There are certain characteristics we look for in a great apple. The flesh should be firm, juicy, and crisp. The taste should be sweet with a slight tartness. The Pinova Apple offers all these basic traits and adds in a few more. Pinovas have a slight tropical note with floral undertones. The Pinova’s other appealing attributes, it is a great keeper, delicious eaten fresh off the tree, and stays firm when cooked.
It’s time to give the Pinova Apple a spot in your home orchard. You may also find the Pinova Apple listed under patented names: Pinata or Sonata.
History of the Pinova Apple
The Pinova Apple is a German cultivar introduced to Europe in 1986. It was such a great hit overseas that it made its way to the United States in 2004 and was first grown in Washington State. The Pinova was developed at the Institute of Fruit Resistance of Dresden Pillnitz. It is a hybrid between the Clivia (a cross between the Cox’s Orange Pippin and the Duchess of Oldenbury) and Golden Delicious.
Bred for its long shelf life, resistance to diseases, and great taste, the Pinova has been a successful and sought after apple.
The Pinova Apple Characteristics
In the spring, the Pinova Apple Tree slowly blooms with sweetly fragrant pink white blossoms, carpeting the tree with its soft petals. It is harvested in early October when this pretty yellow apple puts on a full pink, orange, and bright red flush.
The Pinova Apple Tree has a high fruit yield, you will love the bountiful harvest of medium-sized fruit. It has some biennial bearing tendencies. Fruit thinning is required to improve the quality and flavor of the fall harvest. Remove excess fruit in early to mid-summer to help mitigate biennial bearing.
Where You Can Grow A Pinova Apple Tree
The Pinova Apple Tree is grown throughout Europe and the US. It prefers the dryer, cooler weather of the northern US states. The Pinova Apple Tree is grown in temperate climates and can tolerate cold winters. It is a good, all-round apple tree variety.
It is difficult to find an apple tree that you can grow with a limited amount of chemicals. Since the Pinova offers good resistance to scab, it is a perfect option for the organic orchardist. Finding fruit trees that can be grown organically, with less chemical applications can be a challenge. When a fruit tree arrives that helps the organic farmer’s job easier, that is a good thing for everyone, the grower and the consumer.
Be sure to check out our primer on How To Grow An Apple Tree for answers to all your beginner orchardist questions.
Size and Spacing Of Your Pinova Apple Tree
The Pinova or Pinata Apple Tree is a semi dwarf tree. Offering a more controlled size, this fruit tree fits well into a smaller home orchard. It would look terrific as an edible landscape tree offering its pretty and sweetly fragrant blooms in the spring followed by a bumper crop of beautiful yellow/pink/orange/red fruit.
If you are new to orchard gardening, our post on How To Plant Apple Trees will be very helpful. It is key to start your fruit trees off correctly. Proper planting will ensure your trees live a long and bountiful life.
All About Pinova Apple Pollination
The Pinova Apple Tree is a good pollination partner, it plays nicely with other apple trees in your garden. It is not, however, self-fertile and requires cross pollination with other apple trees in flowering group four.
Some common varieties you should consider growing in your home orchard that are great pollination partners for the Pinova Apple Tree include the four listed below. You can click through each variety to learn more about their particular characteristics and why you should add them to your must-plant list.
- Braeburn
- Golden Delicious
- Granny Smith
- Honeycrisp
Apple Tree Care
- Sunlight
- Apple trees love a sunny location and need a solid six hours of sun a day as a minimum.
- Choose a location that has protection from strong winds.
- Watering
- The Pinova Apple Tree likes well drained, loamy soil that is nutrient rich.
- Water saplings regularly and mature trees during periods of drought.
- Pruning
- A simple, annual pruning is all this low maintenance tree needs.
- Thinning the apples as they grow will lessen the weight on each branch and help ensure a healthy crop.
- For all the best pruning advice, visit our Pruning Apple Trees: The Home Grower’s Complete Guide. It covers all your pruning questions.
- Diseases & Care
- Our post on Apple Tree Diseases and Care will help you identify and treat the common diseases that may affect your trees.
- The Pinova Tree is a sturdy tree with good disease resistance.
- It has good resistance to scab.
- It can be sensitive to fireblight, so you need to keep an eye out for signs on your trees.
- Pests
- For every fruit tree, there are a host of pests that love your harvest. Visit our primer on Apple Tree Pests for all the up-to-date advice on managing unwanted guests.
Eating And Cooking The Pinova Apple
The Pinova Apple can be refrigerated for up to two months and still maintain its crisp texture, a wonderful attribute in any home-grown fruit. The apple’s sweet tart flavor matures with age making it delicious even several weeks after harvest.
The complex sweet and tart flavor of this popular apple adds interest to your favorite apple recipes. The Pinova Apple holds up well when cooked and is perfect in pies and tarts. Its sweet crispy profile makes it a welcome addition to any salad. Add Pinovas to a Charcuterie board for a sweet pairing with cheeses and meats.
Here are a few of our favorite apple recipes where the Pinova would be a standout.
The Pinova Apple would be excellent in our Perfect Apple Dumplings recipe. Reminiscent of an old-fashion homestead recipe, your family will love these apple gems.
A refreshing and light in a healthy autumnal salad, the Pinova Apple would be a star in a Waldorf Salad. This classic Waldorf Salad recipe from the Food Network would be right at home on a crisp fall day. Perfect for a picnic under your Pinova Apple Tree.
Another perennial favorite is Apple Crisp. We all have our favorite way to put a crisp together with oats, brown sugar, cinnamon, and butter. It is one of the simplest, yet most satisfying fall desserts. This Apple Crisp recipe from Allrecipes is a good basic recipe for the Apple Crisp newbie.
Health Benefits of Eating Apples
Apple, particularly sweeter apples, are perfect at satisfying a mid-afternoon sugar craving. The Pinova Apple is one of those apples that you keep reaching for when they are in season. Substituting one sugar laden, processed snack for a Pinova will help you keep your healthy eating on the right path.
To learn more about the health benefits of apples, this quick read, 10 Amazing Health Benefits of Apples, will convince you to add more apples to your daily diet. Remember, an apple a day keeps the doctor away – or so they say.
Where To Buy The Pinova Apple Tree
When you see a Pinova Apple Tree pop up at your local nursery, be sure to snatch up a sapling or two. Since they are a relatively new variety, healthy, well grown saplings are hard to find. Don’t pass this one by, it will make a wonderful addition to your home orchard. Also look for this variety under the Pinata brand.
As the variety becomes more main-stream, trusted vendors like Nature Hills will carry well nurtured saplings.
Where To Buy Pinova Apples
Pinovas are popping up in your local supermarket between October and March. If you see them in your green grocers bin, add a few dozen to your cart. These apples are great keepers, wonderful eaten fresh, and are perfect in baked goods. You will become addicted to their sweet and fruity flavor.
Visit farmers markets and local farm stands to find non-mainstream apple varietals to add some zip and interest to your fruit intake.
Fruit Facts / FAQs About The Pinova Apple
Is the Pinova Apple Tree easy to grow?
The Pinova Apple Tree is perfect for the average skilled gardener. Beginners will benefit from its heavy cropping and disease resistance nature.
Are there Pick-your-own orchards that grow the Pinova Apple?
You will find the Pinova Apple in orchards where customer picking is encouraged. It is short stemmed, making it easier to handpick vs machine picking. You will find these fruit trees in the colder zones, where the majority of apples grow best.
What are the tropical and floral scents of the Pinova Apple?
Consumers have noted hints of floral with a rose like scent. Additionally, the apple has been described to have the essence of pineapple and banana.
How large does the fruit grow?
The Pinova Apple is a small to medium size fruit. However, when the fruit is thinned, the apples can grow larger and produce a heavy crop.
How long will the Pinova Apple keep?
It can keep up to six months. However, after a few months in storage it is prone to softening.
Is the Pinova Apple good for cider production?
This apple is not known for its use in cider production.
How do you determine if an apple is still good to eat?
When purchasing an apple, or if it has been in storage, you can determine the eatability of an apple with a few simple tasks. Test the firmness by holding the apple, it should feel heavy and solid, if it is soft and light it has lost most of its juiciness. If the skin wrinkles when you rub your thumb across the surface, it has most likely been in storage too long, or not kept cold enough.
Wrapping up The Pinova Apple Tree
The Pinova Apple Tree will make a welcome addition to your garden or orchard. We encourage you to seek out this fairly new variety at your favorite nursery or green grocer. Stay connected by signing up for our newsletter where you can discover new apple varieties that will work in your garden.
Excited for more apple content? Visit my apple trees page to learn more about apple planting, growing, picking, cooking, and more!