Belle Fille Apple Tree

OUR STORY

Bring Authentic Normandy Cider Heritage to Your Home Orchard! Step back into the rolling orchards of 19th-century France with the Belle Fille Apple Tree, a prized heirloom cultivar celebrated by artisan cidermakers and heritage fruit collectors alike. Whether you are crafting complex hard ciders or preserving rare European genetics, this precocious, early-ripening cider apple is a standout addition to any backyard orchard. Rich French History Originating in the La Manche department of Normandy, France, prior to the mid-1800s, Belle Fille de la Manche (also historically known as Pomme à Poule) earned its reputation in the heartland of French cider and brandy production. Selected over generations for its reliable cropping and distinctive juice profile, it remains a cornerstone variety for authentic Normandy blends. Flavor Profile Unlike standard sweet grocery store apples, Belle Fille delivers a mild bittersweet character. Its crisp, yellowish flesh yields a deeply amber, tannic, and pleasantly bitter juice that adds essential body, astringency, and depth to cider blends. Best Uses • Artisan Hard Cider: Produces an aromatic, amber-colored must ideal for early-season pressing and blending with sharper or sweeter apples. • Distilling & Brandy: Traditionally used in Normandy to craft world-class Calvados apple brandy. • (Note: Because it is best pressed fresh within a week of harvest, it is prized for immediate cidermaking rather than long-term cellar storage.) Growing Specs: Chill Hours & Bloom Time • USDA Hardiness Zones: Thrives in Zones 5–7. • Chill Hours: Typical of traditional Northern French heirloom cultivars, it requires a high chill hour count (approximately 800–1,000+ hours) below 45°F during winter dormancy to set a full, healthy crop. (Exact university-trialed figures are not yet formally published for this rare cultivar.) • Bloom Time: Mid-to-late spring (Pollination Group D), helping its blossoms escape damaging early spring frosts. • Harvest Window: Ripens early for a bittersweet cider apple—typically in early September (about 10 days before McIntosh). Pollination Partners Belle Fille de la Manche is a triploid variety, meaning its pollen is sterile and it cannot pollinate itself or other apple trees. To guarantee a heavy harvest, plant it near two different diploid apple varieties with overlapping mid-to-late bloom times (Pollination Groups C, D, or E), such as: • Golden Delicious or Granny Smith • Braeburn or Gala • Dabinett or Kingston Black (for an all-cider orchard!) • Flowering Crabapples (like Manchurian or Snowdrift) Reserve Your Belle Fille Apple Tree Today! Add a true taste of Normandy to your harvest. Supplies of this rare French heirloom are strictly limited each season—order now to secure your tree for spring planting! Trees are bench grafted 1/4-3/16 inch diameter and 1 1/2 to 2 feet tall when shipped.

INGREDIENTS