Stayman Winesap Apple
Pollination & Compatibility Guide
Stayman Winesap apple pollination guide: triploid, bloom group 4, Winesap parent excluded. Two-partner layout, skin cracking and storage notes.
Stayman Winesap is a Triploid (Needs 2 Partners)
Stayman Winesap 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 (Mid-Spring)
- Harvest Timing
- Late (+5d 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 (74)
| Cultivar | Bloom Group | Overlap Type | Harvest | Primary Uses | Interactive Test |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Beni Shogun | Group 4 | Full Overlap | Mid Concurrent (±0d) | Fresh Eating | Test Cross |
Tydeman's Late Orange | Group 4 | Full Overlap | Late Concurrent (±0d) | Fresh Eating | Test Cross |
| Group 4 | Full Overlap | Late ±5d delta | All-Purpose | Test Cross | |
| Group 4 | Full Overlap | Mid ±5d delta | All-Purpose | Test Cross | |
Melrose | Group 4 | Full Overlap | Late ±5d delta | All-Purpose, Storage | Test Cross |
Newtown Pippin | Group 4 | Full Overlap | Late ±5d delta | All-Purpose, Storage | Test Cross |
Tolman Sweet | Group 4 | Full Overlap | Late ±5d delta | Cooking, Cider | Test Cross |
White Winter Pearmain | Group 4 | Full Overlap | Late ±5d delta | All-Purpose, Storage | Test Cross |
York Imperial | Group 4 | Full Overlap | Late ±5d delta | All-Purpose, Storage | Test Cross |
| Group 4 | Full Overlap | Late ±10d delta | Fresh Eating | Test Cross | |
| Group 4 | Full Overlap | Late ±10d delta | Fresh Eating | Test Cross | |
| Group 4 | Full Overlap | Late ±10d delta | Fresh Eating | Test Cross | |
| Group 4 | Full Overlap | Late ±15d delta | Fresh Eating | Test Cross | |
| Group 4 | Full Overlap | Late ±15d delta | All-Purpose | Test Cross | |
| Group 4 | Full Overlap | Mid ±15d delta | Fresh Eating | Test Cross |
Incompatible Varieties & Exclusions (14)
These varieties overlap in flowering time with Stayman Winesap 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.
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.
A direct parent (Winesap × unknown (open-pollinated Winesap seedling)) — roughly half the pollen is non-functional, so it is not a reliable partner.
Zabergau Reinette produces no viable pollen, so it cannot serve as a pollinizer.
Grower Commentary: Stayman Winesap Triploid Layout and Skin Cracking
Stayman Winesap is a triploid seedling of Winesap, from Kansas, and its pollen is sterile. Plant it with two diploid cultivars in bloom group 4 that also pollinate each other. Winesap is its parent and is not a suitable partner, despite the shared name; the two are different trees and this page lists them separately.
Harvest falls about a week after Golden Delicious in maritime north-west European conditions. The record lists culinary, dessert and cider uses, and fruit is tart with a rich, vinous flavour that mellows in cold storage. It is a classic winter apple for farm gate, baking and pressing.
Wet weather late in the season can split the skin of ripening fruit, so avoid heavy irrigation or nitrogen near harvest and pick on time. Triploid trees are vigorous and slow to come into bearing; use a semi-dwarfing rootstock, open the canopy and allow several seasons before judging yield.
Key Orchard Considerations for Stayman Winesap
Plant two compatible group 4 diploids; Winesap itself is a parent, not a partner.
Even moisture and timely picking reduce splitting in wet autumns.
Tart and rich after storage; suits farm gate, baking and blending.
Take Stayman Winesap 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 Stayman Winesap 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.