Price range: 18,00 € through 28,00 €
🌸 Flowering period: April, mid-late group (2 days before Golden Delicious)
🍏 Harvest period: From mid-October
❄️ Storage: 4 to 6 months in a cold cellar
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The ‘Granny Smith’ apple tree (Malus domestica ‘Granny Smith’) is an Australian variety from a chance seedling found in 1868 at Eastwood, New South Wales, and propagated by Maria Ann Smith. It is known for its entirely green apples, with very firm, crisp and distinctly sharp flesh, harvested from mid-October.
We graft the ‘Granny Smith’ apple tree at the nursery, under certified organic farming (AB / Ecocert), at Le Passage d’Agen (Lot-et-Garonne). It joins our collection of apple trees.
| Criterion | Value | Detail |
|---|---|---|
| Species | Malus domestica | Rosaceae |
| Origin | Eastwood, New South Wales, Australia | Chance seedling, 1868 |
| Raised by | Maria Ann Smith, née Sherwood | Known as « Granny » Smith |
| Presumed parentage | Malus sylvestris × Malus domestica | Hypothesis, not demonstrated |
| Ploidy | Diploid | Good pollen donor |
| Flowering | April, mid-late group | 2 days before Golden Delicious |
| Pollination | Not self-fertile | Pollinizer required |
| Harvest | From mid-October | Before the first frosts |
| Eating ripeness | 4 to 8 weeks after picking | Key point, see dedicated section |
| Storage | 4 to 6 months | Cold cellar, 2 to 4 °C |
| Fruit | Medium to large, uniform green | Whitish lenticels, waxy skin |
| Vigour | Strong, semi-upright habit, 4 to 6 m | Fairly early bearing |
| Susceptibilities | Powdery mildew, rosy apple aphid, scab | A demanding variety under organic management |
| Use | Eating fresh, tarts, savoury dishes, juice | Holds its shape when cooked |
The ‘Granny Smith’ apple tree is probably the most recognisable apple variety in the world, and its history is better documented than that of many French heirloom varieties. Maria Ann Smith, née Sherwood, had emigrated from Sussex to Australia in 1839 with her husband Thomas, and the couple acquired a small orchard at Eastwood in 1855-1856. It was there that, around 1868, she spotted and propagated a spontaneous seedling with remarkable green fruit. The mother of eight children and a well-known figure in the district, she had earned the nickname « Granny ».
Two details that competing descriptions leave out. First, Maria Ann Smith died in 1870, two years after the discovery: she never saw the commercial career of “her” apple. Second, the first published account of this origin dates only from 1924, in an Australian farming journal, based on the testimony of two men who had known her. This history should therefore be read for what it is: an oral tradition recorded late, not a breeder’s record.
Genetically, the ‘Granny Smith’ apple tree is presumed to come from a cross between Malus sylvestris, the European crab apple, and a cultivated Malus domestica. The hypothesis is consistent with the acidity and firmness of the fruit, but it has not been formally demonstrated.
Let us put the question plainly, since it arises. The ‘Granny Smith’ apple tree is not a French heirloom variety: it is a nineteenth-century cultivar that became one of the pillars of industrial apple growing worldwide, and one of the most widely planted varieties in France, mainly in the south-east.
We offer it for three specific reasons:
There is a trade-off, which we would rather state up front: ‘Granny Smith’ is a variety that is demanding under organic management. See the disease section below.
The ‘Granny Smith’ apple is medium to large, rounded to slightly conical, and very uniform. Its skin is entirely green, with no red colouring, dotted with whitish lenticels and waxy in appearance, sometimes slightly pink on the sunny side of very exposed fruit.
The flesh of ‘Granny Smith’ is white, extremely firm, crisp and juicy. Its profile is very acid and low in sugar — it is the French benchmark for a sharp apple. That acidity is not a fault to be corrected: it is what you are looking for. It also explains why ‘Granny Smith’ holds its shape when cooked, unlike softer varieties.
This is the most useful information on this page. The ‘Granny Smith’ apple is picked in mid-October, but it is not good to eat on that date. Bitten into on the day of picking, it is hard, starchy and aggressively sharp. It needs four to eight weeks of cold storage for the starch to turn into sugars and the acidity to soften. The best moment is generally between December and February.
A second difficulty, specific to this variety: how do you know that an apple which stays green is ready to pick? The usual marker — a change in ground colour — does not work. Use these four criteria instead:
🍏 Pick without fail before the first frosts. Fruit frosted on the tree will not keep.
The ‘Granny Smith’ apple tree is not self-fertile: planted on its own, it will give only a very poor crop. It needs a second variety whose flowering overlaps its own, planted less than 50 metres away.
The Golden Delicious apple tree is the benchmark partner — their flowering periods overlap almost perfectly, with ‘Granny Smith’ starting about two days earlier. The Reine des Reinettes apple tree is also suitable.
⚠️ Beware of triploid varieties. Some varieties produce sterile pollen and cannot fertilise anything: this is the case for the Belle de Boskoop apple tree, for Jonagold and for Reinette du Canada. Planting Boskoop next to ‘Granny Smith’ solves nothing — a third, diploid tree will be needed to fertilise both.
Good news in the other direction: being diploid and very free-flowering, ‘Granny Smith’ is itself an excellent pollen donor. It readily plays the role of universal pollinizer in a family orchard.
The ‘Granny Smith’ apple tree requires full sun and a deep, moisture-retentive, well-drained soil, slightly acid to neutral. It needs a long growing season to complete its ripening: this is a variety that gives its best south of the Loire. Further north, the harvest risks being caught by frost before physiological ripeness.
The ‘Granny Smith’ apple tree fruits on fruiting spurs and short laterals, short formations two years old and more: do not systematically cut back short shoots, or you will remove the crop. Its strong vigour does, however, call for regular thinning cuts to let light into the centre — which is also the best prevention against powdery mildew. Prune at the end of winter, outside frost periods.
Let us be direct: ‘Granny Smith’ is not an easy variety under organic management. Some sellers will tell you it resists powdery mildew — the opposite is true. Three points to watch:
The 4 to 6 months of storage that ‘Granny Smith’ allows are not automatic. Two physiological disorders, well documented on this variety, ruin whole crops:
Bitter pit shows as small sunken brown spots under the skin, with bitter flesh. It is not a disease but a calcium deficit in the fruit, encouraged by excess nitrogen, over-severe pruning, a light crop load and irregular watering in summer. Prevention is cultural: moderate nitrogen feeding, do not over-prune, and do not let the tree swing between drought and excess water while the fruit is swelling.
Senescent scald is a superficial browning of the skin that appears after several months in store. It is encouraged by picking too early and by storage in stagnant air. In a home cellar: harvest at proper physiological ripeness, store between 2 and 4 °C, in well-spaced crates and in a ventilated room.
The ‘Granny Smith’ apple is the benchmark sharp apple, and its culinary value rests on two properties: it holds its shape when cooked and it brings acidity where other varieties bring sugar.
The white flesh of ‘Granny Smith’ browns quickly: add lemon as soon as it is cut. For a more aromatic French profile and comparable keeping quality, the Chantecler apple tree is an interesting alternative to ‘Granny Smith’.
No, the ‘Granny Smith’ apple tree is not self-fertile: planted on its own, it will give only a very small crop. It needs another apple variety flowering at the same time, planted less than 50 metres away. On the other hand, ‘Granny Smith’ is diploid and is itself an excellent pollinizer for neighbouring varieties.
Golden Delicious is the benchmark pollinizer for the ‘Granny Smith’ apple tree, their flowering periods overlapping almost completely. Reine des Reinettes, Melrose, Elstar and Gala are also suitable. Rule out triploid varieties such as Belle de Boskoop, Jonagold or Reinette du Canada: their pollen is sterile and fertilises nothing.
‘Granny Smith’ apples are picked from mid-October, and without fail before the first frosts. As the fruit stays green, rely on pip colour — brown rather than white — and on the fruit detaching with a simple quarter turn, rather than on skin colour.
That is normal: the ‘Granny Smith’ apple is not ready to eat at picking. It needs four to eight weeks of cold storage for the starch to turn into sugars and the acidity to soften. Its best eating window is generally between December and February.
No, the ‘Granny Smith’ apple tree is a demanding variety. It is clearly susceptible to powdery mildew and rosy apple aphid, and moderately susceptible to scab. Some sellers claim the opposite for powdery mildew: that is a mistake. Under organic management, plan for open pruning, an oil treatment at the end of winter and spring monitoring.
‘Granny Smith’ apples keep for 4 to 6 months in a cold cellar, between 2 and 4 °C, which makes them one of the best keeping apples. Two disorders are a risk: bitter pit, linked to a calcium deficit in the fruit, and senescent scald, encouraged by picking too early and by a poorly ventilated store.
Our advice on video
Our other apple trees.
| Weight | 0,3 kg |
|---|---|
| Age | 1 year (Whip, between 1m and 2m), 2 years |
| Apple rootstock | B9, adult height≈ 2m, M111, adult size ≈ 4m, M9, adult size ≈ 2.5m, MM106, adult size ≈ 3.5m, Seedling, adult height over 5m |
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