Hello,
I’m trying to identify the strain of our apple tree we have in our backyard. I’ve already contacted several places to no avail. We’re located in Illinois, U.S.
Atrached are photos of the apples and the tree. The tree blooms around the middle of May and we harvest the apples usually in late August, beginning of September. They’re sweet with just the right amount of tardiness. They have an excellent taste when dried.
I’d appreciate any suggestions as to who can help me.
Thank you!!
*As a new user I can upload only one photo. I have 3 more.
Grimes Golden and Summer Banana are two that look sort of like that and ripen around then.
It would help to know when the tree was planted as it is usually an apple common of that period. Also more about the flavor, e.g. what apples it compares to in terms of sourness, aroma, etc.
It was planted around 2013-2014. We got it as a very small tree from Menards and unfortunately I did not write down the name. I do not know how to describe the flavor. I guess 50/50 sweet and tart. When the apples are picked they’re rather green but within maybe two weeks they ripen and change more towards yellow and their flesh becomes a little more mushy with occadional brown spots.
When we were preparing the apples for drying, peeling & slicing I had to cut off brown spots towards the end of the harvest. As dried apples es they have a very pleasant taste, not overly sweet with a touch of tardiness.
Hi @lupinka… I think you may have a “Lodi”. Your description seems to fit Lodi’s attributes… early, sweet/tart and short storage. And yes, they are wonderful dried even with the peel. We like them dried crispy with a bit of cinnamon. They make a good applesauce too. Yellow Transparent is one of the parents and they look very similar as @MikeC suggests. They do tend to biennial bear if not thinned early. A nice hardy variety that doesn’t need a lot of fuss!
P.S. Lodi is a tip-bearer
Challenge with apple variety identification is there is over 7000 known kinds of apples and the US is home to over 2000 of them. It will be hard to anyone to pinpoint it.
Thank you for your helpful input.
Honestly, I don’t know anything about apple trees. I’ve learned more today from this forum and Google than in my whole life.
Only a couple of things throws me off. For once it says on the internet Lodi is harvested in June and July. Last year we harvested all apples between August 30 and September 15. (I know exactly as we ran dried apple fundraiser) Secondly, I honestly can’t tell if the tree is a tip-bearer. I think so but please see atrached pic. (if you can tell) We had to support the tree branches big time because they had “drooping branches”. Thirdly, I’ve just learned only afew apple treesare self pollinating. We have only one apple tree next to a pear tree. No other fruit trees. BUT come to think of it, our neighbors had planted a dwarf apple tree and a pear tree about 3 years ago. For the past two years we have extremely bountiful harvest.
Yeah, but it came from a big box place; they only peddle in name recognition so that alone prunes that list down to a handful.
lupinka, once you get a few suggestions you will need to hunt them down and try them. That would be the most reliable way to nail it down. Specially if you get a chance to look at the parent tree.
@lupinka … what a beautiful tree. And it looks like a partial tip-bearer. Lodi is the first tree to ripen in our orchard, usually first week of August. I live in zone 4 so undoubtedly much cooler than Illinois. Lodi does not hold its apples well and it sounds like your tree does.
The small commercial orchardists are usually quite friendly and knowledgeable. Maybe they could help.
I had to laugh at your Google comment. The algorithms are geared towards payed content which makes it difficult to find decent information.
Good luck with your search🙂
True, it may be a Lodi apple. Where I am at the Lodi apples are good for about a week to 10 days before they get really soft. The only benefit of having a Lodi apple in my area is that it is an early apple, usually in August or maybe at best late July. I see they sign up on one small orchard down from my house as I drive by. They will post , at times, what apples are available.
The ones you are growing do look a lot like Lodi apples. It is a beautiful looking tree you have there.
Thank you so much to everyone for the helpful tips and suggestions. This forum is a great place, full of people who are genuinely interested in horticulture. But most of all, enthusiasts who trying to help clueless people like myself. Unlike like the master gardener and naturalist from Illinois Extension who recommended I’ll buy apples from a grocery store and compare. So, THANK YOU ALL!!
God bless master gardeners but I don’t really dig their approach. The organization seems to be mired in institutional bias with little interest outside of the standard dogma. If you are into anything outside of their standard fare, don’t bring it up with them; chances are you are not going to like the most likely pompous response from the ‘Master’.
Heck I think you are forbidden to write an original thought or even sell a single peony while identifying with the title. If it is so precious they can keep it.
Unlike like the master gardener and naturalist from Illinois Extension who recommended I’ll buy apples from a grocery store and compare. So, THANK YOU ALL!!