Your question is pretty broad. It's similar to going onto an aviation forum and asking, "How do you fly a plane?" I'd recommend that you do some Google searches, search through and read some of the threads on here (see the search box at the bottom of the main forum), and maybe get some books on the subject. Research is the only way you are really going to get all of your questions answered.

There is no perfect variety. Everyone's tastes are different and needs vary. Some people may value disease resistance highly, while others may be confident in their ability to treat their trees on a regular basis. Some may be seeking something different or be interested in preserving an older cultivars.

The only universal difference between antique and modern apples is the amount of time the cultivar has been around. On average, modern cultivars are developed for consistent appearance and cosmetic appeal and tolerance of shipping and rough handling, while antique cultivars were often chosen for their flavor or cider-making qualities.

Choosing a root stock should be about much more than dwarf v. semi-dwarf growth rate. Dwarf rootstock will result in a slower growing tree and may require less frequent pruning than a tree with a semi-dwarf rootstock, but the ultimate size of the tree is going to be determined by the pruner. Things like tree architecture, fruit size and quality, disease and pest resistance, drought resistance, soil adaptability, whether of not the tree requires external support, cold hardiness, proclivity to sucker, graft compatibility, amount of fruit produced (productivity), how young the tree will produce (precocity), how long the tree will last and produce fruit (senescence), and the amount and frequency of maintenance are also influenced or determined by rootstock selection.

Don't waste money on buying unusually large trees. Larger trees are likely to experience more transplant shock. Smaller trees often outgrow and even overtake larger trees. Also, smaller trees are easier to plant. I usually start with 2' to 4' trees.

Precocity will vary with scion and rootstock type, the age of the tree, and environmental conditions. In general, more dwarfing rootstocks will produce at an earlier age. Most of my semi-dwarf trees (so far, I've used EMLA111 rootstock exclusively) produced fruit their second year. I removed it early to allow the tree to spend more energy on becoming established.

You really don't have to worry about having multiple cultivars for pollination if other apples are within eyesight. But, who can stop with just one type of apple?

Personally, I'd shy away from multiple types grafted onto one tree. All-in-one trees require more attention to proper pruning technique and have a number of other disadvantages. The only time I would consider one is if I only had a very small spot and was limited to just one tree.

If there's one thing you come away with from this response, it should be check your sources out before ordering! Your list of sources above tells me that you haven't even started doing that. Before buying any type of plant, check the nursery out on Garden Watchdog. I will include a link to my list of possible sources below. Urban Homestead, Burnt Ridge Nursery, and Cummins Nursery are examples of respectable sources for apple trees.

Here is a link that might be useful: Sources for Fruit Trees and Plants

Everything Brandon says is spot on. And this just shows that choosing an apple tree to grow is not a straight forward matter. As with all things in life, there are trade-offs involved here which the beginner simply is not in a position to easily evaluate. An honest, serious apple tree nursery should be able to provide good advice. I would recommend Adams County Nursery in Pennsylvania (on Brandon's list): they know this part of the world (VA) and can give expert advice. I suspect you want a tree that is relatively trouble free -- and this means that most of the old-time or heirloom varieties are ruled out. I would suggest you think about a modern variety bred for disease resistance. One variety that comes to mind is Liberty, which is highly resistant to all the major apple diseases (all of which are prevalent in Virginia), and is related to the Macintosh, to which it is similar, but is viewed by many as superior in quality. I have linked to the Adams County Nursery description of this variety. Note that the 111 rootstock Brandon mentions will give a quite large, if not full-size tree, if it is not pruned vigorously. Note too that no apple trees have been bred to be resistant to insect pests, and an apple tree in VA will be attacked by insects unless protected in some way (e.g. spraying pesticides). There is a lot of stuff on this forum about the various ways to deal with apple insect pests.

Here is a link that might be useful: ACN on Liberty

Good advice above. I'm glad you came to this site to ask your questions. They are good questions and indicate that your search is really just beginning, but it depends on how much time you want to put into it. Your comment about liking McIntosh and Rome helps lead others on the site to recommend specific varieties for your area. I would suggest you base your selection priorities on taste, tree size (type of rootstock--dwarf, semi-dwarf, standard), ripening period and keeping quality and disease issues, in whatever order is most important to you.

This may raise some disagreement, but I don't think you need to spend too much time on selecting a root stock. There are a lot of different rootstocks which shine in different conditions, and many that tolerate a wide variety of conditions. For someone who is looking for a backyard fruit tree and not a serious hobby, a rootstock of generally good performance will do what you want. As a business practice, companies like Starks and Millers (they do sell good quality trees) which don't tell you what the rootstock is, probably use a widely adaptable one. If they didn't, they would get a pretty bad reputation quickly for trees that don't grow in the 80-90% of the country where conditions don't fit the niche the rootstock was designed for. Of course, if you have special needs or interest, then you may want to put a lot of time into choosing a rootstock.

Terms such as compspur and starkspur are marketing terms for spur type apples. These have the potential to set more fruit on a tree, however you then may need to thin the fruit more heavily to prevent small apples or the development of alternate year bearing due to overloading the tree. Whether or not the tree is a spur type is low on my list of considerations unless I have a specific need.

Your pruning program lets you determine the ultimate size of the tree, however dwarfing or semidwarf rootstocks make it easier to maintain a smaller tree. Dwarf rootstocks can have weak rooting systems which may require you to permanently stake the tree so it doesn't fall over in storms. For a suburban yard, a dwarf or semidwarf will suit your needs.

Apple varieties perform differently in different areas and climates. A crisp, zesty apple in one climate may be mushy and bland in another. I would suggest you talk to a few neighbors with trees and find out how they perform, and talk to your extension service or consult some of the nurseries close to you that have been mentioned above. They can provide some really good advice tailored to your area.

Some trees will try to bloom the year you plant them, but you want them to wait at least one year to produce fruit, and then very little. Bearing too much fruit too soon can severly stunt the tree's future growth. The more dwarfing rootstocks tend to bear fruit earlier, but usually apples will bear in 3-5 years from planting in your yard, depending on variety and rootstock and how quickly they establish in your yard.

Good luck!

Thank you for all of your good advice. I know that our search and research is just beginning. Frankly, all of the apple types that are out there are just plain confusing, mostly because if you go to the store, what you buy in the produce section is not necessarily the same as the tree that will grow in the backyard (if you know what I mean). I'll look into some of those nurseries that you have suggested. I was kind of leaning towards a smaller tree, hopefully disease resistant as much as possible, but was not sure if the "spur" thing made any difference in my yard (I don't have the space for an orchard, but wish I did :)) There are several crabapple trees around here, and even a pear or two, but the only apples are of the "little green apple" variety (i.e, it's small, green and no one knows what it is or where it came from), so I can't really ask the neighbors for advice. I've been looking on that Adams County Nursery site-- lots of good info there, too.

I do garden and grow veggies every year, and (aside from last year) am reasonably successful at it. But this will be our first attempt to grow fruit on a tree. I also want to put in a fig tree from my mom, who lives with us, but that is another topic altogther.

As for the catalogs that I mentioned-- Stark, Miller and Burgess, I wasn't going to necessarily order from them; they just came in the mail from some mailing list or other. I just wondered if anyone had heard of the latter two, as I had not. It's cold and wintery here now, and you know it goes... snow on the ground and all these lovely growing catalogs start to pile up, and you get the urge to go plant something...

Emerald,

I surmise, that since your new and just want to plant one apple tree, the information comin' at you is like drinkin' from a fire hose.

Many on this forum are fairly passionate about fruit growing with a continual desire to learn more. But from your original post, I suspect you just want a few quick answers without spending hours and hours researching. You've been given some good advice here, but I'm going to try to wrap it up in one simple package for you.

Apple variety/cultivar- You mention you like Golden Delicious, Rome and Macs. This indicates to me that you really just like a good fresh apple. Apple flavors are divided into 3 basic categories (apple connoisseurs on this forum will diagree, but I'm trying to keep it simple) Sweet, Sweet/Tart, and Tart. Golden Delicious is considered sweet, whereas Rome and Mac are considered sweet/tart. So, as for a recommendation, for a sweet/tart that is an excellent keeper, with a lot of crunch, I'd recommend Gold Rush. In the crunchy sweet apple category, I'd recommend Fuji. Fuji is somewhat susceptible to a disease called fireblight, but I wouldn't be afraid to risk it.

Don't worry about whether the apples are spur bearers or not.

MM111/ELMA111 is a good semi-dwarf rootstock that should do well for you. If the tree is taken care of, you should get apples in 4 years.

Since there are several crab apples in your neighborhood, you shouldn't have to worry about pollination.

Don't get a tree that has multiple varieties on it. It's just bells and whistles, so the nursery can charge more. If you want more varieties, I'd recommend planting more trees.

Stay away from Miller and Burgess. There are some good east coast nurseries in your area. All of them have Websites you can Google:

Cummins Nursery - NY
Adams County Nursery - PA
Johnson Nursery - GA

As was mentioned, you will need to spray your apples some, but it's not hard. In VA, like KS, you either have the pests, or the pesticides.

Emerald:

Sometimes inquiries like yours sit around for days like little orphans, but yours has inspired a torrent of advice, much of which is very good, but may leave you with a little information overload. I hope I don't make that worse.

After sorting through it all, I would agree with Olpea's suggestion to plant the Goldrush apple. It seems to meet all of your requirements, and can be very successfully grown in Northern Virginia, where I also live. I have been planting and caring for dozens of apple and other fruit trees here in Great Falls beginning in 1977, and have acquired quite a lot of anecdotal experience. Having planted heirloom as well as modern varieties, I would tend to recommend the modern when only one tree is to be planted. This past fall, I filled an entire spare refrigerator with over 175 apples from my 10-year Goldrush tree. When kept in refrigeration, these apples can hold their quality right into the following March or April. None of the more than 40 varieties I have planted (some have been removed) has performed as well as this apple or produced such consistently high-quality fruit. While I regard this apple as best suited to fresh eating, my spouse is quite enthusiastic about it as a culinary apple as well.

Rootstocks of most of my apple trees are the semi-dwarf M-7 type, which has been around for a few years. The Goldrush tree planted on M-7 is now about 10 feet tall, and can be maintained at that size with minimal pruning. My tree came from Rocky Meadow Nursery in Indiana, which is now out of business, but I would have no fear of ordering from Stark Bros. or Miller's. However, I also concur with the addditional recommendations in the above messages. Burgess and other "nurseries" of it's ilk are to be avoided. When you are ordering only one tree, many reliable sources can fill the bill with a healthy tree. I have had bad experiences with full-dwarfing rootstocks, and do not favor them if you have the space for a semi-dwarf.

The unpleasant issues of disease and insect control will eventually have to be dealt with, but first you have to get a tree planted and growing. Do not pay more for a larger tree in the expectation of a quicker crop. It does not work that way. Plant a vigorous bare root 2-year grafted whip. It will catch up and surpass a larger tree in short order.

If you live close enough and have the desire to do so you may wish to pay a visit to Jellyman Farms, where you can see actual trees and get a better idea of what the future of your tree may hold. If you drop by in the middle of May when the little apples are ready to be thinned, you will see the apple thinning/bagging operation, when I cover the selected apples in ziploc sandwich bags to protect them from insects. Last season I installed over 1,300 bags and had one of the best apple crops ever, but I was pretty tired of plastic bags by the end of May. I leave the bags on the apples when they go into refrigeration, which protects them against shriveling.

If you like, I can issue you 100 prepared ziplocs to practice on my apples while I shout encouragement from a sling chair and enjoy a chilled beverage. This would amount to a modern version of the Tom Sawyer strategy.

Feel free to e-mail me directly at don.yellman@webformation.com

Don Yellman, Great Falls, VA

For many gardeners the most important difference between growing other plants and fruit trees is the heightened requirement of pest control required to harvest usable fruit. That's probably why Don mentioned bagging apples but I believe he still requires at least a couple of timely pesticide applications.

Disease resistant varieties may only reduce the complexity of pest control but not necessarily the number of applications as the fungicide needed for susceptible varieties can be added to the required insecticide sprays.

That said, I totally agree with the recommendation of Goldrush which is immune to scab, perhaps the worst of apple diseases. It bears fruit very young, is easy to prune and the fruit has few problems-I even harvest some from unsprayed trees.

If you want a red Macintosh type you could also consider Spartan or Liberty, but I'm with Don on the incredible storage advantage of GR. I also agree that it is one of the best eating apples around and agree with his spouse on its use in the kitchen. It also makes amazing cider.

I disagree completely with anyone who claims smaller trees will grow as fast as larger ones. Miller's, for instance, sells tiny 1/4 inch diam. whips (or at least they used to) and I loose about a year with these toothepick trees over a 3/4 inch branched bare root that I can often get from a commercial supplier like Adams County Nursery.

You better order your tree right away if you want to plant this spring.

Harvestman,

I feel sure you are aware that smaller trees become established more quickly than larger trees with a smaller percentage of their root system present. Very small whips versus considerably larger (but still quite young and relatively small) stock is, of course, not a good example of what we were talking about. The point is that small whips (your 3/4 inch branched bare root tree for example) are a much better choice than one of those poor potbound behemoths you get at Home Depot. Maybe we could have been more clear, but I doubt one has to worry about getting trees that are too small to actually plant out from one of the more reputable sellers.

Point taken, Harvestman. I was trying to steer our client away from the temptations offered by sellers of "instant orchard" trees, which are not really instant. Some dubious nurseries such as Willis make quite a point of selling these larger trees at premium prices.

I do not propose buying tiny little benchgrafts, but rather field-grown two year trees with perhaps a little feathering. They have done very well for me, and this is what most reputable nurseries sell.

Don Yellman, Great Falls, VA

Keep in mind that I have a bearing age fruit tree nursery, so although I didn't address the point of older more mature trees, I do want to assert that purchasing older larger trees can in fact accelerate time to meaningful harvest.

For Missemerald, who probably doesn't have access to trees like the ones I produce, the safest course is to start with a bare root from a reputable nursery. Anything of size available to her is likely not the best of varieties to begin with and likely is either top heavy and root light or as B7 suggests, pot bound.

However, after growing,installing and caring for literally thousands of 4 and 5 year old bearing age fruit trees in the last 20 years, I can attest confidently that it is possibe to shave 2 to 3 years from the time till meaningful harvest by starting with mature trees.

I am aware of certain research that suggests that older trees suffer so much transplant shock that younger trees will catch up within a few years and this research is accurate within the confines of built in limitations.

However, if enough root goes along with the top and mature fruit trees are coddled for their first couple of years they will usually keep a significant lead in size over later planted trees for at least 5 or 6 years, providing fruit by the second year. For easy to transplant trees like J. plums, fruit can often be harvested the first year.

Of course this is hardly an impartial endorsement of planting more mature trees, but I have numerous clients who I've actually steered towards planting bare root trees from nurseries like Adams after starting them off with some of my own, just to keep things within a reasonable budget.

I have never subsequently gotten any complaints once these clients compared results of both, and even though my trees cost many times more, they often buy more of my trees after comparing the results of both sources for a few years. Of course, most of these customers have more discretionary income than I or most participants on this forum.

If I want to plant a variety in my own orchard I always start with something larger from my nursery, although not my very largest trees- I'd rather sell them and get a green paper harvest.