My first Arkansas Black apple. Probably early to pick it but it came off when I was poking around it for rot. This is from a graft I did last year.
I still have one more on the tree. I’ll post a picture of the inside when I eat it.
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Beauty!
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I forgot to mention that these two AB apples have no rot on them. They were grafted on my Enterprise apple which had terrible bitter rot. It is funny how that works.
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I have not seen an Apple like this. Great job, looks amazing.
If you don’t mind me asking, how many chill hrs does it require?
At what point does the Arkansas black change skin color like that? Closer to harvest time or are they that dark as soon as the apples appear on trees? I have an unidentified young apple tree in my yard that the previous owner thinks is Arkansas black but isn’t 100% confident. It’s nearing mid October but the fruit is flat shaped but the skin color looks more like gala than Arkansas black. It was pruned open vase at very dwarfing height, closer to 5ft high but very wide. Do I need to wait closer to harvest time before the skin turns that dark?
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Thanks. I just looked it up and Dave Wilson’s nursery says the chill hours are 500-600 hours below 45 degrees.
It was always a little darker but I feel it got really dark for about one month leading up to when I picked it, so through September. This apple is not flat at all. I would venture to say the apple you have is not AB, but I haven’t even tasted it yet, so I am no expert.
Did your Arkansas black apples ever looked like this during the growing season? These were taken this morning mid October. Thanks for any insight.
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No, I don’t think that is what they looked like. Sorry.
I ended up trying the redder one. The seeds were light brown, so I think it wasn’t ripe enough. It was slightly sour, mealy, and juiceless. What a disappointment. Thanks for your help.
I’m at work all day today but tomorrow I’ll try and get out to get a picture of the one on the tree for you.
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@Martin,
That is not a ark black, mine start out a red color, but by late summer they are dark red, later , sept. - October. …almost black, and definitely not mealy, more like hard as a rock.
Does them good to store for a month or so for good eating .
Keeps all winter.
Have kicked them out of tall grass mid winter- spring and still good some years.
Usually they are relatively blemish free un sprayed here.
This year a early hail storm beat them severely.
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That is a beautiful apple. A few weeks ago I ordered an Arkansas Black tree to start espaliering in the spring. After seeing your apple, I’m more excited than ever to get started on it. It’s my first time trying to espalier.
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Here is the AB still on the tree.
Not a great picture, but the apple is very dark and has been this way for a while.
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In my area AB gets dark some years but in other years they don’t. Normally they do get darker than Gala.
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The unidentified apple has almost non-existent stem cavity. It almost looks like citrus because the cavity, where the stem connects, is completely flat. Thanks for chiming in.
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AB is also supposed to be a really good cider apple. I have been off and on thinking of growing it and may finally add it for that reason.
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AB is great for a lot of reasons. it’s disease resistant and it’s thick skin helps to protect from insect damage. It keeps for up to a year in cold storage. It has to be in storage at least 2-3 months before the taste can be appreciated
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I have been growing arkansas black for about 12 years now.
My annual tradition is that I eat the last few arkansas blacks as I am picking the first of my monarks the following year.
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