Choose Your Perfect Orchard Ready Tart Apple Tree
Empire Apple | Sweet-tart, crisp, and incredibly versatile. Empire brings the zip of McIntosh with better crunch and color. Great for fresh eating, and just as happy in lunchboxes, crisps, and cider. A strong, cold-hardy tree that fits beautifully into a home orchard.
Ripens mid-fall • Sweet-tart • Great for fresh eating
Cortland Apple | A northern classic with firm white flesh that resists browning, Cortland is a baker’s best friend. Tart and juicy, it shines in pies, salads, and chunky applesauce. The tree is cold-hardy and productive, well suited to cooler climates.
Ripens late season • Cross-pollinator • Incredibly Juicy
Pink Lady Apple | An apple with attitude. Pink Lady brings a bright, tart bite wrapped in glowing pink skin. Crisp, refreshing, and slow to soften, it is ideal for snacking, cheese boards, and long storage. Loves a longer, sunny season to fully color up and sweeten
Ripens late-season • Gorgeous pink skin • Perfect for snacking
Granny Smith Apple | The tart icon. Granny Smith gives you firm, bright green apples that hold their shape in pies and crisps and stay fresh on the counter for ages. A vigorous, long-lived tree that thrives in full sun and well-drained soil, especially in regions with warm summers.
Ripens late season • Deliciously green • Baker's favorite
Macoun Apple | Deep, complex flavor with a rich sweet-tart profile. Macoun’s aromatic, winey taste makes it a cult favorite in the Northeast. Crisp when first picked, then melting and intensely flavored, it is excellent fresh and lovely in desserts and cider blends
Ripens mid-season • Rich flavor • Delicious treat
McIntosh Apple | Classic, cool-climate tartness. McIntosh apples are crisp, juicy, and tangy at harvest, then mellow and soften in storage. Perfect for sauce, baking, and that nostalgic apple aroma in the kitchen. A cold-hardy standard for northern orchards.
Ripens mid-season • Well-known classic • Beautifully fragrant
Liberty Apple | A modern, disease-resistant take on the McIntosh style, with crisp, subacid flavor and rich red skin. Liberty is a heavy producer and an excellent choice for low-spray or organic-minded gardeners, great for fresh eating, sauce, and cider.
Ripens mid-season • Organic farm-friendly • Consistent producer
Winecrisp Apple | Early-season, crisp, and pleasantly tart. Winecrisp ripens ahead of many apples, bringing lemony-yellow fruit with a clean, refreshing bite. Excellent for fresh eating, sauce, and baking, on a tree known for strong disease resistance and easy care.
Ripens early season • Strong disease resistant • Consistent producer
SnowSweet Apple | A cold-hardy, Golden Delicious–style apple with a gentle, honeyed sweetness and mild tart edge. SnowSweet holds up beautifully in cold climates and is ideal for fresh eating, baking, and storing into winter.
Ripens mid-late season • Extremely cold-hardy • Delicious flavor
Choose Your Perfect Orchard Ready Tart Apple Tree
Empire Apple | Sweet-tart, crisp, and incredibly versatile. Empire brings the zip of McIntosh with better crunch and color. Great for fresh eating, and just as happy in lunchboxes, crisps, and cider. A strong, cold-hardy tree that fits beautifully into a home orchard.
Ripens mid-fall • Sweet-tart • Great for fresh eating
Cortland Apple | A northern classic with firm white flesh that resists browning, Cortland is a baker’s best friend. Tart and juicy, it shines in pies, salads, and chunky applesauce. The tree is cold-hardy and productive, well suited to cooler climates.
Ripens late season • Cross-pollinator • Incredibly Juicy
Pink Lady Apple | An apple with attitude. Pink Lady brings a bright, tart bite wrapped in glowing pink skin. Crisp, refreshing, and slow to soften, it is ideal for snacking, cheese boards, and long storage. Loves a longer, sunny season to fully color up and sweeten
Ripens late-season • Gorgeous pink skin • Perfect for snacking
Granny Smith Apple | The tart icon. Granny Smith gives you firm, bright green apples that hold their shape in pies and crisps and stay fresh on the counter for ages. A vigorous, long-lived tree that thrives in full sun and well-drained soil, especially in regions with warm summers.
Ripens late season • Deliciously green • Baker's favorite
Macoun Apple | Deep, complex flavor with a rich sweet-tart profile. Macoun’s aromatic, winey taste makes it a cult favorite in the Northeast. Crisp when first picked, then melting and intensely flavored, it is excellent fresh and lovely in desserts and cider blends
Ripens mid-season • Rich flavor • Delicious treat
McIntosh Apple | Classic, cool-climate tartness. McIntosh apples are crisp, juicy, and tangy at harvest, then mellow and soften in storage. Perfect for sauce, baking, and that nostalgic apple aroma in the kitchen. A cold-hardy standard for northern orchards.
Ripens mid-season • Well-known classic • Beautifully fragrant
Liberty Apple | A modern, disease-resistant take on the McIntosh style, with crisp, subacid flavor and rich red skin. Liberty is a heavy producer and an excellent choice for low-spray or organic-minded gardeners, great for fresh eating, sauce, and cider.
Ripens mid-season • Organic farm-friendly • Consistent producer
Winecrisp Apple | Early-season, crisp, and pleasantly tart. Winecrisp ripens ahead of many apples, bringing lemony-yellow fruit with a clean, refreshing bite. Excellent for fresh eating, sauce, and baking, on a tree known for strong disease resistance and easy care.
Ripens early season • Strong disease resistant • Consistent producer
SnowSweet Apple | A cold-hardy, Golden Delicious–style apple with a gentle, honeyed sweetness and mild tart edge. SnowSweet holds up beautifully in cold climates and is ideal for fresh eating, baking, and storing into winter.
Ripens mid-late season • Extremely cold-hardy • Delicious flavor
Why plant Orchard Ready - Tart Apple Trees?
Bower & Branch Orchard Ready™ Apples are premium, landscape-ready trees grown for strong structure, reliable performance, and faster fruit. This tart collection leans into bright, lively flavor: apples that stay firm in the pan, keep their shape in pies, and deliver that refreshing pucker-right-back sweetness when you bite in.
Empire Apple: Hardiness Zone: 4-7
Cortland Apple: Hardiness Zone: 4-7
Pink Lady Apple: Hardiness Zone: 4-9
Granny Smith Apple: Hardiness Zone: 5-8
Macoun Apple: Hardiness Zone: 4-8
McIntosh Apple: Hardiness Zone: 4-8
Liberty Apple: Hardiness Zone: 4-7
Winecrisp Apple: Hardiness Zone: 4-8
SnowSweet Apple: Hardiness Zone: 3-7
How to use Orchard Ready - Tart Apple Trees in the landscape?
Plant two or more Orchard Ready Tart Apple trees along a fence line or property edge to create a small orchard that pulls double duty as privacy and production. Mix early, mid, and late varieties for a longer harvest season and reliable pollination partners.
Pair with other fruit trees from our Orchard Ready Collection for a charming home orchard that’s as beautiful as it is productive.
