Ate a premature drop today. Wow. Tart but with underlying sugars am pretty sure. Mouth-watering! Crunchy, almost as crunchy as Goldrush, really good. Dense. Not sure when to pick. Rowan Jacobson says pick Sept for tart, Oct for ripe, strudel, etc. Triploid, a beast of a tree. I like it at this stage but will see if it can get even better.
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Keep us informed. Sounds like a great apple, so far.
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Steve, I lost my Belle de Boskoop grafts, when I lost my Pink Lady tree. 
They were doing very well until this spring. I will have to go out and see if I had any on other trees, that survived the âFireblight Disaster of 2023â.
I lost many of my grafts to that. And the terrible fruit season weâve had (and sounds like many others are in the same boat) - Well . . . I kind of gave up, put my head in the sand and decided to take stock when everything goes dormant and I can clean up some more and spray some oil.
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Sorry to hear that. Bad blight year! Can you please list the varieties killed by blight? Or if itâs easier, list the varieties that fared pretty well? If some sailed right through, would be good to know. I had strikes almost everywhere, except pears. Unscathed: Sundance really stood out.
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Hi Steve,
I was able to get one started on a G 890 rootstock. It has only one full season of growth coming into this year. About how many years would I expect to see fruiting? Also is there anything special I need to know about training this variety?
Dennis
Kent, wa
Busy couple of days coming up . . . but I will let you know which varieties were killed by fireblight. 
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Be sure to pull some branches to at least horizontal- that can save a year or two off fruiting time. Iâd recommend summer pruning to limit height/vigor unless you have lots of room and want to do ladder work. And keep in mind its pollen is sterile.
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Good point, I did not know this! I have Tomkins King and Cortland with several crabs grafted nearby. Are there any other pollinators you might recommend grafting to this tree?
Thanks
Dennis
Boskoop blooms early; my first variety to bloom this year. But I didnât have any trouble pollinating it. Just to be sure I grafted Clarkâs Crab on the leader this Spring
Ok I think my crabs are pretty early
Update on Boskoop: Serious problem here with âcore rot,â something this variety is prone to according to an internet site. Also moderately susceptible to fire blight. Iâm going to give it one more year and pick earlier to see if that avoids the rot. No external evidence of the rot- but inside is ruined. I would have never grafted this if I had seen the rot tendency in my research but it was hidden away and only came up when I googled Boskoop rot.
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I have a graft growing on rootstock that wonât fruit for a few years. I may graft scion on to a mature tree this spring to get faster fruiting and see if core rot is a problem for me.
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