I ate several more Golden Russets today. These had been kept in the fridge for about 2 weeks. What an amazing apple! An amazing aroma each time you bite into one, accompanied by tartness and sweetness. Somewhat dense, less crunchy and dry compared with other apples but far more aromatic with a lot more flavor.
I will take this over most non russeted apples.
Wildlife and insects share your taste for high sugar low acid fruit. Here GR is frequently targeted by yellow jackets and coddling moths. At one site, it was the only apple squirrels removed.
It is not grower friendly and takes a long time to figure out how to prune for productivity and to train it even when you know to encourage and force smaller wood.
I find varieties like this benefit from sustaining surplus scaffolds to supply more anchorage for smaller shoots you tape them to in the process of forcing shoots to horizontal position and heavier fruiting.
I’m glad I prefer a more acidic fruit. Spitz and Goldrush are much more grower friendly than Golden Russet. Ashmead’s, on the other hand, is the least productive variety I grow, no matter what I do. However, it has the most flavor in its season- a few weeks before Golden Russet has reached its peak sugar, incidentally. At least here and most seasons. This one has been very weird with varieties ripening out of normal sequence and failing to reach good sugar before dropping from the trees.
Truly the worst season in memory for fruit quality in my part of NY. Further upstate they missed a lot of the rain we got down here, but a pretty wide swathe of the east just got way too much rain to produce excellent fruit.
I’ve observed the very same thing way out here on the Marin County coast. Not caused by rain here, to be sure, but probably by an abnormally cool summer.
so here’s a question: I have an ashmeads on M106, was thinking of turning it into a multi-graft…
I’ve heard Ashmeads can be an odd one to grow in tree habit as well as being a stingy bearer, would this be a poor choice for turning into a frankentree?
When I PMed @Alan for advice on this, he suggested Crimson Crisp for the frankentree. I’m planting mine in the spring.
I don’t have crimson crisp But have quite a few others…Did he say why he recommended Crimson?
I don’t remember the context of what I wrote Joe, but Crimson Crisp is my favorite disease resistant apple in its window. Here, it ripens in late Sept-early Oct. It is one of only a few trees that consistently produces tasty, crisp fruit in my nursery without much help from me. It also has an excellent growth habit with nicely spaced spreading branches and doesn’t keep you waiting to come into baring. .
In other words, a perfect starter tree for a grafter, with a percentage of the tree left to CC.
I planted a Golden Delicious solely for apple pies because of childhood memories… would you guys recommend Golden Russet for pies? It seems its sweetness may make it a good apple for pies??
My Golden Delicious has sat in a near non-vegetative state for eight years and has literally grown inches per year.
The graft is very low (bought it from Stark) and I would need graft Golden Russet on GD wood.
Dax
Interesting you mention that- I have two yellow delicious branches on my frankentree and they haven’t done particularly well, just OK. Macoun is another that doesn’t seem to have much vigor on that tree. Winesap, Cameo, some others, however, seem to reliably take right off when grafted to the same tree, no matter where they’re stuck on.
There’s always the possibility it’s the roots: but I would’ve noted at planting time (I write on the the tags) that the roots were weak. So I’m going to say it’s not roots. The other apples within feet of it are growing good to very good.
Dax
What a difference location makes. At the WSU experimental orchard, Golden Russet is quite productive. And a beautifully shaped tree.
Also disease free.
My Golden Russet produced the next year after grafting. Only other apple to do that was Rubinette.
I had a few GR I used in a few apple crisps last year. It was very good. I was looking forward to more GR this year but a critter, I think, got them all but one.
My GD did great this year.They are in their 4th greening. Not huge trees but the fruit was plentiful for their size. The branches touched the ground they were so heavy. I bought all my GD from Stark Bros. I am using them as pollinators for my other apple trees.
I did rejuvenation pruning. I’ll see if that helps.
Thanks for your 2cents Mike.
Dax
Got some more Ashmead’s yesterday. 16.5 brix average. We’ve had lots of rain lately, but these were plenty good.
Fantastic. I can hardly wait to have some great apples.
Of course, deer recently ate my apple trees down to half size.
Dax
Nice looking apples. I have an AK planted and it is only in it’s first greening this year. I am not sure how big your AK are in size. If you can put a quarter next to one to show as a comparison. I would appreciate that.
I had a lot of severe “Deer Pruning” until I got some “deer fencing”. I have not had any damage with them on guard.
TFN
I’ve got too much land and a dog that likes deer or any other animals. 
Dax
My nursery is unfenced and I’ve a herd that owns my property (nice of them to allow my to live here). I actually get reasonable control with eggs and blood spray. It is a pain though- as trees grow they need repeated sprays throughout the growing season.
I have had not too good of results with the sprays. I had a lot of my apples taken by animals , I believe. I need to use netting next year. I even used hot pepper sprays on them and it did not help. I am glad the sprays have worked for you in your orchard.
