Starkspur® Winter Banana Antique Apple Tree

Winter Banana Apple is one of the most charmingly named and genuinely distinctive heirloom apple tree apples available — introduced in 1890, it produces large, pale yellow apples with a waxy finish, a delicate rosy pink blush, and an aromatic flavor with a remarkable banana-like quality that surprises and delights everyone who encounters it for the first time. The Starkspur® improvement means fruit develops along every limb from trunk to tip rather than just at the outer branches — more Winter Banana apples from a single tree, year after year. Cold hardy in Zones 4–9 with only 400 chill hours required and exceptional late frost tolerance, it’s one of the most versatile and rewarding heirloom varieties available.

Banana-Like Aromatic Flavor — Genuinely Unlike Any Other Apple

Winter Banana’s flavor is its defining quality — a fragrant, aromatic apple with a distinctive banana-like character that’s immediately recognizable and unlike any other variety. The large, pale yellow fruit is moderately firm, crisp, and tangy with juicy flesh and a waxy, beautiful finish. It ripens in late October, extending the apple harvest into the heart of fall, and stores well after harvest for extended enjoyment.

The Starkspur® Advantage — Fruit From Trunk to Tip

Where standard apple trees limit most fruiting to their outer limbs, Starkspur® spur-type trees bear fruit on compact spurs all along every limb — from the trunk outward to the tip. That means a denser, more productive tree that delivers significantly more fruit from the same amount of space. Winter Banana was introduced in 1890 and the Starkspur® improvement carries that heritage forward with better production than the original.

An Exceptional Pollinator — Tolerates Late Spring Frosts

Winter Banana is widely recognized as an excellent pollinator for other apple varieties, with abundant, showy spring blooms. What makes it particularly valuable in this role is its tolerance for late spring frosts that damage or destroy the blooms of less hardy varieties — a meaningful practical advantage in areas where late frosts are common.

Why Growers Choose Starkspur® Winter Banana

• Distinctive banana-like aromatic flavor — unlike any other apple, delights at first taste
• Starkspur® spur-bearing habit — fruit from trunk to tip for superior productivity
• Late October harvest — extends apple season deep into fall
• Stores well — good keeping quality after harvest
• Excellent pollinator — showy blooms and late frost tolerance benefit the whole orchard
• Only 400 chill hours — adaptable to mild-winter climates within Zones 4–9