Zestar!® Apple Tree
$89.99
Begins shipping mid-April.
Zones 4 - 8
Pollinator required to bear fruit
An early season apple with a crisp, juicy texture, and an exciting zesty flavor!
This Minnesota-bred beauty is a true winner! The Zestar!® Apple tree produces delicious fruits that ripen early in the season, in August. Expect a nice annual harvest of well-balanced, light, crisp, juicy apples. For an early bearer – fruit stores well, for up to two months in cold storage.
The Zestar!® Apple tree grows best in northern U.S., Canada, and areas with a relatively cooler climate. This apple tree has a somewhat upright form with vigorous growth in early years and attaining a spur-type habit. It is very cold-hardy and resistant to most common apple tree diseases.
Zestar!® (Minnewashta cultivar) is a registered trademark of the University of Minnesota. It Zs introduced in 1999 from a hybridization of State Fair x MN 1691.
Characteristics
| Bloom Color | White |
| Ripens Harvest | Early-mid August |
| Fruit Color | Red |
| Fruit Size | Medium – Large |
| Soil Composition | Loamy |
| Taste | Sweet, Tart |
| Texture | Firm |
| Soil pH Level | 6-7 |
| Soil Moisture | Well Drained |
| Shade Level | Full Sun |
| Years to Bear | 2-5 |
| Bloom Period | Mid |
| Hardiness Zone Range | 4-8 |
Size & Spacing
Pollination
This variety requires another one for adequate pollination.
Cross-pollination by a different variety is key to its growing and bearing success. Plant a different variety within 15 meters (50 feet) for best pollination.
Recommended Pollinators: Cortland, Empire, Wolf River, Yellow Transparent, Buckeye Gala, Honeycrisp, Liberty, Royal Empire, SnowSweet, Ginger Gold, Golden Delicious, Winter Banana
How do I find my Hardiness Zone?
Canada’s Plant Hardiness Zones will tell you which plants will do well in your particular climate. Each zone is determined by the lowest average winter temperature recorded in a given area. Hardiness Zone information is included on all tree and plant product pages, so you know instantly whether a certain plant is likely to succeed where you live. Natural Resources Canada provides helpful options to find your zone:
Philip Meyer –
Fruit the second year(one). Very nice. Training to espalier.
Shannon Frericks –
The tree was in the ground for two years and it fruited the second year. A great end of the August apple with awesome awesome flavor. No complaints on this one it can handle the toughest winters.
Donna Van Zante –
Tasted this apple at the Farmer’s Market at Prairie City, IA. Delicious! Just the right amount of sweet/tart combination. Already have a Honey Crisp, a Lodi and a Yellow Delicious. Also have a Paula Red and an Autumn Crisp that have not had apples yet. Have decided that Zestar will be my next apple tree. Am hoping that between all of these trees that one of them will be the pollinator for the Zestar.
Dennis Hrebec –
Bought the Zestar apple semi dwarf in 2016. It is now 2019. the tree has grown very well, bloomed and had 11 apples on it. The apples were early, and were large size, solid, absolutely wonderful. I put some in a plastic bag in the refrigerator to see how well the apple keeps. They keep great. If you want a better description assessment, the Wikipedia article on Zestar apples is right on. This is the best early apple I have ever seen.
Barbara Simoes –
I’ve never heard of this variety, but it was listed as a dwarf and the description and reviews looked good, so I figured it would be worth a try. It came well-packaged and healthy and of good size. I was expecting not much more than a whip, but these were about four feet with a fairly large caliper. I’ve been watering it every other day…wouldn’t you know it? It’s been a very dry spring. It is looking happy in my front-yard, edge of the sidewalk food forest! I also purchased a Granny Smith and a Honeycrisp which are also looking great.
Ron Ron –
Just received them. I potted them. They are leafing out and look like they are healthy.
Donna Chastain –
My Zestar tree was planted about 2 weeks ago and it is budding out and looking great.
Donna Endresen –
I only gave this a 4 star as when I opened the container (same evening), the leaves were all ready tucked in upon themselves. It looks like some blossom buds were deformed and dried up. Thus, it never bloomed this year. The Gravenstein’s I got last year, one bloomed the same year I got it, one did not.
Kelly Fogle –
My mother and father gave me a Honeycrisp and a Zestar tree as a present around 2000. We reseached what trees to plant. We checked with the local community college ag program. They had been working with the Zestar tree and highly recommended it. We are in a zone 3b in northern Minnesota. The two trees are just off main street in a very small town. The spring the two trees covered with blossoms. Then there are many years that I have learned to pick many of the immature apples off the clusters of fruit. As the weight of the mature fruit will split or break limbs of the trees. Year after year these two trees have given us plenty of apples. Yet, for some reason, the yields always seem to be much lighter than it appeared they would be. The Zestar is our favorite tree. Its firm sweet tart fruit is the best eating, pie and canning apple. While the Honeycrisp is also a great apple, I have to say that this community has shown me year after year, they chose to steal the Zestar apples over the Honeycrisp apples, year after year. I have heard many a confessions. Many year after year, they confess. Unable to resist the need to get one of the juicy, firm, delicious, ripe apples, that they have watched grow and ripen all summer long. There are many repeat offenders. They have snuck into the yard to steal an apple, every year since the trees started producing fruit. We are watching many young families make enduring sweet memories. Young families, sneaking into the yard, to let their child pluck their first piece of forbidden fruit from the temptation tree. My parents would love to see how much their gift has become so special to so many people. Many look forward to the gifts the trees give to us. I was given more than just two of the best apple trees. I was the gift that I can share with my community, with strangers, it was a gift of happy memories, smiles and love that was given.
Stephanie Petersen –
Came before planting season but had great instructions for keeping indoors. Fully flourishing now and ready for the yard.