Does anyone have any experience with Galarina Apple? I was perusing the Cummins Nursery website, and the description makes it seem like a great apple for a backyard grower, but I can’t find much first-hand information about it.
My yard is pretty full at the moment, so I’m always looking for space to cram one more thing in. My cold-hardy eucalyptus tree has sadly died (it lasted for 5 years, but I think it couldn’t handle the wild temperature swings from last winter), which means I have space more tree! I was considering planting an apple tree in that spot once my hubby cuts the eucalyptus down. Haha, I’m already dreaming of my fall 2023 orders for Spring 2024…
I’m fairly new to tree fruits, so I’m still fairly new to the spraying thing. I’m not opposed to spraying, but I have 3 young kids and a big dog, so I want to try to keep it as light as possible. Last year, I sprayed my existing trees 2x with copper + neem oil while dormant (late fall and early spring), and 1x with infuse when my apriums started showing some rot (around late may), and then 1x with Bonide Revitalize (a biofungicide) after that. I’d be willing to spray a little more than that in the future, but probably not by much (although hopefully I’ll get the timing of things down better).
Would Galarina be a good choice? Would I be able to get edible fruit off of it? If yes, what rootstock would be best? As an FYI, there are several apple trees and ornamental crabs in my neighborhood, so I don’t think I’ll need a polinator.
I saw a post the other day of someone growing Initial which is a gala-like apple…and they grew it no spray… Seems like a good choice for low input…
Cummins says this:
Thoroughly vetted against apple scab, powdery mildew, and fireblight, also rosy apple aphids. At harvest time, fruit eating quality has been judged as excellent. The flesh is firm, crisp and juicy. Taste is slightly flavoured and middly acidic. The keeping quality is good for an early maturing cultivar: it keeps its harvest characteristics for two months in normal fridge conditions. Trial growers have observed that Initial can be managed with remarkably low input: good size and fruit quality have been obtained with minimal pruning , little or no irrigation, and no chemical thinning program. All around resistance to pests and diseases allows significant reduction in the number of phytosanitory treatments necessary.
It’s a reasonable choice. I considered getting it based on it’s disease resistance. Here is more info on the apple.
You might look at this list for disease resistant apples.
To answer what rootstock would be best it would be helpful to know what type of soil you have- sandy, loam or clay and what size of tree you want dwarf, semi-dwarf, or full size.
In any case, apples will be easier than the peaches and sweet cherries you have on your profile. You may want to look at the Eastern sweet cherry thread to see what you what you will face growing sweet cherries.
Easily in the top 3 apples of what my entire family would say is a good tasting apple, one of our favorites. We don’t spray our Galarina for anything disease related.
For your rootstock questions: I have loamy soil. As for height, maybe up to 10-15 feet ish?
Haha, the cherry was a whim purchase from home Depot sometime in 2021. It hasn’t bloomed yet, and I’m seriously considering replacing it. But, I also feel bad yanking it before it even had a chance to bloom
Thanks so much for the first hand insight! It just seemed strange to me that there’s so little first hand anecdotes from forum members when the available info online seems promising. Made me worried that it’s secretly awful or something?
It sounds like you have a small space to put the tree in. How much area do you actually have (length X width)? In commercial orchards dwarf apple trees trained to the tall spindle system are spaced 3 feet between trees and 11-13 feet between rows. So dwarf apple trees can be put in a small space. You may be able to put several apple trees in the small space you have if you train them to the tall spindle system. I have dwarf trees on 3 feet spacing between the trees.
Semi-dwarf trees take more space. But in both cases the training system has a big effect on the space you need. Central leader trained trees require a lot of space, tall spindle trained trees require little space. Here is a tree spacing calculator that helps you see how all of this works. http://fruitadvisor.info/tfruit/clements/appletreespacing.htm
