Wow! I thought this seedling was interesting but didn’t anticipate this level of interest. I’ll be sure to watch it closely and keep the thread updated.
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Somewhere I read that two places in the apple genome affect red coloring, one has more to do with color in the fruit & the other foliage/wood. (No doubt someone on this thread knows chapter & verse.) I wonder if this deeply red seedling will be red in both sectors.
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My guess is it"s a safe bet that the fruit are red to burgundy inside>
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Nice looking seedling. About half of the seedlings I get from Dolgo have that dark color.
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I am now starting to collect Red Fleshed varieties after tasting several of the Red Love varieties last year for the first time.
Red Love Odysso is actually very good – if it sits in the refrigerator for a minimum of 1 month. The other ones also benefit from sitting in the fridge for substantial periods of time. They all get a nice cherry/berry flavor with a good level of sweetness.
I added some of Skillcult’s varieties this year after seeing his videos. Appleoosa, Cherry Crush and some others I cannot recall right now. They have green leaves unlike the red love varieties. I wonder if their flesh will be as intensely red?
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How would you compare all of these to Rubaiyat? From what I read, I thought red-flesh breeding is quite behind to come up with a great tasting apple that also has dark red flesh. That was before I sampled Rubaiyat. It is pretty close to what an acceptable red flesh apple can be. No tannins, no puckering tartness and very balanced flavor. I haven’t tasted a lot of the different varieties other than pink pearl, pink parfait (these only have shades of pink flesh) and some experimental red-fleshed selections. Rubaiyat is better than all of them by a measurable distance.
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I have not tasted Rubaiyat yet.
When I tried the Red Love apples straight from the tree last year, they were very tart and not that good.
But leaving them in the fridge made a huge difference. Maybe Rubaiyat is much better. I am quite excited about the new ones that Steven Edholm is growing.
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I have eaten Rubaiyat and Redlove Calypso, both after refrigeration. Rubaiyat tastes much better with solid red flesh.
The first year Rubaiyat, fruit were small and they tasted unmemorable. The second year fruit got larger and tasted better.
This past year was the 3rd fruiting season. It was very good, juicy and more balanced. The fruit is a medium size apple. Calypso was tart.
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I haven’t yet tasted Rubaiyat - hope to somewhere, someday. In the meantime I used Pink Pearl in a pie & was very pleased with the result.
Since I like rather tart apples, I thought Pink Pearl quite good. Now to find Rubaiyat…
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He is pretty excited about his King David X Rubaiyat cross. I can imagine it’s a great tasting apple. I wonder why they mostly try crossing red-fleshed apples (Grenadine, Rubaiyat, etc) with high acid apples like King David. Even if the dark exterior is important, I would have guessed a low acid, high brix apple like Red Fuji would be a more suitable cross to balance out the flavor.
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I made quite a few crosses with apples that have red flesh potential this year. Here’s the list:
Black Limbertwig x Unidentified Red Fleshed Crab (URFC)
Bud 118 x Hewes
Bud 118 x Sugarwood
Coop 23 x Redfield
Coop 23 x Sugarwood
Coop 23 x URFC
Coop 30 x Sugarwood
Golden Russett x URFC
Hewes x Sugarwood
Redfield x Hewes
Redfield x Kidds Orange Red
Redfield x Coop 23
Redfield x Sugarwood
Sugarwood x Hewes
Sugarwood x Kidds Orange Red
Sugarwood x Coop 23
Sugarwood x URFC
The unidentified redflesh crab I got from some folks in my neighborhood. They dont know what variety it is. The fruit are about the size of a ping pong ball, dark red all the way through. Flowers are dark pink. Tastewise it had some definite sweetness, but also a decent amount of acid and tannin, plus a weird flavor I cant quite describe. Not really unpleasant just…weird.
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I have lady Williams, Rubaiyat, cherry crush, Flaxen, and BITE ME! From watching his videos. I can easily say that BITE has been the most prolific graft over the past year and this year one of the hardiest new grafts I have. Right now three of them are forming buds and they were one of the first to show they had taken. I’m really pleased with his scion quality. This year I got varieties from his store that did not require an auction. It was a simple transaction and I received them about 10 days later.
Having said all this, I have not had any apples yet, but I’m quite optimistic.
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You’re on to something there. Redfield is a cross of Wolf River and Malus niedzwetzkyana, the hulk with a pigmy; Big sweet bland with tiny red sharp. Superb apple of average size I believe deserves to be better known.
Now you’ve got me thinking…
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Does anyone here have experience growing red fleshed apples in climates with extreme summer heat? They (Tx A&M) say that apples red skin pigmentation is hindered by the fact that here during the summers it doesn’t get very cool at night. (Like some nights only down to 85F). I was wondering if the development of red flesh would be similarly effected.
This year my first ever wolf river apple if it hangs on. I also have a few other large apple grafts. Coras Grand greening and jumbo, to name a few.
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I dont have that experience. But have the opposite climate – cool summers, even colder nights.
Red fleshed apples get intensely colored here.
I am also growing some kiwis – red fleshed, red flecked inside. They also develop very nice coloration.
The big issue here is that apples aren’t as sweet as those from hotter climates. It is possible that your climate, while not being ideal for coloration is much better for sweetness.
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If so, I would be happy with my lot. Thank you for your input.
Summers get hotter here with each passing decade: frequent 90s and more, with relative humidity down to 13% so nights are generally 30°F cooler. We get lovely color and reduced acid in apples and grapes as a result.
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I’m trying…it’s not a quick project…red fleshed/red leaved crossed to things that are more sugary and not sour or bitter.
I have Redfield and it’s parent Niedz. crossed to each other again this year (nothing else in bloom this year that early).
Odysso probably pollinated by the likes of Spitzenburg, Mammoth BT, Geneva and May Queen. And at my other location possibly Fuji, Gala, Camack’s S, and Granny Smith.
Just one definite hand cross, a Odysso x Spitz. Many blossoms did not set fruits.
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One thing I like about red fleshed grafts with red leaves is how clear it is if the graft has taken. I walk along and check grafts often. I pinch off competing leaves but sometimes I’m on the fence whether the new growth is from the graft or the base tree. With red fleshed leaves the distinction is super clear. I’ve had some growth very near the graft that I would normally pinch off except it bears the distimctive red color.
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