I need an opinion from someone who has grown this apple.
I have a project apple tree to which I have grafted multiple varieties. One of the grafts I did in spring of 2018 was Calville Blanc d’Hiver, with scion wood I purchased from Masonville Orchards. I haven’t grown this variety before (or many apples at all, actually), and I am getting a little concerned that the scion may have been mislabeled. It is now growing lots of little apples about the size of a dime, and they appear to be coloring distinctly reddish instead of green. Is this normal fruit development for Calville Blanc, or did I get the wrong variety?
I grafted scions that were given to me by a local orchard as Caville Blanc, and they set fruit this year for the first time. I got a generous fruit set and they are distinctly red on the sun side. I see by a quick search that they can do this, but I don’t know. I guess we’ll have to see if they’re nobby and beat up looking:
This is the first year that mine are bearing fruit.
I agree with Stan, the unusual shape is quite distinctive and different from anything else in my orchard.
I grow this apple and there can be a hint of red on the small fruitlet. The key of the Calville Blanc appearance is that it is lumpy looking from the get go. If it looks mis-shapen that is fine, that is the nature of this apple.
Thank you for all the replies. The fruit is still too small to determine whether it is the right shape. I guess I will just have to try to be more patient.
Well, it has now become quite clear that the scion wood I received was NOT Calville Blanc. The apples are bright red all over and kind of squatty with none of the Calville Blanc characteristic knobbiness. So disappointed. I feel like I’ve wasted two years.
I’m sorry to hear that - it is disappointing. Right now I’m sitting on my first fruiting of Cox’s Orange Pippin -I think … but how will I know? I’ve never seen the apple before in my life!
But there is this: we can hope that whatever we do have is worth having, and go from there.
Yes, I know they are supposed to be lumpy. Mine aren’t. The pictures in this thread are not of my apples. Mine are red all over and are a flattened round shape with no knobs or ribs. I have no idea what they might be, because they look like hundreds of different varieties of apple. They have no distinctive characteristics whatsoever.
If you haven’t already, you might consider inquiring with Masonville Orchards. It may recognize your apple as, for instance, what grows next to ‘Calville Blanc’ in its orchard with that leading to scion from the wrong tree getting labeled ‘Calville Blanc.’
They are still very small and not ripe yet. The tree is really too small to even be producing fruit, but I wanted to let a couple grow to check variety. Good thing I did.
I will be sending the pictures to Masonville Orchards as well to see if Walt can identify the variety.
