kazakh city Almaty, which means "full of apples." (The Kazakh word for apple is alma.) Kazakhstan is currently thought to be the origin of the apple.