Why Plant Yellow Golden Delicious Apple?
If you love the smooth, sweet, mellow flavor of the Golden Delicious apple (a.k.a. Yellow Delicious apple), you’re not alone. This people-pleaser ranks near the top of the list of America’s favorite apples. Only Red Delicious outranks it, and that variety’s hold on the number one spot is slipping. But here the thing—if you’ve only eaten supermarket Golden Delicious apples, you probably don’t even realize how scrumptious this variety can be! Golden Delicious apples destined for the mass market are usually picked unripe, stored for months, and shipped hundreds of miles. A Golden Delicious apple picked fresh and perfectly ripe off your own tree, on the other hand, will be honey-sweet and bursting with flavor. You’ll be amazed at the difference.
The original Golden Delicious Apple Tree was discovered in West Virginia by a farmer named Anderson Mullins in 1905. The chance seedling was likely the offspring of a popular apple at the time called Grimes Golden, which itself may have originated with Johnny Appleseed (yes, he was a real person—John Chapman), whose brother owned an orchard not far from the Mullins farm. Mullins knew he had something special in the new apple, and in 1914 he send the Stark Brothers Nursery a sample. Stark Bros. was astounded by the find and immediately bought the rights to the variety. It was named ‘Golden Delicious’ to play off of the popularity of Stark’s ‘Delicious’ apple, which was changed to ‘Red Delicious’ to avoid confusion. ‘Red Delicious’ and ‘Golden Delicious’ are actually unrelated plants.
How to use Yellow Golden Delicious Apple in the landscape?
The Golden Delicious apple is a dependable, all-purpose apple. Soft but not mushy, it’s excellent in apple pie. It also makes mouth-watering apple butter, applesauce, and cider. And of course, Golden Delicious is one of the best apples around for healthy, fresh snacking. This sweet and mild variety is a favorite of picky kids everywhere, and its low acid content makes it a particularly easily digestible apple for people with tender stomachs.
Planting Zones
Hardiness Zone: 4-8
How To Plant Yellow Golden Delicious Apple
The Golden Delicious Apple Tree is partially self-fertile, meaning that it will set some fruit without another pollinator around, but harvests will be more generous with a suitable Apple Tree, like Red Delicious or Empire, or a Crabapple, like Prairie Fire or Louisa, nearby. Plant your tree in a sunny, open, well-drained site and water regularly. As far as Apple Trees go, Golden Delicious is fairly easy to grow and reliably produces heavy crops.
How To Water
Water deeply, and regularly during its first few years in the ground. Irrigate weekly, and especially during prolonged dry spells or extreme heat after it’s established. It is essential to water your apple tree 2-3 times a week, applying the water slowly to go deeper to the root system.
How To Fertilize
Incorporate Elements Starter Plant food granular form into the soil when planting. If planting in spring or summer, start fertilizing late fall using Elements Starter Plant food granular form on an annual basis each late fall. Continue this for the first three years to get your plant well established.
How Does Shipping Work?
Bower & Branch Trees, the real BIG trees, don’t fit in a box! Our big trees, sizes XL and bigger, require expert delivery and care, that means our extra-large trees are shipped on Bower & Branch trucks. We are the only ones who know how to ship our big and bigger trees and plants with tender loving care. We deliver your trees and plants directly to you. Ask Bower & Branch about planting services – we'd be happy to assist in installation.
*For Big trees and Shrubs, Size XL and bigger: Review our Seasonal Shipping Timelines and Policy here.
Your trees and plants are grown across the United States at various Bower & Branch Growers. Depending on your location, your plant orders may be shipped from various locations. Please expect orders with multiple items to be delivered over a number of days as a result. Orders made up of numerous items or selections will not arrive at your home on the same day.
Shipping Delays:
From time to time, Bower & Branch Growers may determine to delay order shipment based on various factors for plant health. Weather in your region, as well as, where your plants are grown, is always considered when shipping. Extreme weather conditions may delay some or all of your order. Bower & Branch allows our Growers to make final shipping decisions based solely to benefit your trees and plants’ health and success.
How Does Sizing Work?
The size of our trees have nothing to do with the container size like you may find elsewhere–big doesn't mean just height - it’s also vigor, age, and overall health. Other online retailers are going to tell you that a plant is a seven gallon, that means nothing to your tree or plant (or you.)
Our trees for sale online are graded on large, x-large, and even bigger sizes. This is because our trees are sized by their age—the higher the letter, the more mature the tree. The age determines the trees’ overall height, size of the trunk and the overall branch density.
All of these characteristics are what you should be looking for when choosing a tree for immediate impact and instant curb appeal. Our extra-large tree and plant sizes are sure to wow you and your neighbors!
See the size guides below.
