This popular apple really shines with rich sweetness when left to ripen on the tree. The golden-green fruit are great for eating fresh, cooking, or storing until spring. Golden Delicious apple trees are a good pollenizer for many other apple varieties.

SCIENTIFIC NAME: Malus domestica 'Golden Delicious'

COMMON NAME: Golden Delicious / Yellow Delicious Apple

GARDEN SIZE: Depends on root stock - Dwarf 8-10 ft. tall and wide, Semi-Dwarf 12-15 ft. tall and wide, Standard/Full 15-20’ tall and wide, Espalier varies with culture

USDA ZONE: 5-8

EXPOSURE: Full Sun

WATER & SOIL: Loamy & well drained soil

FOLIAGE: Deciduous; Green

BLOOM TIME: Late-midseason - Flowering Group 4

HARVEST TIME: Late-midseason, ripens early October

FRUIT: Sweet, subtly tart apples. Their lightly speckled skin is pale green to golden in color. The skin is thin, so apples often don’t need to be peeled. Especially sweet and rich when left to ripen on the tree until they turn from pale green to gold.

USES: Eating fresh, cooking, storing

POLLENIZATION: Partially self-fertile - produces some fruit without another tree, but produces a better harvest with a compatible pollenization partner nearby. Golden Delicious is a good pollenizer of other apple trees, with a long blooming season and abundant pollen, though it is incompatible with varieties closely related to it such as Gala, Ginger Gold, Jonagold, and Pink Lady.

POLLENIZATION (Trees that pollenize this one): Colonnade Golden Sentinel, CrimsonCrisp, Fuji, Granny Smith, Hardy Cumberland, Honeycrisp, Jonathan, Pink Lady, Premier Honyecrisp, Red Delicious, Red Rome, Royal Red Honeycrisp, Sweet Sixteen, Urban Apple 'Blushing Delight', Urban Apple 'Golden Treat', Urban Apple 'Tangy Green', Wolf River

POLLENIZATION (Trees that are pollenized by this one): Arkansas Black, Colonnade Golden Sentinel, CrimsonCrisp, Fuji, Granny Smith, Hardy Cumberland, Honeycrisp, Jonathan, Premier Honeycrisp, Red Delicious, Red Rome, Royal Red, Honeycrisp, Stayman Winesap, Sweet Sixteen, Urban Apple 'Blushing Delight', Urban Apple 'Golden Treat', Urban Apple 'Tangy Green', Winesap, Wolf River

CARE: Prune while the tree is dormant. Remove water sprouts in June or July. Options for controlling pests, bacterial infections, and fungal disease include dormant oils applied early in the season before blooming, scented insect traps, and copper-based fungicides. DO NOT apply insecticides during blooming. This risks harming bees, which are crucial for pollination and fruit production. If necessary, fireblight can be treated with a streptomycin antibiotic spray during blooming. Apple trees need about an inch of water every 7-10 days, though young trees need a little more during their first growing season as they establish roots. If not enough rain has fallen, give the tree extra water by running a hose at a trickle around the base of the tree until the ground is fully soaked (but not for so long that there is standing water). Waterlogged roots can harm apple trees, so don't overdo it!

DISEASE RESISTANCE: Moderately susceptible to fireblight, scab, and powdery mildew; very susceptible to cedar apple rust.

TOXICITY: Stems, leaves, and seeds contain cyanide and are therefore toxic to dogs, cats, horses, and humans. The fruit is non-toxic.