Baldwin Apple
Pollination & Compatibility Guide
Baldwin apple pollination guide: triploid, bloom group 3, needs two diploid partners. Scab and mildew notes, biennial habit and storage use.
Baldwin is a Triploid (Needs 2 Partners)
Baldwin 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 2–4, which will also pollinate each other.
- Chromosome Ploidy
- triploid
- Required Companions
- 2 Diploid Partners (3-Way)
- Bloom Group
- Group 3 (Mid-Spring)
- Harvest Timing
- Late Season (Anchor @ 0d)
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 2 to 4 provides matching blossom overlap.
Compatible Pollination Partners (89)
| Cultivar | Bloom Group | Overlap Type | Harvest | Primary Uses | Interactive Test |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Hudson's Golden Gem | Group 3 | Full Overlap | Late Concurrent (±0d) | Fresh Eating | Test Cross |
Keepsake | Group 3 | Full Overlap | Late Concurrent (±0d) | Storage, All-Purpose | Test Cross |
Northwest Greening | Group 3 | Full Overlap | Late Concurrent (±0d) | Cooking | Test Cross |
Peck's Pleasant | Group 3 | Full Overlap | Mid Concurrent (±0d) | All-Purpose | Test Cross |
| Group 3 | Full Overlap | Late Concurrent (±0d) | All-Purpose, Storage | Test Cross | |
Regent | Group 3 | Full Overlap | Late Concurrent (±0d) | All-Purpose | Test Cross |
Suncrisp | Group 3 | Full Overlap | Late Concurrent (±0d) | All-Purpose | Test Cross |
| Group 3 | Full Overlap | Late Concurrent (±0d) | Fresh Eating, Cider | Test Cross | |
Black Oxford | Group 3 | Full Overlap | Late ±5d delta | All-Purpose, Storage | Test Cross |
| Group 3 | Full Overlap | Late ±5d delta | All-Purpose | Test Cross | |
| Group 3 | Full Overlap | Late ±5d delta | Fresh Eating | Test Cross | |
Connell Red | Group 3 | Full Overlap | Late ±10d delta | All-Purpose | Test Cross |
| Group 3 | Full Overlap | Late ±10d delta | Fresh Eating | Test Cross | |
Crimson Gold | Group 3 | Full Overlap | Late ±10d delta | All-Purpose | Test Cross |
| Group 3 | Full Overlap | Mid ±10d delta | Cider, Cooking | Test Cross |
Incompatible Varieties & Exclusions (17)
These varieties overlap in flowering time with Baldwin but cannot fertilise it due to sterile pollen (triploids) or shared genetic incompatibility alleles.
Arkansas Black produces no viable pollen, so it cannot serve as a pollinizer.
Ashmead's Kernel 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.
Gravenstein 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.
Ribston Pippin produces no viable pollen, so it cannot serve as a pollinizer.
Roxbury Russet 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.
Tompkins King 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: Baldwin Triploid Layout and Storage Heritage
Baldwin is a New England chance seedling from Massachusetts, around 1740, and a triploid with sterile pollen. It cannot fertilise itself or its neighbours, so plant two diploid cultivars in bloom group 3 that also pollinate each other. Cortland, Empire and Golden Delicious are the usual examples, but check each against the compatibility list on this page.
Harvest falls at about the same time as Golden Delicious in maritime north-west European conditions, and the record lists culinary, dessert and keeper uses. Baldwin was once the leading storage apple of the American north-east, and it still stores well into winter, with firm flesh that suits cooking and cider.
The catalogue lists susceptibility to scab and mildew, so plan sprays or sanitation and keep the canopy open. Baldwin tends toward biennial bearing, and thinning in the heavy year keeps fruit size and next year's flower buds in balance. Baldwin has a reputation for winter injury in severe winters, so avoid frost pockets.
Key Orchard Considerations for Baldwin
Plant two compatible group 3 diploids that cross-pollinate each other.
Both are listed; open the canopy and protect young growth in wet springs.
Thin in heavy years to ease biennial bearing; store cold for winter sales.
Take Baldwin 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 Baldwin 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.