Franklin Cider™ Apple Tree

About the Franklin Cider™ Apple Tree

A true breakthrough for home cidermakers, the Franklin Cider™ apple tree delivers everything you want in a single apple: high sugar, high acidity, and high tannins—the essential traits of a classic bittersharp cider apple. Whether you’re blending or pressing straight from the tree, Franklin offers complexity, structure, and that dry finish cider lovers crave.

This vigorous and hardy tree produces up to 30 bushels per year, yielding over two gallons of juice per bushel. Fruit ripens gradually and hangs well, giving you flexibility in harvest time. Apples are small to medium in size, red-carmine over yellow, with coarse white flesh and a pleasantly dry, tangy flavor. A favorite among wildlife, it’s also a boon for deer hunters in fall.

Awarded the GLINTCAP Cider & Perry Competition Bronze Medal winner in 2017, and the likely successor to ‘Kingston Black’, the cider-apple gold standard.

How to Grow the Franklin Cider™ Apple Tree

Cold-hardy down to -32°F and suited for USDA Zones 4–7, this long-lived tree performs well in a range of northern climates. It’s highly productive, disease-resistant, and shows good resilience against apple scab and cedar apple rust. Fruit ripens in early to mid-October. A pollinator is required—see recommendations below for best results.

Whether you’re crafting your first small batch or refining your favorite cider blend, the Franklin Cider™ apple tree is a standout choice for bold flavor, reliable yields, and top-tier cider quality.