The tree is roundish, somewhat spreading, and precocious. It crops heavily and it should be thinned to avoid biennialism. Hubbardston is somewhat resistant to all major diseases, but it is susceptible to collar rot.

This apple is large and handsome. The yellow background is overspread with a red that deepens to carmine and is starred with prominent lenticels. The yellowish flesh is tender and crisp, with a candied sweetness that is well balanced. Harvested in October, it will have its best flavor in December.

As Beach (Apples of New York) remarks, Hubbardston "varies remarkably under different conditions of soil and climate not only in vigor of tree but in certain fruit characters also, such as size, color, degree of russeting of the skin and in the quality and flavor of the flesh." Unfortunately the ideal growing conditions for this apple have never been fully determined, as it did not receive the commercial attention that Beach thought it deserved, although it was a favorite in the Boston area in the 1830s. However, Bussey (Illustrated History of Apples) does note that the original Hubbardston flourished in soil that was "gravelly loam, quite cold and rather wet." This tree grew as a seedling on the farm of Barzillai Gleason near Hubbardston Massachusetts around 1780 and it was still standing as late as 1875.