Cider Plantings

If you have access to a press, you might be shopping for trees for juice. This page has a few tips, but also see our Cider Apple Classifications. Shop for cider apple trees and perry pear trees.

Fresh Cider

While it is true that just about any apple can be pressed into cider, the varieties you choose can make the difference between a bland, flat juice and a fresh, zingy beverage that will beat anything you can buy at the supermarket. There are no real rules about choosing varieties for fresh cider, but here is some advice. 

1. Try to press more than one variety at a time. Blending different juices creates complexity. You should always try to include a variety that has significant acid in the juice. Your Gala is fine for a base, but it is the Golden Russet that makes the cider exciting and yummy. If you can only press one variety, better the Golden Russet than the Gala. 
2. Be aware that the shelf life of unpasturized juice is only about two weeks. If you find that you are pressing more juice than you can use, you might consider buying a carboy or two and graduating your juice to hard cider.
3. Grow multipurpose apples that are also good for eating. This will mean that you are never going to be stuck with bushels of fruit that you don’t have time to press and you don’t enjoy eating. There are plenty of varieties that have excellent cider characteristics and make great eating and baking apples. Consider Ashmead’s Kernel, Golden Russet, Northern Spy, and Winecrisp.
4. Your cider trees will need the same basic care as any other tree. This is outlined in our Backyard and Family Orchard section.

Hard Cider

We do not make hard cider ourselves, so there are many aspects of the craft that we know very little about. If you are interested in making hard cider, one of the most useful things you can do is talk to cider makers about their experience: join an online forum, visit cideries, or even go work at a cidery for a season if you have the time. Some of our favorite local cider makers are Eve’s Cidery, South Hill Cider, RedByrd, and Black Diamond. Please consider the following points if you are shopping for hard cider trees. 

1. We propagate a number of cider varieties specific to the cider traditions of France, Spain, England, and America, and a handful of perry pears, but if you want to approach the project more as a casual hobby, we strongly recommend that you grow multipurpose apples that are also good for eating. This will mean that you are never going to be stuck with bushels of fruit that you don’t have time to press and you don’t enjoy eating. There are plenty of varieties that have excellent cider characteristics and make great eating and baking apples. Consider Ashmead’s Kernel, Golden Russet, Northern Spy, and Winecrisp.
2. You can find descriptions of the different types of heritage cider apples on our Cider Apple Classifications page.
3. Some cider makers set out to create a “true” heritage orchard and want to grow only standard-sized trees. Standard trees create beautiful orchards. It is also true that for the first twenty years the harvest from a standard orchard will be about 50% less per acre than that of an acre of high-density dwarf trees. If limited space is a factor, standard trees are not the best use of land. Additionally, most aspects of orchard maintenance such as pruning, spraying, thinning and picking are much easier in a dwarf orchard. 
4. Large-scale cider production involves following recipes and keeping meticulous records. Before you spend thousands of dollars on this project, make sure you are certain that your personality is suited to it!