Another sport of Stayman that has disappeared from production.
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Is it just the Red Stayman thatâs still around with a more marketingasm name? Red Stayman Winesap Apple Tree - Stark Broâs
A good question that I have been researching. Stark itself has listed at least 5 sports over the years. Three out of Virginia, one out of Indiana and Washington. Some were branch mutations and others whole tree.
Of course other nurseries such as C & O, Bountiful Ridge and ACN all have had their releases.
Not sure where or when the current Red that Stark has now originated. I would assume it has strong crack resistance as some releases were so noted over the years. I do have one on order.
Itâs tough finding the Starking{Delicious} anymore too.
Iâve no problem with Winesap 1.0. Itâs pretty and is pretty much an apple flavor class in itâs own right.
In the USDA 1960 Apple Clones bulletin, they list 15 sports of Stayman.
I tried to ask on their page, but the Questions section is throwing a red error message for me and wonât submit at the moment. Iâm not sure if their customer service people would have access or be able to get an answer, but I figure itâs worth a shot.
âIs this the same as the âScarlet Staymaredâ introduced by Starkâs in ~1936? Thereâs been a bunch of different âredderâ sports of Staymanâs/Winesap over the years that have come in and out of favor for whatever reason.â
edit: With 15 other possible sports Iâd guess itâs probably lost or a really old lone tree somewhere at this point.
Itâs crazy as the Register of Fruits and Nuts" lumps a bunch of them all together under âsee xxxxxâ for description despite being âfoundâ decades apart.
The Tuttle strain assigned to Stark Bros in 1977 was named Stark Supreme Staymanred and became the leading cultivar in the USA for many years. It was promoted as redder and more crack resistant. In Virginia Tech trials to figure out how to stop cracking, it indeed was significantly less than Stayman 201 which was the leading cultivar at one point.
Tuttle Orchards in Indiana still proudly sell their variety(fruit) that Stark traded Mr.Tuttle for a peach orchard to assign his patent to Stark. I will say this years crop pictured on their website looks just like the current Red in their catalog. Not very dark.
By the way, the 1960 survey had 59 clones of Winesap. Now you would be hard pressed to find 4 for sale in the catalogs. Stark Spur, OFW, Red and Virginia. Plus whatever the generic Winesap is. Even Vintage Virginia Apples description of the Winesap they are selling as trees doesnât match the fruit I bought from them before Christmas. Red over a yellow background as a tree vs the fruit being solid red with almost black sunny side and larger than most others being sold this season in the same area.
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Since this apple hasnât made the grocery stores, looks isnât that important.
I took your lead and asked the following question on Starkâs website. Which of the many sports over the years that Stark sold as improved versions of Stayman Winesap is the current one sold as Red Stayman Winesap? Before asking I looked at the Register of Fruits & Nuts. There hasnât been a Red named Stayman since 1944 which was Red Stayman 201. Which has been replaced by various sports from various nurseries since including Stark itself in the late 70âs with Stark Supreme Staymanred.
Their reply to the question was a easy out for them. âThe cultivar is Red Stayman Winesap.â So I still donât know if it is the same strain as the once popular Stark Supreme Staymanred.
Fun fact, Stayman Winesap and Winesap are very popular commercial apples in the valley regions of Italy. Quite a bit of the production is sold through auctions. Italy is the second largest producer of Apples in Europe. Although in the heart of the main growing region, towns are passing regulations banning use of pesticides. I believe those instances are facing court cases.
Meanwhile in Germany, this week farmers are protesting the elimination of the Diesel Fuel tax breaks for agriculture by blocking roads with tractors all week. Germany is trying fill a shortfall equivalent to 18.6 Billion U S Dollars in their 2024 budget. Real smart, cut off the hands that feeds you!
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If the Govât desires to phase out diesel, it could give the farmers an electric tractor I guess???
No, thatâd cause some other group to protest. Just get out of the wayâmost farmers are some of the smartest people youâll meet. They know a little about everything. Theyâll thrive the best if the government is out of the picture.
The EU is trying to shift AG to the former Warsaw Pact members IMO.
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Could be. (Iâve thought if they have a quarrel, that many of the EU nations likely do the âbrexitâ thingâŚand Eastern Europe fills a more important role.)