I had a spur type “compspur” that runted out on M7. But, on a full sized root, it’s managed 8 to 10 inches per year for more than 30 years…and the biggest crop came this past season. Some apples nearly softball size. (Did have plenty of rain this past season).
Nice find. And it tastes?
@BlueBerry I don’t have my notes in front of me, but from what I recall, it’s a fairly crisp apple, probably 3/10 tart, 8/10 sweet, to my recollection. Close to a gala, a little softer. They store decently well too, I was eating the ones I picked and stored in my fridge until early January before they started getting bland and soft.
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Is it in full sun? That can cause that lack of growth. Been there, done that.
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It gets full south facing all day sun. But, that isn’t different than the other apple trees. I wouldn’t have considered full sun being an issue.
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My sister who is a French Professor and linguist also says it is pronounce Carmine
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Interesting. I’m sure you’ll share other apple hunting adventures. If this is a Gala seedling, then the gentics isn’t necessarily so big a deal…still if it’s a larger apple, that is a trait (one of several) I look for in my apple breeding adventures.
@WildApple23 … I am interested in your thoughts/experience with Novamac.
I have one on order… and some scionwood too… I found out about its high ratings for disease resistance in all major categories this past year.
I have a cross of yellow transparent and McIntosh now (early mcintosh) which is an outstanding early ripening apple… they ripen for me here in TN mid June to early July. Has some wow tart flavor and sweetness… absolutely beautiful apple… there is a picture of it earlier in this post.
I am wondering how you would describe the flavor of the novamac… when it ripens for you… has it been as disease resistant for you as they claim ? What rootstock do you have it on ? Where I ordered mine B9 was all they offered.
Thanks
TNHunter
I’m interested in what your best tasting apples are now. I’m enjoying early Pink Lady and Goldrush, but miss Newtown that I finished a month ago. I didn’t save enough of them because half were damaged with either corking or stinkbug damage. I’m not smart enough to tell the difference.
My wife is mostly enjoying Jonagold and Fortune. Fortune is extremely difficult for me to grow because of black rot. It can also be a problem with Jonagold but calcium sprays seem to have mostly kept it in check last season. Whenever I saw an apple begin to cork up, I pulled it off the trees and Jonagold still had a very heavy crop. They get so big that it’s hard to think enough. In spite of calcium sprays the majority of Fortunes rotted or had to be removed before ripening. The apples get even bigger than Jonagold- bigger than anything I ever see in stores.
For a baked apple, Red Prince Jonagold cannot be beat.
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@BlueBerry My interest in the genetics primarily is the fact that the tree has survived for 15 or so years all on its own in my climate, and is still a great apple in size and taste. I know people that have had a number of trees bred elsewhere (like Golden Delicious for example) die due to a variety of reasons, even with good care, whereas this one has managed just fine with no care at all.
I’ll also say I’ve found two other interesting candidates as well: One with large, green apples, greatly resembling a Granny Smith, except it gets a slight red blush, and is more sour and sweet at the same time, resembling a sour green apple candy. Unlike anything I’ve tried before.
Another one is a very pale yellow, decent fruit size, quite sweet, and no tartness at all, I’d say it’s close to an asian pear in overall taste and texture profile.
I’m just getting started though, and I will share more once I get further along in the project.
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@TNHunter I’ve found the the novamac to be quite prolific, so having it on B9 should be very nice. I’m not sure what rootstock it is on, as I got it from a garden centre already grafted about 15 years ago, before I knew ANYTHING about rootstocks/grafting. I’m guessing it’s on an M9 based on the size and shape of the tree. The novamac is like a store-bought MacIntosh, but slightly smaller in my experience, and slightly more tart, but also more refreshing. The flesh is also more white than a store bought MacIntosh as well (which in my experience tend to be SLIGHTLY green inside). I’m in Eastern Canada, where apple trees don’t flower until late May, and the Novamacs ripen to the point of being edible around early to mid September, but we leave them on the tree until late October, as the first frost is usually around the first week of October and the October frost pushes extra sugar into the fruit, making them far sweeter than when they’re picked in September.
I have seen absolutely no disease on it whatsoever, including apple scab, which a cortland I have (on, I believe, G935, although I again didn’t graft that one) about 20 feet away suffers from pretty badly. I even grafted a novamac branch onto the cortland and there’s no scab on the apples on that branch. The only problem that the tree suffers from is aphids, but I spray it down with insecticidal soap via my pressure washer on the widest setting 4-5 times a season and that keeps them down very well.
I will warn you that I recommend thinning the tree, or at least I have to with mine (probably a good idea on B9 too, as I’ve read that especially early on in their lives the trees can overdo it on the apples, sacrificing root and limb growth). Without thinning I get about 90 dozen apples in a good season at this point, but they’re all about 1/2 store bought size. This year I removed about 1/3rd of the apples in early September (which went into a batch of hard cider) and ended up with 56 dozen apples that you could believe came from the supermarket, no problem. I gave a lot away and made a lot of pies and apple sauce.
I hope that helps.
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Steve I wouldn’t mind grafting a shackleford if you still have one available. Thanks!
Quill was hoping to get Shackleford from me this winter, but my whip had a tough season last year & not enough growth to offer even one scion.
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Appreciate the details @WildApple23 — looking forward to growing out this Novamac.
I will see how the B9 works out… M7 is working really well for my other trees here and I have some M7 rootstock ordered… to graft my Early Mc to… I also have some Novamac scion ordered too, from the same vendor that is supplying the root stock. I may just graft some Novmac on M7 too… may end up with one on B9 and another on M7.
I think the B9 will require protection from Deer here… where so far I have not had Deer trouble with my M7 size trees.
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@TNHunter I’d say it’s worth a try on the M7. We don’t have deer here, so I can’t comment on that part of it, but hopefully they don’t cause you any more trouble.
I learned about this apple from this list and have been intrigued. Scionwood is available through GRIN Geneva, or will be when they start shipping again.
Saw this picture on Facebook, and it confirms that in Lisbon it is still very highly valued.
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Rosemary Russet had only two spurs first time around - 6 blooms each - and the pink coloration was less distinct than that of GoldRush & far less than the pink in Hunt Russet.
I have only once eaten one small Frostbite apple, it’s taste was similar to Bravo de Esmolfe. I’m not sure if that one apple was a good example how Frostbite usually tastes.
Sorry but Bravo de Esmolfe is an unique apple very valued here… it’s my favourite apple! 
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I very much like Bravo for it’s flavor/aromatics, the texture is what stops me to say that I love it. Apion/Pion is another variety with same taste profile, but it’s highly unlikely @Lodidian ever tasted that one.
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