Can anyone compare the vigor of Pink Lady against another common variety on the same rootstock in the same location?
ACN calls PL vigorous. I’m wondering how it would do on top worked B9 trees spaced 6 feet apart.
It should do well in that situation. I would call Pink Lady or any of the “sports” of it that I have grown to be above average in vigor.
Thanks for the reply Turkey Creek. Would you expect PL to be as vigorous as Fuji?
We are planing on converting a bunch of our mid season or bad varieties to something that is late and popular for Pick Your Own.
As much as I love PL, I have given up growing it. I have been diligent with the FB and copper spays and have had both of my PL trees die of FB. Hopefully you will be more successful.
I have no experience with Fuji so I cant be of help there. How about adding some Goldrush as well?
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Chris
Sorry to hear about FB on your PL. I have FB concerns too. I have some new PL on Geneva that have never bloomed so FB may be a problem for me too. I will have a better idea about the FB problem next year, but my mid season apples don’t sell well and I need to convert the trees to something that fruits in the fall when PYO apples are popular.
A large commercial grower in central Va that I spoke with last week indicated that his FB problem on PL was similar to Gala.
I have Goldrush and like them a lot but after a lot of rain they are splitting this year.
How does the vigor of PL compare to Goldrush in your area?
I’m stuck with a bunch of B9 trees which don’t grow well in my area spaced 6 feet apart, so I need something vigorous on top.
My new G11 and G41 trees will be larger after 2 years than most of my B9 trees after 6 years.
PL is more vigorous for me than Goldrush. How about Enterprise or Arkansas Black? Those are both as vigorous or more than PL for me.
I am waiting on my first crop of Lady Williams to ripen. It is The parent of Pink Lady. Lady williams is said to have the same balanced Sweet / Sharp flavor as PL with better disease resistance.
There is a nearby orchard that grows both Pink Lady and Arkansas Black (Mountain View Orchard in Jemison, AL). My location is 7b and theirs most likely is the same or 8. He might be a good person to talk to. I have bought Arkansas Black from him for the last 3 years. Last year he told me that his Pink Lady had bad water core.
Ask him what the advantages of it are, as well. I bet a good PL sells more easily than Ark Black. I like them both fine but in areas where PL reaches top quality it is a WOW apple. Of course I can’t speak for conditions in Alabama, but I know that PL is highly praised as grown in VA. Real good here too, but could use an extra 2 weeks of growing season.
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I wonder if sundowner (cripps red) is any more fireblight resistant than its sibling pink lady? If it is, that would be a great one to have down here in the SE.
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I have not heard that it is and since it is a sport not likely that it would affect the FB resistance. Typically the only reason sports are marketed is for their slightly different ripening window or their tendency to color up better.
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I thought I had read that sundowner is a separate variety resulting from a separate cross of the same two parents (golden del and lady williams) as pink lady, rather than a sport of PL. Either way your point regarding FB resistance probably still stands even if its not a sport of PL. It does not seem to be grown much in the US so it is difficult to find reports from growers in high FB areas like the SE.
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From my short term small sample of Pink Lady it has been vigorous but as of now it hasn’t been overly disease prone. PL is at the top of my favorite list so I will work with any issues it has at least for a while. I am looking forward to my big crop of three PL apples ripening. My 2016 Goldrush scions addition is my latest and greatest hope for a great tasting late keeper apple. As of now the CAR has been less of an issue than some of my other apples and it is reported to have good resistance to other diseases. GR also seems to function well with our low chill hours. I also have Arkansas Black which I like but many people do not. It is much easier for a back yard guy like me to keep these varieties than someone that is doing this for a living. I’m pretty sure your looking for varieties with good appeal that can be farmed without so many issues.
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In my nursery in S. NY, Pink Lady is a vigorous grower that is relatively easy to take care of although it is susceptible to corking like some other vigorous varieties such as Jonagold (but also the non-vigorous Braeburn). I don’t wish to have to add calcium sprays to my chore list so I’m trying to figure out if spring pruning may alleviate the problem. This year, so far so good.
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