So (drum roll)…in your opinion how good is this apple in terms of taste? My point is, I certainly do not know in terms of taste as mine apparently were picked wrong but, it sounds exceedingly difficult to pick (but as a home grower it may, in some fashion be ideal), I know it is a CAR magnet (I have never seen an apple get hit that hard before), so in your estimation is it worth the effort to grow? It certainly was an attractive looking apple. Curious…
@TheFluffyBunny I hope all has been well. Good to see you again! Wickson can even be difficult to grow here in the Midwest. Wickson is one i do grow. Ideal conditions is hard for us to come by here so the Etter types likely will never reach their peak. I grow non etter apples eg. honeycrisp and have had similar experience with it. Some apples such as hauer pippen really are likely best grown in California.
I think the hobbyist, the curious, should try what piques their interest…but some varieties would be a mistake to plant for commercial purposes in some areas. (Unless lots of spraying is done.)
2 Likes
It’s a very good apple, easily in the top quarter of all named cultivars. And it’s not difficult to pick at all once you understand how it ripens. After the fruit appears to be mature, give it 3-5 weeks on the tree before picking. As for CAR, I don’t get it at all here so I can’t weigh that into my preferences.
2 Likes
I noted the following in Neil Collins’ Trees of Antiquity newsletter today:
Recently, Marissa Fishman bestowed upon us the honor of propagating a handful of the late Ram Fishman’s (of Greenmantle Nursery) coveted apple varieties. The foundation of Ram’s fruit collection rests on the old homestead varieties of the bio-region of Ettersburg, California, and features the legacy of Albert Etter (1872-1950) the renowned plant breeder whose private experiment station was located a few miles from his nursery. It is a privilege to help Marissa keep Ram’s passion alive. We have a very limited amount of these rare apple varieties this year, but we will graft more next year, 2024: Atalanta, Christmas Pink, Eden, Grenadine, Jade, Katherine, Muscat de Venus, Pink Parfait, Rubiyat, Vixen.
I consider this excellent news, as I had been concerned that we’d no longer have a reliable source for these varieties now that Ram has passed. I’m no longer worried; I don’t think that Ms. Fishman could have chosen a better partner to keep them available than TOA.
They don’t have a specific category on their website yet, but for now, you can see a list of them here.
7 Likes
Hi Jerry,
Could you please post pics of your Etter’s apples, esp. Muscat de Venus?
If you don’t have pics, could you describe the color, size, picking time and taste of MdV? I think I may have a incorrectly label MdV.
It is difficult to find good pics of it. Most nurseries copy from the Greenmantle Nursery’s one small pic.
2 Likes
I just went out and took some photos. A number of varieties aren’t ripe yet, or are just getting pickable now. Muscat is in the latter category.
I should note that many of these apples, except for a couple of freakishly big Rubaiyats, are smaller than normal this season. It’s my fault - I was unavoidably out of town when I normally thin them, and I just never caught up. You see it particularly with Christmas Pink.
Muscat de Venus:
Rubaiyat:
Vixen:
Christmas Pink:
Pink Parfait:
Wickson:
Pink Pearl. In my climate, fruit on a given tree seems to fall into two camps. Some have translucent skin with the pink flesh showing through, and others have yellow opaque skin with a red blush. The former are a little better for fresh eating. It may be partially related to the amount of sun exposure (as seen here) and partially to ripeness, but there seems to be another unidentified factor at play. Both are pictured:
Thornberry:
Crimson Gold:
Blush Rosette:
Victory (an Etter variety saved by Neil Collins, but not sold by Greenmantle):
I used to have Pink Pearmain bearing here, but it was killed by a late freeze and I haven’t replaced it. I do have Grenadine, but it hasn’t begun fruiting yet. Perhaps next season. I thought I had Alaska, but it was a mislabeled scion. And I also have Etter’s Gold (maybe), but it’s done for the season. [Edited for completeness: I had bearing Amberoso and Atalanta’s Gold trees, but they were killed by the same late freeze that got the Pink Pearmain. It got Vixen, too, but I’ve obviously replaced that one.]
12 Likes
Thank you, Jerry. How big is your Muscat? A Wickson size?
Mine are the size of a small apple, not a crab apple size.
1 Like
I’ll follow up by saying after a couple years, the Odysso are a disappointment.
The Redlove apples can surely be improved upon.
1 Like
I don’t thin MdV very hard, so mine are often the size of a big crab. Properly thinned, they do reach the size of a small apple. They’re consistently bigger than my Wickson, but I don’t thin Wickson at all.
I think so, too.
1 Like
@jerry @SMC_zone6
Thank you. I hope my MdV apple will have more distinct muscat grape flavor in a drier year.
2 Likes
Tippy,
I agree with the others that your picture sure looks more like MdV than Vixen. I don’t recall my MdV looking quite the same, although as we discussed in our DM, I topworked that tree four or five years ago because I didn’t need a sugar bomb like MdV for my cider blends, and I didn’t enjoy it at all out of hand. @jerry, how does MdV taste from your orchard? Does it develop any acid at all? Here it was cloyingly sweet with zero acid the five or so years I fruited it.
Here are the Vixen pics for comparison, Tippy. I don’t recall which thread you initially posted your MdV pics in, but you can find them and compare. The yellow apple is a 2.75” diameter Hawaii for size comparison.
4 Likes
No, not really. They’re sweet, crisp, and juicy, with some mild but unusual flavor notes. Folks here who like sweet apples tend to like them pretty well. I’m going to try drying some of them this year, though they’re a little small for that.
Our Vixen are larger, more flattened, more red-blushed, and have a much more complex flavor with considerable acid. They are indeed something like a larger but less intense Wickson.
2 Likes
Gorgeous photos Jerry!
I just looked at the climate where you are… What a great place for growing fruit and I’d imagine flowers as well. Never hot and not too cold.
1 Like
@HighandDry
Thanks for the pic.
My MdV pic was posted on the Picture Category. This thread.
Apple (fruit only) pictures from your backyard orchards, please.
These were my MdV.
The graft got only 5 hours of sun. This year, due to frequent rain, apples have not tasted as good as they used to be. For MdV, it was the first year fruiting. Could not detect a muscat grape flavor.
4 Likes
Thanks. It is very nice. We feel fortunate to have found it, and to have figured out a way to live here.
1 Like
All my Rubaiyat this year, about a dozen on a down year, were pecked by birds and dropped early or got bitten by squirrels. This one hung on until yesterday before something caused it to drop. A medium size apple.
This was the first time I saw yellow background skin. Usually, it has been red.
Unfortunately, insects also got to it. Two worms.
I managed to eat a small chunk of the cleanest flesh. A little on a tart size but definitely had some sweetness to it. This was a month earlier than when Rubaiyat is supposed to ripen.
Back to bagging them next year.
4 Likes
Had to regraft the MdV in Iowa due to FB.