Starkspur® Arkansas Black Apple Tree
Description
About the Starkspur® Arkansas Black Apple Tree
The Starkspur® Arkansas Black Apple is an orchard gem that encapsulates both taste and practicality. Its deep crimson, almost-black fruit offers a visual appeal and stores well. Standing firm as a cold-hardy, disease-resistant variety, this apple boasts attributes that elevate it to a prime choice for both growers and enthusiasts.
With firm, crisp apples that excel in baking and crafting apple butter, the Starkspur® Arkansas Black Apple presents a versatile culinary canvas. Juicing these apples adds complex notes to homemade cider, enhancing your creations.
An added bonus – the flavor matures after a brief stint in the refrigerator, evolving into a richer experience. Delighting the practical grower, this apple variety embraces longevity, storing remarkably well for up to eight months when stored properly.
How to Grow the Starkspur® Arkansas Black Apple Tree
The Starkspur® Arkansas Black Apple Tree, a testament to functional innovation, delivers a rewarding growing experience. Its compact, upright stature houses a unique trait – the ability to yield fruit on spurs all along its limbs, from trunk to tip. Unlike regular apple trees, which limit fruiting to outer limbs, this variety ensures each limb contributes to a bountiful harvest. Scab and fire blight resistance, coupled with remarkable rust resistance, testifies to its robust nature.
This variety may be a triploid and therefore cannot pollinate other apple varieties. Recommend self-pollinating varieties as best pollinators for Arkansas Black, or plant at least 2 different non-triploid varieties in addition to Arkansas Black for fruit production.
See Recommended Pollinators below.
Lonacre cv.
Survival Guaranteed!
Since 1816, Stark Bro’s has promised to provide customers with the very best fruit trees and plants. It’s just that simple. If your trees or plants do not survive, please let us know within one year of delivery. We will send you a free one-time replacement, with a nominal shipping fee of $9.99. If the item in question is not available, we can issue a one-time credit to your account equaling the original product purchase price or issue you a refund. Read more about our warranty policy.
Characteristics
| Bloom Color | White |
| Bloom Time | Mid - Late |
| Chill Hours | 800 - 1500 |
| Fruit Color | Red |
| Fruit Size | Medium - Large |
| Hardiness Zone Range | 4 - 8 |
| Pollination | Pollinator Required |
| Ripens/Harvest | October |
| Shade/Sun | Full Sun |
| Soil Composition | Loamy |
| Soil Moisture | Well Drained |
| Soil pH Level | 6.0 - 7.0 |
| Taste | Tart |
| Texture | Very Firm |
| Years to Bear | 2 - 5 |
Size & Spacing
Mature Size
| Semi-Dwarf | 12 - 15' tall x 12 - 15' wide |
| Dwarf | 8 - 10' tall x 8 - 10' wide |
Recommended Spacing
| Semi-Dwarf | 12 - 15' |
| Dwarf | 8 - 10' |
Zone Compatibility
Pollination
Tools & Supplies
Planting & Care
Learn all about how to grow apple trees in The Growing Guide. An entire section of our website dedicated to your growing success.
Shipping Information
Arrives when it's time to plant
Questions & Answers
Arkansas Black blooms mid/late-season; Jonastar blooms mid-season and Granny Smith blooms mid-season. It they're planted within 50' of one another, you should get pretty satisfactory cross-pollination.
According to the Missouri Botanical Garden: "The four major disease problems of apples are fire blight, powdery mildew, apple scab and cedar apple rust. Potential insect pests include aphids, maggots, codling moth, plum curculio and spider mites. This cultivar is reported to have much improved disease resistance [over the original Arkansas Black variety]." I hope that answers your question.
The Starkspur is a Compact, upright tree which yields fruit on spurs all down the limbs.
Yes, it will. They have similar bloom times.
If summer started early where you are (as it did in many parts of the country this year), your apple harvest may come sooner than usual. Even though the apples may appear ripe (some varieties, like this one, color early), they still take a while to ripen on the tree. Cut one open; if the seeds are dark brown, the apple is ripe. It will probably be a while yet.
There are many different cultivars, also known as strains, for the Arkansas Black apple. The strain that we use for our Starkspur Arkansas Black apple was tested back in the early 1970's to have viable pollen, therefore, it is not considered a triploid.
We appreciate you reaching out to us. They may overlap to pollinate but its not 100 % as the Arkansas Black has a mid-late bloom time and the Winesap has an early to Mid bloom time. Your best bet is to pick a variety with the same bloom times for correct pollination.
If you have any further questions please don't hesitate to reach back out to us. Have a great day!
They are a little dry. Mutzu are better.
Hi Michelle, There are many different cultivars of Arkansas Black apple that require different ranges. The cultivar that we are growing at this time is known as Lonacre. This cultivar requires a minimum of 800 hours and since its very cold hardy it will still do well in areas that get as much as 1500.