After adding several Goldrush scions I attached a few backup side grafts of it. All these grafts appear to have done well and are growing. To my delight one of the extras had a bloom cluster. After hand pollinating, I put a well vented bag over the entire scion. Today I checked the bag and one of the fruitlets in the cluster is growing. The bag was put back over the fruit only and the waiting game starts. I have read so many great reviews of this apple I sure hope in matures. Hope it is as good as I’m expecting assuming it makes it to the taste test time. Bill
Nice! I am pretty much out of room to graft apples but I have a few Karmijn De Sonnaville scions remaining I might try a side graft on my combo apple. It’s set up like an espalier and I need growth in a perpendicular direction. How long ago did you graft that Bill?
When it matures, be sure to fully ripen it and then leave it age a bit. All the talk of it improving in storage is absolutely spot on. If it hadn’t been for last year, I would have top worked mine, dismissing it as a very inferior apple.
This Fackler (sp?) guy everyone is always speaking of is right, it really is battery acid straight off the tree. It’s really unbelievable to me how much it changes after even very brief storage.
I still don’t like the hard skin on it though, but I just peel them so no big deal.
This scion was added February 18, 2016. From what I see on this forum this is a little early to graft. I must be in an unusual location because I add apple and pear scions anytime I’m in the mood after Jan 1 and most all of them grow. Bill
Karmijn De Sonnaville sounds like a really good apple. Listed on Orange Pippin as a Triploid.
I like them right off of the tree with a good kick to them. They are good in storage, but for me lose that acid kick I like so much. Still a good apple just more sweet after storage.
Auburn,
How critical are the little holes in the bags? I’ve seen folks cut the corners off, but not perforations like you have done. Have you had bad experiences using bags without the holes? I wonder about overheating in the bag. I’m just now about to bag a few myself for the first time. I’m getting decent fruit set on my second leaf william’s pride, king david, and priscilla. Your goldrush seems a few weeks ahead of mine, which is just starting to bloom now, and I’m in Lee County, south of you. Maybe lack of chill was an issue this year.
I guess there are at least two of us who likes a little kick in our apples. Wish I had enough to try some out fresh and some that had been in storeage a little while. Bill
Barry. This is my third year to bag but my first to use bags with several holes like the one in my picture. The first two years with less holes seem to do a decent job with only a few exceptions that I think might have been as a result of excess moisture in the bag. I like to attempt to improve things and more holes with precise distribution could only help. I guess it is a little early to decide if this is an improvement but I am very pleased with the improved ventilated bag. The hole in my bags are not punched they are drilled so they will stay open. I made a templet that will hold about 20-30 bags and I fixed up 400 bags for this season and this will probably be enough.
Love Lee County and the surrounding area. I always thought it would be a great retirement location. I’m an old auburn grad and my two daughters did their under grad work there and moved on to Ga Tech. Several nice people sent me scions from colder areas and I am pretty sure that they had reached there chill requirements long before I received them and I think that is the reason these bloomed out early. Bill
Very curious about the taste of these Goldrush apples also (great reviews). I hope you have good luck with them.
I’ve also grafted a couple of scions (whip and tongue) this year and i can’t wait for next year so i can try a few of these apples.
I should have bark grafted them on older stock. I have done that several times over the years and changed the variety on several more common apples trees i had and on some was lucky enough to have a couple of apples on the first year of grafting.
The variety is Porta da Loja (a very good portuguese variety that almost disappeared) grafted over a 5 year Gala. I didn’t spray this year and the high humidity is showing with some “rust” in the leaves - nothing to worry about. I will have to remove some apples but i am also going against the rule to try and sample some this year. It’s a robust wood stock and the apples are in a very low position so i don’t think it will be a problem.
It’s one of several portuguese cultivars with interest because of their peculiar flavour or good quality.
This is one of the good one’s and the translation is " At the door (porta) of the store (da loja)" because it was one of the apples the merchants displayed at the door of the store to lure the customers in.
Translation of General appreciation:
It still has some expression in the North of the country (Minho region, Braga) where is well regarded. It’s considered an Autumn/Winter variety, of small caliber and firm, yellow and sweet/sour flavour pulp. Good keeping capacity.
We have other several good ones, like the “Bravo de Esmolfe” a very rustic apple with a peculiar and much appreciated flavour, several “Camoesas” and “Malápios” like Malápio de Gouveia.
With the EEC and the farming rules and regulations they lost ground in favour of the commercial apples, very inferior in flavour but with the correct size and aspect standarts. They remain in some agricultural organisms and in private collections.
I’m trying to collect some of the best. This year i have grafted Porta da Loja, Malápio de Gouveia and a few others.
I already have “Bravo de Esmolfe” which i like very much. I was afraid it would not produce because it’s a Northern apple with an high chilling requirement (900-1100 hours) and i only have 350-450 usually. But to my surprise it did, consistently over the last few years. Here’s a photo.
