Collet apple

Collet-Discovery-fruit-083022-gf

Collet (the one on the right in the photo) was one of a number of “firsts” apples for me this year and one I was really looking forward to as I hadn’t heard too much about it. It was a lone apple on an unknown commercial rootstock grafted three years ago, scion from ARS-GRIN. It is reported to be a late fall apple so I was disappointed when it dropped end of August. It had some damage around the stem but otherwise was a very clean average kind of apple, medium size 4 oz.

Let it sit for a week then ate it. Seeds dark brown so appeared ripe. Flavor disappointing to me, husband thought it was good. He likes Macs, I don’t - it was quite Mac-like. Juicy, tart-sweet, tender flesh. Several online recommendations say not to pick it too early, that it sweetens with frosts, so I have bigger hopes for future crops. Though to be sure even this early first apple was a nice one. Sue

(P.S. The Discovery on the left in photo was a BIG winner - will report on apprpopriate thread).

7 Likes

This is one of my healthiest, most vigorous trees. It was full of blossoms this year but I nipped most of them off, letting it set 15. I wanted to wait until after a few frosts to harvest (since others have said it help the flavor) but the tree wasn’t interested. It started dropping apples early September and continued till the first of October. All clean and healthy. With our mild fall there was no chance of waiting for frost. I picked the last two apples 10/2 and they were the best flavor, earliest drops the least. A pretty apple, juicy, tender, not overly sweet but not overly tart. Easy to eat. Didn’t try storing any as they don’t seem to be a storage apple. Maybe in a colder October they would be better, or a colder site. A good apple for Mac lovers I think. Sue

Collet-091223-hand-tree-w

4 Likes

Fellow northerner here that has enjoyed the taste of Collet for over 30 years. I am a tart apple fan though. In a favourable year, it can be fairly sweet and I love the white, juicy flesh. Great in a mix for making juice/ sweet cider. On the down side, for me it is marginally hardy. I lost a mature tree at one point due to winter kill but have kept the variety going by topworking on other trees. I get six inches or so of dieback some springs, but they generally bounce back. I have found Collet to be slow to come into bearing, and sets kind of sparsely for me. Might be due to my severe winters.

4 Likes