Favorite? Winesap, although the first taste of Hunt Russet caught me by surprise. I dug that li’l tree up last year, nearly killed it and can’t let it grow fruit this year (well, maybe one.) If it is consistent Winesap may be bumped to #2.
Karmijn de Sonnaville grabbed me by the throat and didn’t let go. Wow, but it was grown right next to a large body of water (Columbia River) and I doubt it can handle the very low humidity here in town, so won’t even attempt it. (Reputedly cracks.)
I love Redfield, used any way I can except eaten in hand. Claygate Pearmain was amazing fresh. I hope it will prove consistent. Am waiting to try Lamb Abbey Pearmain, which whip might get to a size next year to bloom and offer a sample fruit.
Pink Pearl was a delight, fresh and baked. Must learn if it can repeat that in this area.
Bardsey is always welcome. Its lemon taste and juiciness is consistent, even when its bloom time & harvest are all over the map. BTW, in its 8th leaf (on EMLA 26!) it will finally bloom all over this season - a matter of days from now.
Wickson is amazing Way Out West; must be half the acid I hear about Back East. Hope to get that started in a new orchard soon.
Empire may be my favorite among mainstream types - far more than the sum of its parts, being a cross of McIntosh & Delicious. That’s been a winner year by year. (Someone else grows it.)
I’ve written before that Beacon came through with floral bits - sweet allysum & lilac, & Macoun laden with vanilla. (Both from the U-Pick where I got KdS.) They changed my attitude toward sweet apples. Might get them started in the new orchard next year.
This year will provide a batch of Edelborsdorfer, which had surprising acid to offset 14 Brix last year, not seeming to be sweet, while picked weeks too late. This year I may begin trying it September first and every three days afterward to see what it does. Supposed to have a spicy component - sounds good to me.
So many to wait for: LAP, Connell (debut bloom coming up), Rosemary Russet, Goldrush. Then there are the grafts awaiting results, too many to be worth listing.
Ah, the possibilities!
“Hope to get that started in a new orchard soon.” Are you moving or did you find someone to lend space? I wonder if Airlie’s Red Flesh would work for you. Is the u pick in the same growing region or closer to Wenatchee? Karmijn is somewhat tempermental, even near large bodies of water. Have you tried Spitz? Mine hasn’t been too productive or good yet but when the conditions are right, wow!
Friends from a bygone era have a large chunk of property and wish to devote nearly 2 acres to fruit & nut trees. They’ll share. All those years of making lists, trying different grafts and eliminating some cultivars may pay off yet!
This location is outside of Spokane, about a 40 minute drive away from my home. If you’re thinking about the potential for growing KdS, I’d say the odds are slim to none. It borders on the scab lands; even more desert-like than my property. Those I ate from Feil Pioneer Fruit Stand, East Wenatchee were unforgettable.
I got Esopus Spitzenburg from that same place twice and ate them (single samples) too soon to be enjoyed, I think. Next time I can get ES, I’ll wait until after Christmas to try 'em.
(BTW, they have Lady. Second time I bought a bagful, I waited until after Christmas to try 'em, and found significant almond in the flavors.)
Yeah, I’d like to try both Airlies RF & Pink Pearl side by side to compare results. I had some PP last year from a grocer that stocks unusual stuff and was pleasantly surprised; both fresh & baked.
Sometimes I think I must go to Tacoma to see college friends (PLU) and find you - compare fruits we grow. This year Connell Red will offer debut fruit - 30+ spurs opening now. There will be plenty of Bardsey, too, as it has finally gone to full production in its eighth leaf.
Stephen Hayes has a video on YouTube about Irish Peach. He said that IP will drop 80% of its fruit before its ripe. If memory serves right stress doesn’t cause it, it just drops fruit like crazy regardless of the circumstances. He also said it was very soft and had virtually no shelf life. That being said, I’ve heard nothing but great things about it’s taste. If everything works out I’m going to try to bud graft it this summer to some extra rootstock I have. Have you got to taste yours yet?
I wish I had better luck with Irish Peach. True to its reputation, it dropped all apples two years in a row so I took it out. I think @Matt_in_Maryland reported similar issues. I don’t want to discourage you from giving it a try, especially if you are a variety fiend like some of us.
My current theory is if an apple cultivar has stayed around for 100+ years even though it has major downsides, there must be a positive attribute that keeps it around. I’m planning for IP to make a lot of chicken food, but eventually I’ll hopefully be able to sink my teeth into one and see if it’s worth it. I’m also growing Cox’s OP and Wickson right now knowing full well that they’re probably going to get grafted over eventually because of disease issues. There’s just no feasible way to experience the taste of certain things without growing it myself. Thanks for confirming the premature drop wasn’t a freak thing limited to British growing conditions.
Early in the season it has an explosive crispy texture
That is tart in a really good way, later it becomes sweeter , but still keeps a good acid balance
Eaten at either end of the season ( early / late) it seams like a totally different Apple.
Scab imune, bears heavy every year.
Easy to maintain, a well behaved tree.
Makes the best cider / wine.
One of my favorites here
Is it like a July or August apple? How is it’s disease resistance, any fire blight issues?
I’ve read about it on the PRI (Purdue, Rutgers, Illinois) website, a lot of good apples from that program. I like to go on the site and see what the lineage of their best apples are, like Pristine, Goldrush, Pixie Crunch, Winecrisp, Enterprise, etc.
To find a particular apple’s forebears are, click on the “co op release description” link on the upper right side. All the ones I’ve seen have Malus floribunda in its lineage for apple scab resistance. Pretty interesting stuff for a fruit nerd like me.
Never heard of Sir Prize so looked it up. I like the PRI apples. Triploids are often really good too - Gravenstein, Jonagold, others. Sir Prize is triploid, a cross between a tetraploid Golden Delicious parent and a half-Golden Delicious parent. There is Rome Beauty and Malus floribunda in the remaining grandparent, selfed. So that makes it at least 3/4 Golden Delicious with the remainder mostly for disease resistance, but since it is triploid with the tetraploid parent being all Golden Delicious… maybe more? How interesting!
What I remember reading is:
That sir prize’es biggest fault is its thin skin, and it bruises easily. The reason it is not a commercial success .
As any golden type Apple must be picked and handled like thin shelled eggs ,to avoid finger marks and bruises,
I have picked apples as a job for years so I use a light hand when picking, let my knuckles touch the ones in my basket befor gently letting loose of the one in my hand,as one should.
A un trained picker could make a mess of them !
A good home orchard variety nevertheless.
Yeah, I’ve heard of triploid and diploid, but not tetraploid. Makes you wonder how many ploidies, if that’s a word, there are when it’s related to apples. If an apple’s a tetraploid, does that mean it needs to be pollinated by three different apples?
I believe Rome Beauty was discovered not to far from here just across the Ohio River. It has good disease resistance itself. I had seen malus floribunda a lot in these DR apples’ lineage so I had to look it up. It’s a Japanese crab apple with good scab resistance, hence these PRI apples having that trait.
@subdood_ky_z6b, black mulberry has the highest ploidy of any plant, at 44 x, giving it 308 chromosomes. from what have read about apples, tetraploid ones are not great - misshapen, with poor flavor. Some of the big blackberries are tetraploid. Seedless watermelons are triploid too.
It matters in choosing apple varieties because around 10% of tested English apple varieties were triploid, so they cant pollinate the others in your orchard. Some are really good apples, like the ones mentioned, and some good historic cultivars.
Then again, when most of your trees are frankentrees like mine, there are so many types that a few pollen sterile ones are not a problem.
The reason you need 2 other varieties of apple if one is triploid, is to pollinate each other. For example, if you have Gravenstein and Pristine, the Pristine can pollinate the Gravenstein, but not vice versa. So you would only get Gravenstein apples. So you also add a Airlie Redflesh. Then the Pristine and the Airlie pollinate each other, and either or both of them pollinate the Gravenstein. The Gravenstein does not really need two types to pollinate it, but it’s pollinator needs a pollinator.
I imagine the same is true of Sir Prize. They must have wanted a triploid, for size, vigor, disease resistance, and flavor.
By the way, these overlap bloom in my yard, but I can’t promise that in other climates.
Along with diploid, triploid and tetraploid apples, there is also the possibility of haploid. I read somewhere that D’Arcy Spice might be haploid - half the norm of genetic information, to my mind. It set fruit, just dropped all of them at the first heat wave.
I used DS as an interstem to curb Connell’s exuberant growth, and await results of its debut bloom this year.
Somewhere - a website originating in Texas, if I remember aright - Connell Red was listed as blooming later than Fireside, from which Connell arose as a bud sport. It is one of two last in the bloom line-up this season. Still blooming today, along with Edelborsdorfer.
So, the list this year looks like this (each at 10%):
Redfield & Bardsey (early for Bardsey) April 30
Winekist May 3
Hunt Russet, Claygate Pearmain (triploid), Rambour Franc (triploid & shocked by top-working) May 4
Connell Red May 5 (about 1/3 the blooms still in pink stage, so extended bloom)
Edelborsdorfer May 7 (similar bloom stages to Connell)
Winter was mild until February, when temps dropped to single digits the first week. Then snow came & stayed through March 26. The apple bloom seemed to bunch up. First day above 60°F was April 17.
Next year, GoldRush may bloom, which I expect to be among the late group, & Lamb Abbey Pearmain might bloom - mid season.
Since Hunt grew fresh roots after a botched re-planting in '18, I will probably let it grow just one sample fruit this season - need scions for next year. I also want to taste this amazing fruit just once this year. It may become my favorite apple; in contention with Winesap. They differ in flavors, size & chew; Winesap breaking with more snap & a bit more juice. (Hunt has so far offered only one sample crop in '17, so it needs more years to show its strengths.) The flesh of Winesap & Hunt is about the same color, BTW.