Skip to main content

Franklin Apple on G.214 (Spring 2025)


An outstanding new cider apple, sweet enough for fresh eating, and disease resistant. Also known as Franklin Cider Apple.

Bill Mayo found this tree growing as a chance seedling on his small farm in Franklin, Vermont in 2008.  On discovering that the juice produced an excellent sweet cider, he sent samples of the fruit to hard cider makers. One of the recipients, Terrence Bradshaw, performed an analysis of the juice and classed it as bittersharp. He was very impressed by its composition, comparing it to Kingston Black, one of the most beloved traditional cider varieties. It was released commercially in 2017. 

The fruit is small-medium, heavily russeted over a greenish background with some blushing. The flesh is crisp and white with a balanced sweetness, yielding a juice high in both sugar (17.5-19 Brix) and tannins. Franklin is receiving praise from growers and brewers throughout the cider world.

Order Your Trees

Select a shipping year

Select a grade

$46.00

Sold Out
Quantity
Best Pricing

Log in to your account to access the best pricing based on your past purchases; also see wholesale information

Tree Grading

Grade is a measure of tree size at time of sale, with Grade 0 being the biggest; see pricing & grading

Custom Trees

For large orders to be delivered in future years, or for trees from your cuttings, you can order custom trees

Need Help?

Contact us


Bill Mayo found this tree growing as a chance seedling on his small farm in Franklin, Vermont in 2008.  On discovering that the juice produced an excellent sweet cider, he sent samples of the fruit to hard cider makers. One of the recipients, Terrence Bradshaw, performed an analysis of the juice and classed it as bittersharp. He was very impressed by its composition, comparing it to Kingston Black, one of the most beloved traditional cider varieties. It was released commercially in 2017. 

The fruit is small-medium, heavily russeted over a greenish background with some blushing. The flesh is crisp and white with a balanced sweetness, yielding a juice high in both sugar (17.5-19 Brix) and tannins. Franklin is receiving praise from growers and brewers throughout the cider world.


The Fruit

Fruit Type

Category: Apple
Subcategory: Cider, Disease-Resistant, Cold-Hardy

Fruit Uses & Storage

Uses: fresh eating, cider
Cider classification: bittersharp
Storage duration: less than one month (approximate, depending on storage conditions)

Fruit Appearance

Skin color: russeted
Flesh color: white

Fruit Origins

Parentage: chance seedling
Origin: Franklin, Vermont
Introduced in: 2017
Introduced by: Bill Mayo

The Environment

Calendar & Geography

USDA zones: 3 - 7
Chill hours: Not yet determined
Ripening date: Oct 13 (approximate, in New York State) + 28 days after McIntosh

Tree Height & Spacing

Rootstock: G.214 Rootstock
Rootstock size class: Dwarf (30% of Standard)
Tree spacing (natural spread of tree): 8'
Good for wildlife planting? Y

Diseases & Pests

Apple Scab: Resistant
Cedar-Apple Rust: Resistant
Fireblight: Resistant

Pollination

Pollination Factors

Bloom group: 4
Is it self-fertile? N
Is it fertile? Y
Ploidy: Diploid
Rootstock size class: Dwarf (30% of Standard)

Pollination Partners

This table shows the first few results from a full search for pollenizers of Franklin Apple on G.214. Please see our Pollenizer Search to run other queries and read how the application uses various factors. Also read more about fruit tree pollination.

Tree Ships Currently in Stock
Honeycrisp Apple on G.214 2025 155
GoldRush Apple on G.214 2025 132
RubyMac® Apple on G.41 2025 85
Sansa Apple on G.41 2025 80
Kingston Black Apple on G.214 2025 80
Crimson® Topaz CV. Apple on G.214 2025 76
Chisel Jersey Apple on G.41 2025 75
Virginia Crab Apple on G.41 2025 74
SnowSweet® Apple on G.214 2025 71
Northern Spy Apple on G.214 2025 70
Ambrosia Apple on G.41 2025 69

See all pollination matches for Franklin Apple on G.214






Featured Products

A few things we're loving right now...

Arkansas Black Apple on G.214

A very beautiful heirloom apple that stores well.

Hosui Pear on OHxF 97

An Asian pear of exceptionally high quality.

Honeycrisp Apple on G.214

The rock-star, cold-hardy apple from Minnesota.

Contender Peach on BY520-9. Nematode Resistant Peach/nectarine

An excellent late-blooming, yellow-fleshed peach.