Arkansas Black Apple
Pollination & Compatibility Guide
Arkansas Black apple pollination guide: catalogued triploid, bloom group 4, cedar rust resistant late keeper. Layout, storage and ploidy caution.
Arkansas Black is a Triploid (Needs 2 Partners)
Arkansas Black is a triploid: its pollen is sterile, so it cannot fertilise anything — not even the trees planted to pollinate it. It needs TWO compatible pollinizers from bloom group 3–5, which will also pollinate each other.
- Chromosome Ploidy
- triploid
- Required Companions
- 2 Diploid Partners (3-Way)
- Bloom Group
- Group 4 (Late-Spring)
- Harvest Timing
- Late (+10d from Golden Delicious)
Flowering Period & Overlap Window
Apple flowering periods are classified into numbered bloom groups (1 through 6). A variety reliably cross-pollinates with cultivars in its own group or adjacent groups (±1 group).
Any compatible diploid apple flowering within Group 3 to 5 provides matching blossom overlap.
Compatible Pollination Partners (75)
| Cultivar | Bloom Group | Overlap Type | Harvest | Primary Uses | Interactive Test |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Group 4 | Full Overlap | Late Concurrent (±0d) | All-Purpose | Test Cross | |
Newtown Pippin | Group 4 | Full Overlap | Late Concurrent (±0d) | All-Purpose, Storage | Test Cross |
White Winter Pearmain | Group 4 | Full Overlap | Late Concurrent (±0d) | All-Purpose, Storage | Test Cross |
| Group 4 | Full Overlap | Late Concurrent (±0d) | All-Purpose, Cider | Test Cross | |
York Imperial | Group 4 | Full Overlap | Late Concurrent (±0d) | All-Purpose, Storage | Test Cross |
Beni Shogun | Group 4 | Full Overlap | Mid ±5d delta | Fresh Eating | Test Cross |
| Group 4 | Full Overlap | Late ±5d delta | Fresh Eating | Test Cross | |
| Group 4 | Full Overlap | Late ±5d delta | Fresh Eating | Test Cross | |
| Group 4 | Full Overlap | Late ±5d delta | Fresh Eating | Test Cross | |
Tydeman's Late Orange | Group 4 | Full Overlap | Late ±5d delta | Fresh Eating | Test Cross |
| Group 4 | Full Overlap | Late ±10d delta | All-Purpose | Test Cross | |
| Group 4 | Full Overlap | Mid ±10d delta | All-Purpose | Test Cross | |
| Group 4 | Full Overlap | Late ±10d delta | All-Purpose, Storage | Test Cross | |
Melrose | Group 4 | Full Overlap | Late ±10d delta | All-Purpose, Storage | Test Cross |
Tolman Sweet | Group 4 | Full Overlap | Late ±10d delta | Cooking, Cider | Test Cross |
Incompatible Varieties & Exclusions (13)
These varieties overlap in flowering time with Arkansas Black but cannot fertilise it due to sterile pollen (triploids) or shared genetic incompatibility alleles.
Ashmead's Kernel produces no viable pollen, so it cannot serve as a pollinizer.
Baldwin produces no viable pollen, so it cannot serve as a pollinizer.
Belle de Boskoop produces no viable pollen, so it cannot serve as a pollinizer.
Blenheim Orange produces no viable pollen, so it cannot serve as a pollinizer.
Bramley's Seedling produces no viable pollen, so it cannot serve as a pollinizer.
Fall Pippin produces no viable pollen, so it cannot serve as a pollinizer.
Jonagold produces no viable pollen, so it cannot serve as a pollinizer.
Karmijn de Sonnaville produces no viable pollen, so it cannot serve as a pollinizer.
Mutsu (Crispin) produces no viable pollen, so it cannot serve as a pollinizer.
Orleans Reinette produces no viable pollen, so it cannot serve as a pollinizer.
Spigold produces no viable pollen, so it cannot serve as a pollinizer.
Stayman Winesap produces no viable pollen, so it cannot serve as a pollinizer.
Zabergau Reinette produces no viable pollen, so it cannot serve as a pollinizer.
Grower Commentary: Arkansas Black Late Bloom, Hard Fruit and Ploidy Caution
Arkansas Black is an American chance seedling that flowers late, in bloom group 4. Our catalogue treats it as triploid, with sterile pollen, although the ploidy rests on the catalogue entry rather than an independent measurement. Until that is settled, plant it with two diploid group 4 cultivars that also pollinate each other, which costs little if the assumption proves wrong.
The fruit is very hard and nearly black when ripe. Harvest comes about ten days after Golden Delicious in maritime north-west European conditions, and the record lists culinary and keeper uses. It is not a fruit to eat straight from the tree: hold it for weeks in cold storage while the acid softens and the flavour rounds out.
The catalogue notes good resistance to cedar apple rust, which helps in regions where rust is common. Late flowering reduces spring frost risk but needs a long, warm autumn to colour and mature, so it suits sheltered, warm sites better than short-season districts.
Key Orchard Considerations for Arkansas Black
Catalogued triploid; plant two compatible diploids until the ploidy is confirmed.
Good rust resistance helps where rust is common; scout for other pests.
Needs a long season and weeks of cold storage before it eats well.
Take Arkansas Black from Planning to Planting
Use Kropigo's free browser tools to model your block density, tree counts, and pollinizer rows, then maintain permanent orchard records row by row.
Pollination Checker
Check Arkansas Black against supported cultivars with compatible flowering and pollination data.
Commercial Block Planner
Calculate high-density tree spacing, row geometry, and establishment costs.
Block Record Keeping
Track pruning, chemical thinning, and harvest tallies block by block from the orchard.