State Fair Apple Tree

The State Fair Apple Tree (Malus x 'State Fair') is a go-to choice for home growers with an eye for beauty and a palate for balanced apples.

While State Fair’s fruit is excellent, many gardeners celebrate this tree's floriferous blooming season! Exploding with large clusters of white-to-rose pink blooms that smell as great as they look!

Pollinators celebrate the nectar resource and so will you! Schedule some time to watch the bees float from bloom to bloom as you dream of the approaching apple season. A picnic beneath the flower-laden branches will show you why there are apple blossom festivals!

As these brilliant apples ripen on the branch, you will enjoy that blush and stripes of coloration from yellow to green to red with precious freckles.

The State Fair Apple Tree is a smaller size that produces medium-sized apples that are juicy, sweet yet tart and good for eating fresh, but also baking, sauces, pies, and canning.

These lovely globes of goodness have a month’s storage life and are the perfect snack to pack in kids' lunches since they ripen from September to October.

These are good fruit trees with early apples for northern orchards. Reaching 25 feet tall and 15 feet wide, these deciduous trees are vigorous growers!

How to Use Haralson Apple Tree In The Landscape

These all-purpose apples happily fit into any culinary niche. Slightly acidic, so they do well in pies and as an amazing ice cream topping. State Fair is also a great choice for salads, ciders, and apple juice.

You don't have to worry about urban conditions, this tree doesn't mind a city setting.

Good sized for edible landscaping, not to mention beautiful enough to be specimen plantings and focal points, State Fair is dual purpose!

#ProPlantTips For Care

This cold-hardy tree loves full sun and requires a buddy for full pollination. You can choose from a white-blossoming Crabapple like Dolgo, or Granny Smith, or Pink Pearl. You can even put them both in the same hole to conserve garden space.

Get your new State Fair Apple established with careful watering the first season. All trees benefit from having a nice 3 inch layer of arborist wood chips over the root zone to buffer the temperatures and maintain even moisture. Never plant too deep, and always keep the mulch a few inches away from the trunk.

Not particular on soil type, any well-drained fertile and organically enriched soil works great.

Prune to open the canopy and let sunlight and air circulation move through the branches.

Looking for an apple that is attractive and will win you a blue ribbon at the fair? Want to bake an award-winning pie? Order your State Fair Apple Tree from Nature Hills today!

State Fair Apple Tree Frequently Asked Questions

When to Plant State Fair 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 State Fair 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 State Fair 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 State Fair 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 State Fair 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 State Fair 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

State Fair Apple Tree Pollinating Info

State Fair is not self-fruiting and needs a pollinating partner. Pair with one of these varieties:

• Dolgo Crabapple Tree
• Granny Smith Apple Tree
• Pink Pearl Apple Tree
• Red Jonathan Apple Tree
• Macoun Apple Tree
• McIntosh Apple Tree
• Snowsweet® Apple Tree
• Wolf River Apple Tree
• Yellow Transparent Apple Trees

Harvest Times for State Fair Apple Trees

State Fair's are typically ready to harvest in August.

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 State Fair 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.