Just picked a lovely one. A tad early as it usually is 1/4 to 1/3 tart. I spotted the hellion squirrel so I needed to make my move. The fruit is of British origin and has Worcester Pearmain as a parent. It can have a rose blush inside but mine barely showed color. Great crunch with juice. It is traditionally ready mid-August. Some have described the taste as strawberry-like. It is currently my favorite early (over William’s Pride). I do have Chenango Stawberry and Kerry’s Irish Pippin as recent grafts to try for 1st place.
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I just read that this one hangs well. That your experience? I may have to graft it somewhere and see if it splits in the dry heat - like Lord Lambourne.
Rambour Franc drops before getting ripe and can be severely biennial, so am casting about for another August apple, in case it plays with others better.
I can’t report on Discovery’s hanging ability as we eat them pretty quickly. It is pretty spurry and compact on Bud9. I haven’t yet grown a sizable crop. Sorry to hear Lord Lambourne let you down. I know how much you were looking forward to it. My newer graft of LL hasn’t started producing yet. Pristine seemed to have a short window of opportunity here. Went soft quickly so I will pick earlier next year. Have you tried Ginger Gold? Seems to do well in Wenatchee anyway. I have to fight powdery mildew with mine here but I’m determined. Are you using Surround soaked footies? That might help protect from sun too. It slows my ripening down a bit.
I’ve run out of Holsteins, which were better than ever this year and am on to the Alkmenes. I think Kerry Pippin may ripen in August but just grafted this year. I wish I had more September ripeners. I will get to try some Winstons this year. I’m so loving those Cox relatives. Also finally, drum roll please, some Northern Spies will finally arrive. Let me know if you want any wood.
Discovery tardy to bear, like N. Spy? Sweet, you’ve got NS going! Great apple. I’ve seen some notes about Disc. being late to come into bearing, and others say nothing about that.
I’m considering top-working Rambour Franc to Discovery, and leave an entire limb as RF. Just learned Disc. is being grown in BC. Perhaps it is being grown on the coast, but most of the growing I know about in that province is in the Okanogan. I’ll have to ask around. RF drops nearly all fruit when it approaches ripeness, and having fruit hang until its ripe would be a plus.
Last year I grafted Lamb Abbey Pearmain onto Bud118. It is moving slowly, but that may be due to transplanting this year and re-establishing roots. I could send you one scion of it if you’d like. It is reputed to ripen in September. Since it is a seedling of Newtown Pippin, and that used to be grown here when I was younger, I hope it will do fine. It grew steadily through the summer last year despite the 80 day dearth (yeah, that long without rain.)
Bardsey is ripe the end of September, if the weather is mild. I picked the sole fruit squirrels and codling moth worms left me (falls off with worm damage), despite footies and Surround® on Sept. 10. It must be covered early in the season to head off moths. They seem to find it irresistible. There was so much smoke in the air in August, it got half the color of a normal summer. We had 26 days of 90 and more degrees.
Ginger Gold grows in the orchards just north of town, probably on six properties that are U-Pick. Thanks for the offer, but I don’t want to devote space to growing it here.
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I picked the sole debut Edelborsdorfer 29 September. 16 Brix and going soft; a bit of water core. Will plan to pick mid-September next season.
I’d be happy to swap scions with you, for Discovery.
I have in probable order of harvest (will add F if it has fruited):
Winekist (F),Rambour Franc (F), Bardsey (F), Lamb Abbey Pearmain,
Honeycrisp (F and being cut down completely in March),
Edelborsdorfer (F), Claygate Pearmain (F), Redfield (F),
D’Arcy Spice (F, grafted over as interstem and two scions up),
Connell, Hunt Russet (F, but no scions this year after re-planting),
Rosemary Russet, GoldRush.
PM sent.
We grafted Discovery three years ago onto a branch of a full grown wild apple tree. I was rather surprised and happy to discover three apples growing on that graft this year. I’d read such rave reviews for flavor it was with hopeful anticipation that I kept my eye on those three. It is known as an early apple but the apples dropped about the same as my regular late summer apples, dropping one by one the first week of September. And to my happy taste buds it was every bit as good as reported. Firm, juicy, tasty, great flavor. A beautiful apple. We both thoroughly enjoyed each one. I also have a graft on a small rootstock in the regular (fenced) orchard but it will be some years before that one has fruit. Meantime I’m grafting more branches on the wild tree. Sue
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