Arkansas Black Apple

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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Enjoying my last Arkansas black from 2021. @39thparallel gifted me these apples. This last apple was getting soft but after all it is almost June. That is a good reason to grow Arkansas black apples.

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I have my first blooms on Ark Black, trees on M.111 from 39th Parallel !

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I got no Arkansas Black last year, but the graft really took off and has a lot of blooms. Potential for a good apple year, certainty of little to no pears.

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I wish I could grow them. Here in Alaska October is winter time :confused: early September is as far as I dare to push it. Sadly most cider apples are late apples.

I have two Franklin apple trees on their second year here. I’m looking forward to see if they attempt to crop on time.

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I had some successful takes with Arkansas Black scions last spring, so maybe some year I will get to try them. Hope they ripen on time this far north. (near St. Paul).

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I have Arkansas Black on M.111 and they bloomed for the first time this spring. Check with me this fall to see how well they ripen, I’m in a Z4a as well.

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@39thparallel grows some nice Arkansas blacks. Picked these last year and as your aware they keep along time. Will be eating these until spring. They have never been refrigerated. They do get very greasy. Yellow flesh and very deep dark red almost black color.




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@clarkinks
That’s the skin color I observe out here for Arkansas Black.

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@Richard

Thats how they should look in full sun.

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How’s the flavor, texture, etc of these apples when you let them sit unrefrigerated for a while?

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@Joe

They are still somewhat sour and eventually turn mealy but in general much better better than store bought apples. They have some sweetness to them. We love them for cooking here at my.house.

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No aromatics?

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@Joe

There are many apples that taste so much better 50 or more come to mind. None of those 50 would i rather grow. The arkansas black outshines them all for storage which is what it is truly good at. If you like a tart apple for pie it’s perfect but if your looking for floral aromatics pass it by it doesn’t have them. You can look for a second opinion but i think theirs are close to mine.

" Possibly raised by a settler called John Crawford in Arkansas, USA in the 1840s, and certainly widely grown in Arkansas and Missouri later that century. It is thought to be a seedling of Winesap. This apple is notable for the extremely dark coloration, which becomes almost black after storage. The photo shows an Arkansas Black apple taken in March, having been harvested in October.

We are indebted to Monique Reed of Texas for the photo and following descriptive information.

“Now, this is supposed to be a very tart, crisp apple and a good keeper. I’d have to say it must mellow enormously in storage, as the one I had was firm and sound, but not especially crisp and not at all tart. (I’m guessing it’s near the end of its storage life, since harvest is in fall.) The skin at this stage is extremely waxy. As advertised, the flesh is medium-pale yellow. It was pleasantly sweet and tasted almost as if it were an apple already prepared to go in a dessert–as if it were a tart apple with sugar (and something else? honey?) added, and perhaps a bit of vanilla near the outside and faint but definite almond undertones nearer the core. There was more going on, taste-wise than in a Red Delicious or your average Fuji–more depth, as in many of the older cultivars. Good apple. Not my favorite, but more interesting than many others.”

Further information - see the Encylopedia of Arkansas History and Culture."

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When I was selecting my trees I went with GoldRush for the storage apple. Alan and some others stand by it.

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@Joe

Dont disagree with them on goldrush but fresh it is like battery acid and in Kansas it is plagued with heavy cedar apple rust. It is like biting a lemon peel green, i have grown the variety. We tried it fresh only and friends do grow it here. My gr apples always had damage so they could not be stored very long. My understanding is it is excellent after storage like most storage apples but have never had one stored a long time. @39thparallel may have a different opinion he has ground more suited to apples. My property is as bad as possibly it could be for growing apples but im still able to grow a few. Those beautiful AB come from his property.

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