Attention, Minnesota homeowners and budding orchardists! Are you ready to add a touch of sweetness to your backyard? Look no further than the Triumph® apple tree!
With its exceptional apple scab tolerance, delightful flavor, and ease of cultivation, Triumph is the perfect addition to any backyard or home orchard.
Triumph® apples have a pleasantly tart flavor, coupled with a well-balanced sweetness, making it great for fresh eating or adding a burst of flavor to your favorite recipes. Triumph® also boasts two genes that fight against the dreaded apple scab fungus, reducing the need for chemical sprays and making it an eco-friendly choice for organic growers and homeowners looking for lower maintenance trees.
"Triumph® offers more than just exceptional scab tolerance and flavor," says UMN apple breeder David Bedford. "Combined with a firm but crisp texture, good storage life, and an attractive red overcolor, Triumph’s® unique characteristics make it an exciting new option for home gardeners across the upper midwest."
Triumph®, originally known as MN80 cultivar, was created by crossing Minnesota’s Honeycrisp with the disease resistant variety Liberty. The apples boast a long storage life, so you can enjoy the fruits of your labor well into the winter months.
Triumph® was released in 2021, and in the years since, licensees have grown out rootstocks and are now supplying trees to interested local garden centers. “Since Triumph® is such a new variety it may not be widely available just yet but check with your local nursery or garden center to see if they are planning to carry it,” explains Bedford. “Be sure to let them know that you’re interested in growing a Triumph® tree.”
If you can’t get your hands on a Triumph® tree this year, other hit UMN varieties like Zestar!®, SnowSweet®, Frostbite™, and the ever-popular Honeycrisp should be readily available and offer a diverse range of flavors and are well suited to growing in the upper Midwest. For more information about all University of Minnesota apple varieties, visit mnhardy.umn.edu/apples. The University of Minnesota Extension website provides apple tree planting, pruning, and care tips at extension.umn.edu/fruit/growing-apples.
Ask your local garden center about a Triumph® apple tree today!