Grafted Apple — Golden Hornet (spring delivery)

Apples are a species that have interesting silvopasture applications when the fit is right. They are a great option for pigs and turkeys, providing valuable and reliable high-sugar fruits during a very long season. The wonderful thing about apples is that so much work has been done on them that there are hundreds, even thousands of cultivars to choose from, so consistent drop from summer through winter is possible with careful planning. The downside is that they don’t last very long on the ground (unless maybe it’s a late-dropping storage variety), such that they will be harder to make use of in a rotational grazing system where livestock don’t cycle back for 30 days or more. That said, for the many producers out there who continuously graze, apples can be a great source of energy for a very long portion of the year, addressing the shortfall of energy in a ruminant’s diet. Having constant access to apples also means that cattle rumens can adjust to the high sugar content, since cattle can have issues if they go from no apples to lots of apples all at once—as with many foods.

Golden Hornet has small-to-medium yellow crabapples, about 1 inch wide, making it distinctive among typically red crabapples. This ornamental variety is widely versatile, being planted for jellies, landscape beauty, wildlife food, or as an exceptional pollinator. It has moderate disease resistance, with good resistance to scab but some susceptibility to fireblight. It has fruit that ripens early autumn but persists well into winter. Hardy in zones 4-8. Planted as one of the best pollinators available with its long-lasting white flowers, it is self-fertile and an excellent pollinator for all mid-to-late apple varieties. 

All of our apple varieties are grafted onto Dolgo understock which is extremely cold-hardy into Zone 3 and produces 20’ to 30’ trees.

Height: 3-6’

Volume discounts: 4-9 trees $48,  10-24 trees $32,  25-99 trees $24,  100-249 trees $18.50,  250+ trees $15

Shipping: This product will ship out in March or early April as a bare root tree depending on your region.  If you want to plant earlier and your ground is not yet frozen by early December, consider a fall shipment. Any trees over 6′ will be headed back to just under 6’ for shipping since shipping boxes longer than 6’ becomes much more expensive. Trees picked up will not be topped but remain at full height.

Local pickup: March 13, 2026 from 9am-5pm at TFG shop on 2363 Stumptown Rd, Lancaster, PA 17602