Spartan

Spartan is a deep marroon-coloured apple with an excellent refreshing sweet flavour. Apple text books often describe the flavour as "vinous" and it can indeed have a wine-like quality, although this is first and foremost a crisp sweet juicy unpretentious apple.

That flavour, and the crimson skin, are an easy clue that Spartan is related to the famous Canadian McIntosh apple. Spartan is undoubtedly one of the best of the many varieties which trace their ancestry back to McIntosh. It is also one of the few that have made it across the Atlantic to the UK, where it is widely grown and well-suited to the temperate UK climate.

Spartan ripens quite late in the season, usually around early October. The apples will remain on the tree over a 2-3 week period, which means you can pick a few at a time rather than have to deal with a glut. This is also the best way to enjoy them because although they keep fairly well, the flavour and crispness fade in storage.

Spartan is also a very good pollinator of other apples, producing large quantities of compatible pollen.

Spartan is a simple unpretentious apple, and when eaten straight from the tree on a crisp cold morning is a real delight.

Growing and Training

Although it originates from Canada, Spartan has long been a favourite in the cool temperate climate of England, and as might be expected from a Canadian variety, it is naturally cold-hardy. Whilst it will grow throughout the UK, it is generally happier in areas with drier climates.

It crops reliably and heavily. The fruit tends to be small but moderate thinning is very effective and the remaining apples will be a good medium/large size.

There are few disease problems, and birds and aphids are not often an issue either. It appears to be somewhat susceptible to scab in areas with damp climates, but unaffected in areas with dry climates.

Spartan also tends to produce a neat and attractive tree.

The large quantity of blossom makes it a good pollinator for other apple varieties. The pollen is also viable at lower temperatures (10C rather than 15C-20C) than most other apple varieties, making it a useful variety to grow if your orchard is in an area with cold spring weather.

History

Spartan is one of the most widely-grown of the McIntosh family of apples, which are characterised by their deep maroon skinand bright white flesh. Spartan was developed at the Canadian Apple Research Station in Summerland, British Columbia, in the 1920s. The female parent is McIntosh, and the male parent is thought to be the popular American variety Newtown Pippin although this is not certain.

Spartan characteristics

• Gardening skillBeginner
• Fruit persistenceNormal ripening
• Self-fertile?Partially self-fertile
• Pollinating othersGood
• Pick seasonLate
• Picking periodmid-October
• Keeping1 week
• Food usesEating freshJuice
• Country of originCanada
• Period of origin1900 - 1949
• Fruit colourCrimson

You might also like these varieties

• 
  Braeburn
  Braeburn is one of the best-flavoured supermarket apple varieties.
• 
  Chivers Delight
  Chivers Delight is an under-rated Cox-style apple from Cambridgeshire. Crisp and sweet.
• 
  Honeycrisp
  Honeycrisp is an American cold-hardy disease-resistant apple - it shows just how good modern apples have become.
• 
  Little Pax
  A new English apple variety, recently discovered on the Isle of Wight - but its appearance and flavour hark back to the Victorian era.

More about apple trees

Apples are very versatile, and all varieties can be eaten or used in the kitchen. However varieties specifically grown as eating apples tend to have the best flavours for eating raw.

The main thing to decide when choosing an eating apple is when you intend to eat the apples. Early season apples are typically ready in August, and generally don't keep very long. Mid-season apples are ripe in early September, while late-season apples start to become ripe in late September and October. Many of the late-season varieties can also be stored in a fridge or cold shed for several months into the winter.

Some apple varieties are self-fertile, but most are not. However in most areas of the UK you do not need to worry whether your apple trees are self-fertile or not, as there will be other apple trees in nearby gardens to help with pollination.