Golden Delicious Apple Tree

Golden gems of crispy goodness! The Golden Delicious Apple tree (Malus 'Golden Delicious') is one of the world's most widely planted Apple trees and is one of the easiest and most dependable apple trees to grow!

The Golden Delicious Apple tree (Malus 'Golden Delicious') has vigorous growth and high fruit production! These crisp and juicy apples are delightful!

From September to October, your Golden Delicious Apples will turn from a pale green to their familiar golden-green color, signaling that they are ripe in mid-September.

Allowed to ripen on the tree, you will notice a vast difference in flavor when compared to the Golden Delicious apples purchased at the supermarket. And there’s nothing quite like a fresh-picked piece of fruit you grew yourself!

Homegrown Golden Delicious apples are exceptionally sweet and rich. Their thin skin and delicious crisp fruit make the Golden Delicious a favorite for eating fresh off the tree and for baking. Perfect in salads and complement savory dishes great!

Canning and preserves taste divine and tasty applesauce! Pack a few in lunch boxes and for healthy snacks high in vitamins and antioxidants!

How to Use Golden Delicious Apple Tree In The Landscape

The spring show of rosy pink buds that burst open into fragrant white blooms is fantastic. Pollinators, beneficial insects and butterflies flock to this explosion of white blossoms.

The space-saving size of these trees makes them as beautiful in the front yard garden as they are for small orchards and home gardens.

Shade your patio with beautiful shade or picnic beneath the lush foliage, or just sit back and watch the busy bees and butterflies that will flock to the floral show!

Dual-purpose edible landscaping and shading your vegetable garden and other plantings. Cottage gardens are perfect locations where their blooms help welcome spring to the landscape.

Golden Delicious is easy to grow, produces large, high-quality, all-purpose apples with heavy annual crops, making a great choice for you and your family.

Be sure to plant one where you can view the glorious display in spring and watch your harvest grow!

#ProPlantTips For Care

Hardy in growing zones 5-10, these trees are more heat-hardy than most Apple trees. They’re also cold tolerant and widely adaptable!

Fruit trees require full sun and well-drained soil. Not tolerating excess water, they prefer not to have soggy soil. Plant in rich, organically amended soil, plus a good layer of mulch over the root system’s surface to further hold in moisture and insulate the roots from heat and cold.

Also needing consistent waterings, especially during summer for higher yields. Drought tolerant once established, however, it’s best to protect your investment with a regular watering schedule during times of need.

They are heat tolerant and cold hardy. Golden Delicious apple trees are self-pollinating, which means they can be grown without another Golden Delicious in your garden.

Because it’s such a prolific tree, part of Golden Delicious apple tree care is to be sure to thin out the fruit in the spring. Branches can break under the weight of all that beautiful fruit. 

Pruning is best done in late winter when the tree is dormant. Prune to keep an open canopy that allows plenty of sunshine and air circulation. 

Good storage apples, Golden Delicious will keep for 3-4 months in cool storage and refrigeration.

More disease-resistant and powdery mildew-resistant than most apple cultivars. For best results, check out our Fruit Tree care section and don't forget the Nature Hills Root Booster for a fast and successful establishment!

The Golden Delicious Apple tree is self fruiting and does not need a pollinator. However, planting it with a pollinator will produce more fruit. Ideal pollinators are the Red Delicious, Honeycrisp and Red Jonathan.

It is also an excellent pollinator for most other apple trees that ripen from September to October.

Discovered in West Virginia, this is a fantastically adaptable fruit tree! All-purpose eating and baking, the Golden Delicious Apple tree is a fantastic addition to your home’s landscaping and orchard!

Order this adaptable and resistant tree from NatureHills.com today before they’re gone!

Golden Delicious Apple Tree Frequently Asked Questions

When to Plant Golden Delicious Apple Trees

Planting Bareroot trees as soon as you can dig a hole in spring and until hot weather, the earlier the better. Plant container Apple trees throughout the growing season with complete success - that is the benefit of container plants - to extend the planting season. Your County Agricultural Extension Office is a great resource for first and last frost dates in your area.

How to Plant Golden Delicious Apple Trees

Dig a large hole only as deep as needed to accommodate the bareroot or container root ball, and twice as wide. Add Nature Hills Root Booster to speed root establishment. Remove the pot or bag and situate it into the hole so the top of the soil (soil line if bareroot), is level with the new location's soil being careful not to plant too deep. Water in again very well and backfill with the same soil you dug up, tamping down gently to ensure there are no air pockets.

Top off with a 3-4 inch thick layer of Arborist mulch. Consider staking your tree to keep its trunk growing straight for the first year to ensure it stands tall against strong winds and drifting snow.

When to Prune Golden Delicious Apple Trees

Trim off any broken branches from delivery as soon as you take them out of the box. Prune and trim apple trees while dormant, in late winter or early spring, before you see new growth.

How to Prune Golden Delicious Apple Trees

Dormant prune to:

• Remove any double leaders or narrow crotch angles
• Eliminate any crossing branches
• Thin interior branching and leave the fruiting spurs and strong branches in place opening up the canopy
• Branching at least 24-36 inches above the ground

Prune Apple trees in the summer to:

• Control size and shape by reducing the length of longer new growth on vigorous trees
• Remove water sprouts on the main trunk or older branches in the crown
• Remove suckers at the base of the trunk
• Thin fruit during heavy years on established trees

How to Care for Golden Delicious Apple Trees

Growing an apple tree is easy when proper soil, good drainage, attention to moisture, and regular fertility are maintained. Once you've chosen an apple tree that works for your climate, in the size you need for your landscape, and its pollinator (if needed), then you've accomplished half the battle!

• Apple trees do best in full sun and well-drained soil
• Water your apple trees when it gets dry - especially during the fruit production stage, and drought periods to keep it stress-free
• Use arborists' wood chips to mulch over the roots of your apples and have your soil tested to see what your soil may be lacking before adding fertilizers
• Maintenance pruning and shaping

Apple trees will tolerate a wide range of soils, so long as water and nutrients are not limited and the pH level is adequate.

How to Fertilize Golden Delicious Apple Trees

For the first year, water alone is most important. It is always best to get a soil test to see what your soil is lacking before adding more fertilizers. Once established, a fertilizer routine may be beneficial. We do offer some excellent slow-release organic options, applied according to the package directions.

Fruit trees need more phosphate and it's possible to apply too much nitrogen which affects the soil's pH. Test soil acidity or alkalinity using a pH Tester.

Fertilize in spring when you first see new growth emerging.

• Don't overdo it
• Phosphates are your friends
• Pay attention to pH in areas with extremely high or low soil pH
• Follow the directions

Golden Delicious Apple Tree Pollinating Info

Golden Delicious is self-fruiting and doesn't need a pollinating partner, but will bear more fruit when paired with these varieties:

• Red Delicious Apple Tree
• Honeycrisp Apple Tree
• Red Jonathan Apple Tree

Harvest Times for Golden Delicious Apple Trees

Golden Delicious's are typically ready to harvest in September.

Early-Season? Mid-Season? Late-Season? The terminology can be confusing for new apple tree growers. Weather, climate and your tree determine when it's ripe.

For Apples:

• Early-season is usually June-July
• Mid-season can be August-September
• Late-season can be from late September-November

The growing season consists of spring, summer, and fall, and varies with climate and weather. Areas with longer growing seasons in the warmer hardiness zones can greatly affect the harvest times for each particular apple variety grown in your area. Learn which growing zone you are in.

What Shipping Options Do You Offer?

NatureHills.com works closely with our growers and nursery professionals to ensure we ship when it is most appropriate for your area. Our goal is to deliver the hardiest plants by avoiding extreme high and low temperatures. Check out our shipping schedule for more information and to learn our wills and won'ts when it comes to shipping plants. Find your Golden Delicious Apple Tree for sale here at NatureHills.com!

Rootstocks Explained

Apple trees have been grafted onto different rootstocks since before the mid-1800s. Different rootstocks are used to improve the anchoring of trees, eliminate diseases, and reduce the natural mature size of the tree itself. While there are many different types of rootstock, they are all labeled as being either Dwarf, Semi-Dwarf, or Standard.

The apple descriptions, including flowering, pollination, and apple characteristics are the same whether the plant is grown on a standard rootstock or some varying dwarfing rootstock. The overall size can vary by climate and soil but the understock used is ultimately what affects the mature size.

There will be some variation in sizes but as a guide, we are suggesting the overall mature size of these apple varieties are:

Semi-Dwarf Apples

• Height: 12-18 feet
• Spread: 10 - 15 feet

Standard Apples

• Height 18 - 25 feet
• Spread: 15 - 18 feet

Remember that all fruit tree sizes can easily be altered if needed by simple pruning as the trees grow and develop.