Pink Pearl is biennial tending, low vigor, and somewhat disease susceptible. It is hardy to zone 4. It makes a great landscape tree; the late bloom is a profusion of pink-crimson flowers.

The apple is medium sized, rosy cream, with flesh that is streaked with a startling bright pink. It is a wonderful table apple that makes a beautiful and tasty pink applesauce. The flesh is crisp, fine-grained, and aromatic with a delicious sweet-tart flavor. Some say it has a sour berry notes.

Pink Pearl was first introduced in 1944 by Albert Etter (1872-1950), a Californian plant breeder famous for breeding red-fleshed apples. Etter was a "visionary" in the sense that he rejected the conventions of fruit breeding and sought out the most exotic and peculiar plant material with a view to revolutionizing the commercial market. After obtaining scion of the red-fleshed apple "Surprise" around 1900, Etter set about breeding dozens of red-fleshed seedlings. Pink Pearl (originally Test Seedling #39) is today the most commonly grown product of this breeding program.

In comparison to the red-fleshed varieties developed by Niels Hansen, Etter's Surprise progeny are less pigmented but superior in terms of eating quality. An excellent discussion of Etter's career can be found at Albert Etter and the Pink-Fleshed Daughters of 'Surprise' by Ram Fishman.