I have a ‘Hidden Rose’ purchased from Southmeadow Fruitgardens over 15y ago. The deer seemed to preferentially browse on this as opposed to my other apples, to the point it almost died a few times. Really, the difference in damage was pronounced. I have a wire cage around it now but it has been slow growing and has given me a few apples only in 2013 and 2014. They were relatively small, green skin, red flesh, pleasant sweet - tart flavor. This year it had only a few blooms and set no fruit, while the nearby larger apple trees set fruit fine. I have been disappointed with it because of lack of production but the early year’s deer damage is at least partly to blame.
I used to be able to get Pink Pearl apples back in college, they were awesome. Like eating sour patch kids candy. I miss them.
1 Like
Has anyone tried to grow the hidden rose apple in the northeast (I’m in NJ)? I want to add it to my small orchard but cedar apple rust is pernicious in my area so I have concern as to this breeds ability to survive.
I believe ‘Hoosierquilt’ grows it in CA.
20 years ago, I expressed a desire to grow red-fleshed cultivars on the NAFEX discussion list.
Ed Fackler, whom some of you know or know of, warned me that they would be ‘crap’ here in my warm zone 6 site on the KY/TN border.
He was mostly right. I still have several… Winter Red Flesh, Geneva Crab, Giant Russian … all pretty crappy except for making jelly; definitely not anything you’d want to eat out-of-hand - dry and astringent. Almata is a mediocre to decent apple for fresh eating. None are particularly productive.
Pink Pearl was exceedingly Fireblight susceptible, and never lived long enough to fruit for me, and I largely abandoned that line of pursuit.
YMMV
4 Likes
I know this won’t help with the OP’s search for a true red fleshed apple, but I have an apple that is supposed to be a Rome and it has a slight red tinge on SOME of the apples. Most descriptions I’ve read say Romes are white fleshed but sometimes turn slightly red when exposed to air (instead of the brown we are all familiar with). But that isn’t an accurate description of what goes on with mine…they have the red tinge and lines of light red pigment running thru SOME of them the moment they are cut. It seems even stranger that some apples on the same tree would have the redish tint and some wouldn’t (could be the time I pick them- ie how ripe they are) seems really strange to me. Could be they aren’t Rome. Just curious…anyone else ever heard of a Rome apple with redish flesh? Any explanations for this? Just curious.
2 Likes
Prairie spy has some red veins and red under the skin. The red genes seem to be there hiding amongst many apples genes which occasionally shows up. Wild apples I would bet from time to time are red though mine have not been thus far. Some rare species of wild apples outside the US are always red Malus niedzwetzkyana - Wikipedia. I bring this up because a gentleman by the name of Etter once did significant work with what is believed to be the niedzwetskyana apple and other crosses. So what happened to these crosses? They are now in the possession of green mantle nursery The Rosetta Apples see this article for more on Albert Etter The Ettersburg Apple Legacies
1 Like
If you are looking at grafting and are interested , I have limited scionwood of this apple . It is unnamed at this time and only a few apples for the first time this year . This is a random wild seedling tree and growing in the shade so not sure if the flesh will become redder when grown in full sun.
13 Likes
That’s beautiful. How does it taste?
I always have a hard time with describing what an apple taste like and textures. Only a few produced this year but a sweet with just a hint of sour and a solid apple taste ( if that is really a thing !)
4 Likes
Yes, I have “Hidden Rose”. Got a few apples this year. Not bad, and definitely pink inside.
1 Like
Deleted
I actually like Redfield. Not great out of hand, but it is excellent as part of a blend for pie and cider (sweet or hard). We often struggle to get sufficient acid level in our hard blend if we use a bin of bittersweets as the foundation. Redfield has that in abundance. Plus, kind of cool that it is red inside.
2 Likes
HollyGates,
Were these Redfield? I picked them from a place in Worcester, Ma. No one there knows what they were.
Scott Smith thought it could be Redfield as it was common in MA then. It was planted in 1960.
4 Likes
I’d say they look like redfield. If that scale at the top of the picture is in inches, they might be about the right size; fairly large. The shade of red and the white in the middle looks right, though I imagine that might be common to other red flesh apples. The outside looks a bit more smooth and maybe a little less red than I am used to seeing, but pretty close.
Redfield is in fact the only full size red flesh apple I’ve seen in person or tasted (had some Dolgo from a tree overhanging the sidewalk in Cambridge last fall). Our Redfields are picked at Poverty Lane Orchard in NH by my cider buddy Ben and his group. What orchard did you get those apples at? How did they taste?
3 Likes
I’ve read pretty much the same stuff everyone else here is saying. They are mostly lousy. I had the same idea as the OP with wanting to breed them a bit. Since then, I’ve read about so much work done trying to breed in red flesh with less than acceptable results that is has squashed my desire in that area. Aside from Mrs. G’s Mott’s Pink, I haven’t heard about any others that sounded worth having. I have two of them and wouldn’t be disappointed to lose either or both of them.
1 Like
I’ve read many studies where colors of fruits are associated with certain health benefits eg. Orange - vitamin c, blue- anthocyanins, green chloraphyl, etc… Those associations are not widely understood with red fruit but what I typically have read is its associated with lycopene such as in the case of tomato’s, or autumn olives, goumi etc. My point is red apples may be important for eyesight and need to have a place in our cider. Red cherries are another super food . red apples I suspect are equally impressive but untested.
5 Likes
Where have you been???
I have been in Maryland for the last two weeks, enjoying being a grandmother for the first time! My first grand baby was born on 2/12/16, little Bianca Isobel. She came 2 weeks early, due to some sudden complications my daughter was experiencing, so this old NICU nurse jumped on a plane to get there ASAP. Both mommy and baby are doing extremely well, thank the Lord for all those miracles. That had to be the most stressful flight I’ve ever experienced. Up there with my Code Pink life flights with my preemies back in the day, lol!! So, I pretty much shut down all the electronics, so I could focus on my daughter and my very cherished granddaughter 
24 Likes
Patty,
So glad things have turned out beautifully. Congrats. What a cutie!!
2 Likes