I don't know what will grow in your zone, but I recommend Newton Pippin as a cooking apple if it is suited for your area. I really like them to eat out-of-hand, but they are tart.

I like to know I am eating apple in a pastry and they have a nice apple flavor that comes through in baked goods.

Granny Smith are sold unripe, and if you are getting bitter Granny Smith, they must be less ripe than usual. Also, I've had supermarket fruit before that was coated with some sort of oil or wax that was bitter and had to be carefully washed off.

For apples, the best bet is to find out what others are having good success with close to where you live.

If you already know that you're prepared to defend your fruit from its many pests, find your nearest large farm market, sample fruit and talk to growers. You can also visit a nearby orchard that specializes in growing a lot of varieties.

Also, if you tell us where you live we can help you decide. Relative pest pressure will be determined by this and to some extent how well given apples will perform.

Honeycrisp and Pink Lady can probably be grown where you are but are not necessarily the easiest apples. Some sites I find Honeycrisp to be no problem at all, however. I don't have much experience with Pink Lady although I've started planting it recently now that I know it will ripen here on an average season.

Goldrush is a tart-sweet (depending on weather) always rich apple adpatable from about Z6 down which I'm sure you'd love. It is extremely grower friendly except up here in southeastern NY can be bienniel. With a longer season I'm told it is more reliable.

Hi Reyesuela-
Below is a link you may find interesting. See most of the way down where we tallied the results. -Glenn

Here is a link that might be useful: Best of the best tasting apple varieties

I am not sure what part of MD you live in, but if you live in north-eastern or north-central MD you might think about joining Backyard Fruit Growers, an amateur fruit growers group based in the Lancaster PA area. On October 16 this group will be having a fall fruit tasting at White Oak Nursery near Strasburg PA. A very large number of apple varieties will be available for tasting, and there will be a lot of people there with extensive knowledge of backyard apple growing. (And White Oak Nursery, which is not on line, has a good line of apple treees for sale, too.) Fall is a good time to plant apple trees in zone 7, so waiting until late October to make up you mind is not too late. If you don't want to join the Backyard Fruit Growers, they will also have an event at the Landis Valley Museum in Lancaster PA on Oct. 9 and 10 called "Celebrating the Apple" at which they will have a large range of apples for tasting, and also, I think, trees for sale.

Here is a link that might be useful: Backyard Fruit Growers

One of my personal favorites is "pixie crunch". It is similar to honeycrisp but even better tasting according to some. It is a small tree (so easy to care for) and small fruit so they're great for a quick snack. Very firm and crunchy, sweet and juicy but not overly sweet. Kids like the small size (about3" diameter). A little bit prone to CAR but you can control this easily.

Sorry, I somehow didn't notice that you mentioned you're in MD. The Backyard Fruit Growers idea sounds good except that if you don't find what you want other sources may be sold out by then of varieties you do want.

You also need to consider rootstocks.

You can't go wrong with "Smokehouse" for your pies.The Amish in Pa. swear by them, if they can find them! I predict we will see a comeback in them. You are right on with Pink Lady, mine are 1 yr. away from producing. I like Macintosh for sweet eating and as a part of a cider mix. I think that was a very good idea to taste apples in Strasburg.

I'm planning on espaliers. We have 2 full-sized apples in they yard now (I didn't plant them) and we haven't gotten a single apple off them because of all the wildlife and because they're too hard to prune, spray, etc. I'm going to keep them to 7 ft, max--step-stool-sized, not ladder-sized! Pruning is easy. Clambering around a huge tree--not so much!!!!

I don't know what kind of rootstock I want, either. Not a CLUE, except that dwarfing will probably produce fruit sooner but full-sized might be more hardy.

I may be able to make it to the festival--that'd be awesome! I'll probably be planting in 2 years, but I like to have all my duck in a row first.

I'd already read what everyone wrote in that linked thread & others, but it kinda makes my head hurt. :-))))

Sounds like a job for the Don.

No reply from Don so I'll do my best. Small trees won't be easier to protect from wildlife, what wildlife are you dealing with?

This is a step by step process, but before you get started you probably should consider the obstacles between failure and a worthwhile project and how you'll overcome them. Wildlife is always part of my first conversation with customers.

Small trees can fit in my fenced garden! (Initial design is for a double barrier with 2' in between--if that's not enough, I can raise the fence. I can also net small trees.

We have birds, deer, squirrels, and a groundhog so huge I didn't think it was a groundhog. And raccoons---and those are just the ones I've seen.

Squirrels go right over fences as do raccoons and nets are no real obstacle for them when they're very hungry. If the fence can function as a ground a couple of strings of electric could do the trick in conjunction with your fence.

The trees will need a minimum of 2 sprays with Triazide or 4 of Surround to get fruit, most likely, with additional required sprays quite possible, depending on conditions and cultivars.

M 26 is the best rootstock for not much pruning and good cropping that can eventually be free standing. Some varieties are easy to grow on any rootstock like Goldrush, which is very spurry and doesn't send out a lot of unnecessary wood, even on a rootstock as vigorous as 111. Arkansas Black is also pretty easy that way.

I need something with moderate pruning, at least--it makes making espaliers MUCH faster.

The design for the fence is boxwoods (3' wide), 3.5' fence, 2' path, 2-3' wide bed-with-something-tall-and-obstructive. I can add elec. lines on top, and add a wide-set wire fencing, too, if needed to 5' with wires higher, if I absolutely must. I can also individually fence in beds with chickenwire during particularly sensitive moments. The squirrels really have plenty to eat elsewhere, with 10+ unprotected fruit trees on the property.

I was going to baggie the fruit individually, as someone on here does. The other trees set fruit, but none makes it to maturity. Not even CLOSE.

As long as squirrels can't use boxwoods as a launch pad. My guess is that they can certainly scramble up them.

M26 is good for espaliers for most varieties but M9 will require half as much space per tree. G16 and Mark are also good full dwarfing rootstocks. Full dwarfing rootstocks are more attractive to rodents and must be protected from winter girdling but 26 will need this protection also.

Thanks for the suggestions!

I hope I can make it to the fruit tasting! It's a looong drive, but it seems like the best way before I invest a lot of time and effort.

I have fallen in love with this look:

http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_CvDCiEFbNy8/SucdSiZGEyI/AAAAAAAAL7E/ToJKFzElWGw/s1600-h/espalier+apple.jpg

Properly, this is espaliered and then pleached, which is slightly different from just plain espalier. The rootstock for those are obviously not that dwarf! I was planning on allowing 16" per branch, or a bit more than 5' total each.

I'd like to make a Belgian fence from my plums and peaches, but I don't know how possible that is.

If you already have ten-plus fruit trees, why don't you concentrate on caring for them, rather than having to wait several years to get fruit from new trees? Do you really expect you will have more time and resources to care for the new trees than to care for the existing ones? Espalier sounds like a lot of work. If the existing trees are too tall, start trimming them back gradually to something more workable. Northwoodswis

Because most of them are peach trees that are more than 20 years old (end of their lives, very poor producers even if I fought the animals) and the rest are huge apple, pear, and persimmon trees that would be a nightmare to try to keep the wildlife away from because of their size. Plus, two of the apple trees are now growing in greater than half shade. The branches on these START higher than my head--the deer keep them pruned any lower, and I'd have to build a special deer-fence for each individual tree to prevent them from being eaten to death. Oh, and they're all positioned so that squirrels can get to them from neighboring trees, too.

And I don't even know that I'd like the taste of the apples that are here.

Don't be put off by nasty store-bought Red Delicious and Granny Smith. Both are tasty varieties with their own unique flavor. Neither is mealy or bitter off your own tree.

I would recommend Gravenstein also.

After planting my home orchard six years ago, I've created a list of my favorite apples. These are easy to grow, healthy and seemingly disease resistance. I don't use pesticides and the trees perform admirably.

The link below includes photos and descriptions and uses of each apple.

Here is a link that might be useful: Best Apple Varieties in My Home Orchard

This is all from the Ag Dept folks there in Maryland....
Have you thought of talking to the folks at the USDA Beltsville center?

Rather wide variety of climactic extremes there in Maryland, eh? I would imagine that there is quite some difference both summer and winter between the weather in Pokomoke City and Cumberland there in Maryland.......

>>>>"Maryland's Best is your source to find the best local products from Maryland farmers. From produce, seafood, and specialty foods to grains, nursery items, and ag-recreational activities.
Find everything you need and more!"They really want you to "shop local" too:
" Print out a coupon for $25 off native trees at your local nursery! "

The link below is to Nurseries located in Maryland, 191 of them.....

I hope this is of some use, if not now or to you, maybe to someone sometime....

HAGD!

Here is a link that might be useful: Nurseries in Maryland......

DARNED IT! I thought you were asking me to come over and help pick fruit :) Got my new press and am looking for more apples to squish.