The rock-star, cold-hardy apple from Minnesota.
Keepsake Apple on B.118 (Spring 2024)
An excellent, highly-flavored and disease-resistant storage apple from the University of Minnesota.
Productive and reliable, Keepsake is moderately vigorous, cold hardy, and resistant to fireblight and cedar-apple rust. This apple is a great choice for a "starter tree" or for the organic grower.
The appearance of the apple is considered by many to be unappealing, which might account for its lack of commercial success. It is smallish, somewhat tapering and irregular in shape, and the skin is colored orange-red over creamy white patches. This apple is, however, a parent of Honeycrisp, and its texture and flavor are excellent. It is more dense than Honeycrisp, very crisp, strongly aromatic with floral notes, and spicy. Keepsake is named for its excellent storage quality; it is harvested mid-October in upstate NY, and it will keep well for up to six months in regular storage, developing peak flavor in January.
Keepsake was developed at the University of Minnesota by W. H. Alderman, who also brought us Sweet Sixteen. It is a cross of Malinda and Northern Spy.
Please Confirm
The Fruit
Fruit Type
Category: Apple
Subcategory:
Disease-Resistant, Cold-Hardy, Hot-Climate
Fruit Uses & Storage
Uses: fresh eating, baking, storage
Storage duration: three plus months (approximate, depending on storage conditions)
Fruit Appearance
Skin color: red
Flesh color: yellow
Fruit Origins
Parentage: Malinda x Northern Spy
Origin: Minnesota
Introduced in: 1979
Introduced by: W. H. Alderman, University of Minnesota
The Environment
Calendar & Geography
USDA zones: 4 - 8
Chill hours: Not yet determined
Ripening date: Oct 20 (approximate, in New York State) + 35 days after McIntosh
Tree Height & Spacing
glossary
Rootstock: B.118 Rootstock
Rootstock size class: Semi-Standard (90% of Standard)
Tree spacing (natural spread of tree): 24'
Good for wildlife planting? N
Diseases & Pests
glossary
Fireblight: Resistant
Cedar-Apple Rust: Resistant
Pollination
Pollination Factors
glossary
Bloom group: 4
Is it self-fertile? N
Is it fertile? Y
Ploidy: Diploid
Rootstock size class:
Semi-Standard (90% of Standard)
Pollination Partners
This table shows the first few results from a full search for pollenizers of Keepsake Apple on B.118. Please see our Pollenizer Search to run other queries and read how the application uses various factors. Also read more about fruit tree pollination.
See all pollination matches for Keepsake Apple on B.118
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