Dorsett Golden Apple
Pollination & Compatibility Guide
Dorsett Golden apple pollination guide: very low-chill diploid, early bloom, paired with Anna and Ein Shemer. Provisional chill hours and subtropical notes.
Dorsett Golden is Self-Sterile (Needs 1 Partner)
Partners: Anna, Ein Shemer. Dorsett Golden needs at least one compatible pollinizer from bloom group 0–2 to set a reliable crop. It is often sold as self-fertile, and it will set a reduced crop alone in warm climates with a reliably mild bloom — but that is climate-dependent, not genetic, so plan a pollinizer.
- Chromosome Ploidy
- self sterile
- Required Companions
- 1 Diploid Partner
- Bloom Group
- Group 1 (Early Spring)
- Harvest Timing
- Early Season
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 1 to 2 provides matching blossom overlap.
Compatible Pollination Partners (21)
| Cultivar | Bloom Group | Overlap Type | Harvest | Primary Uses | Interactive Test |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Group 1 | Full Overlap | Early | Fresh Eating | Test Cross | |
| Group 1 | Full Overlap | Early | Cooking | Test Cross | |
Duchess of Oldenburg | Group 2 | Full Overlap | Early | Cooking | Test Cross |
| Group 2 | Full Overlap | Late | Cider, All-Purpose | Test Cross | |
| Group 2 | Full Overlap | Late | All-Purpose | Test Cross | |
| Group 2 | Full Overlap | Late | All-Purpose, Storage | Test Cross | |
Jersey Mac | Group 2 | Full Overlap | Early | Fresh Eating | Test Cross |
Jonamac | Group 2 | Full Overlap | Early | All-Purpose | Test Cross |
| Group 2 | Full Overlap | Mid | All-Purpose | Test Cross | |
Lodi | Group 2 | Full Overlap | Early | Cooking | Test Cross |
Macoun | Group 2 | Full Overlap | Mid | Fresh Eating | Test Cross |
| Group 2 | Full Overlap | Mid | All-Purpose | Test Cross | |
Mollie's Delicious | Group 2 | Full Overlap | Early | Fresh Eating | Test Cross |
| Group 2 | Full Overlap | Early | Fresh Eating | Test Cross | |
| Group 2 | Full Overlap | Early | Fresh Eating | Test Cross |
Incompatible Varieties & Exclusions (4)
These varieties overlap in flowering time with Dorsett Golden but cannot fertilise it due to sterile pollen (triploids) or shared genetic incompatibility alleles.
Gravenstein 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.
Tompkins King produces no viable pollen, so it cannot serve as a pollinizer.
Grower Commentary: Dorsett Golden Very Low Chill and Subtropical Siting
Dorsett Golden is a very low-chill diploid apple from the Bahamas, and our record gives a provisional figure of about 100 hours below 7.2 °C. That figure has not yet been checked against a primary source, so confirm it with your nursery or local extension. Golden Delicious is a grandparent rather than a parent, so no named cultivar is excluded by descent.
It flowers very early, in bloom group 1 in our record, so partners must open in the same early window. Anna and Ein Shemer are its standard companions, and each is a partner for the others. A single tree may set a partial crop in a warm district with reliably mild bloom, but a pair or a trio is the sensible plan.
Dorsett Golden belongs in subtropical and mild-winter sites, where higher-chill apples fail to break dormancy evenly. Use a vigour-controlling rootstock, provide irrigation in dry seasons and thin early. Fruit ripens early, so pick on time and sell fresh rather than planning for storage.
Key Orchard Considerations for Dorsett Golden
Chill is about 100 hours; verify locally before planting.
Plant Anna or Ein Shemer beside it; each partners the others.
Irrigate, thin early and pick promptly; fruit is for fresh sale.
Take Dorsett Golden 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 Dorsett Golden 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.