A cross between McIntosh and Ben Davis by the New York State Agricultural Experiment Station in Geneva, New York, United States in 1898, Cortland may not be a big deal in Montana but head over to New York and it’s considered sacrosanct there. Certain some of Mac’s brightness, unique tanginess, and other taste characteristics are imparted into the Cortland. Susceptible to sunscald so make sure you paint the trunks with white water-based latex paint, a good practice on any apple tree (or fruit tree for that matter) but especially the case with Cortland. Can be grown in most places in Montana. If grown in Central/Eastern Montana, try to keep from the wind. Zone 3.

The bareroot trees are 5-7 ft. tall and are grafted onto the smaller semi-dwarf M26 rootstock, which is one of our favorites for productivity and cold hardiness (at least -40F according to Bob Purvis), which is surprising for an English rootstock. The older and bigger tree is grafted onto dwarf Bud9, and is 6-7 ft., but good branching and more developed fine roots.