About the Spartan Apple :
A McIntosh-Newtown cross. Fruit is medium; skin is highly colored solid dark red. Flesh is firm, crisp, white juicy with very good quality and texture. Strong, heavy producer. Keeps well until February. More resistant to pre-harvest drop than McIntosh. Ripens about 2 to 3 weeks later than McIntosh.
Spartan is a small sweet apple, and a great favorite with children. It is very much a "McIntosh" style apple, bright crimson skin and whiter-than-white flesh. We leave ours on the tree as long as possible, until they are crimson all over, as this allows the flavor to develop. Straight from the tree the flesh is very crisp and juicy, but it softens a bit within a week or so of picking - although remaining juicy. This is also a good variety for juicing - the juice color is not especially remarkable but the flavor is good. Spartan is an excellent garden apple, being easy to grow, resistant to scab, fairly resistant to mildew, and it crops very reliably.
A good pollinator is Liberty, Gala, or Akane. |
