Arkansas Black produces a medium size fruit with dark red skin almost black in color. The apple flesh is firm, white, juicy and crisp. A well balanced pleasant flavor that is good for fresh eating, Arkansas Black is also excellent for juice. A heavy bearing hardy (zone 4) and vigorous tree, Arkansas Black’s apples are also excellent for storage. I will say that the apples, although kept their firmness 3-4 months after they were picked, did lose some of their tartness (although they were still fairly sweet). Another bonus is that the trees show resistance to cedar-apple rust with some resistance to scab and fireblight.

Because Arkansas Black likely will not survive temperatures below -40F, we have grafted it onto Emla 111 rootstock, which has proven to hardy enough for winters in Western Montana. Not to be planted in Eastern Montana, Alaska, or any area where winters fall below -40F.

First two images courtesy of Forest Starr and Kim Starr. CC2.0 and Calstanhope.