This tree is hardy and productive. Naturally a semi-dwarf with a narrow upright habit, it will need thinning to maintain annual bearing and for optimal fruit size. Wagener is scab resistant, but it is highly susceptible to fireblight (second only to Spitzenburg).

Wagener is a medium-sized apple, irregular and prominently ribbed. The skin is flushed red-orange over yellow with russeting around the stem, and the flesh is snow white, crisp, and fine grained. This apple receives very high ratings from tasters, who describe it as vinous, sprightly, and spicy, with flavors of anise and melon. It is also well regarded for its versatility, as Wagener will store well–without shriveling–through winter and makes excellent cider, sauce, juice, and pie.

A Mr. George Wheeler brought with him a bag of apple seeds when in 1791 he moved from Duchess County, NY to the area that would become known as Penn Yan, and he planted his seeds on his new land. In 1796 the tract of land on which the first Wagener tree now grew (it had since been transplanted locally) was purchased by David Wagener, whose son Abram is generally considered to be the founder of the township of Penn Yan. Interestingly, David Wagener had come to Penn Yan from Montgomery County, Pennsylvania following after Jemima Wilkinson, a religious leader known as the Public Universal Friend, or P.U.F., who went to the Penn Yan area in 1790 to establish her religious community that was based on principles very similar to those of the Quakers.

By 1847, the fame of the Wagener apple had spread to England, where it earned praise from the early apple writer Edward Bunyard. Wagener is a parent of Idared, and it is speculated to be a parent of Northern Spy, but this is quite uncertain.