Good varieties for selling?

[RichH]

I am planning on planting a small commercial orchard (mostly growing apples) in the future, but I'm having some trouble deciding on what varieties to grow. I was wondering if anyone who grows apples for sale could tell me what varieties do well for them? Also, this is my first post here, so hello everyone.

[Charles]

We've had great success with Pink Lady, Mutsu, Honeycrisp and Arkansas Black here in Tennessee.

[Greyt.Chase]

You should consider growing some cider apples. There is a demand and you could probably put a premium on them.

[tigerbaby]

Hi, Rich.

What varieties to plant will depend largely on where you are...if you're in a colder zone, you probably wouldn't want to rely on Granny Smith or Pink Lady, since they don't tolerate cold weather as well as, say, Manitoba Spy.

My recommendation would be to plant a couple of varieties that you like and then expand from there.

-kurt

[Kellogg Hill Farms]

Planting for commercial production, I would stick with the varieties that people want in the big stores, such as Pink Lady, Honey Crisp, or what ever is popular in your area. I'm assuming that you may be wanting to sell the apples in wholesale or bulk.

If you are a little more adventurous, I would suggest that you plant trees that are popular in farmers markets, or even varieties that aren't popular, and are hard to find.

Any product that is in demand but has a limited supply is sold at a premium. People will pay more for a product that there is a uniqueness to, such as antique varieties or heirloom varieties, provided that you market them to the correct buyers.