Schlabachs was sold out of one of the trees I wanted so I have a 1 tree credit now. What would you get from this list? I already have the trees marked in blue…. Was leaning towards Summer Rambo to diversify my harvest time a bit
Located in northeast PA
I would get Shizuka; only because I have no Japanese varieties.
Enterprise for disease resistance.
I’ve narrowed it down to Summer Rambo, Golden Delicious, Autumn Crisp and Galarina
Summer Rambo/Rambour Franc has very poor pollen. It may be a triploid. The heirloom aspect always attracts me & Rambour Franc dates before 1600. Strong tree, beautiful waxy white bloom & enormous numbers of fruit. But…
If you will have these three apple trees only, you will need another to overlap bloom times. Enterprise blooms smack in the middle of the line-up & should overlap both the latter part of Wm’s Pride & start of Goldrush.
I have 13 other apple varieties on my property at the moment, Williams Pride and GoldRush being 2 of the 13….also crab apples all around me growing wild, and I have honeybees so I don’t think pollination would be an issue.
My experience with GoldRush borders on ecstatic, although you may have to watch it if cedar-apple rust rears its ugly head in your neighborhood. Is yours actually on Bud9? It’ll be a shrimp. Next year I’d graft it onto something allowing its fullest size, since GR is a small tree by apple standards. Mine stands on Bud118 in conditions that stunt trees & is 10 feet tall unpruned & cropping fully.
I hope to graft Smokehouse this year, a rather late & large apple with malt in its flavor profile. Unknown in these parts. That at least will have some size on Bud9. Same with Summer Rambo in terms of tree size.
Perhaps you trellis your orchard, in which case ignore me, who trains to central leader.
Interesting info regarding size potentials, my GoldRush is on G935, Let me know what you think of that rootstock please. I only have 1 or 2 trees on Bud9, only because that was all I could find. I’ll have to check my list to see which specific cultivar is on that rootstock
Are you saying summer Rambo would struggle on Bud9 as well??
Rootstock size is a rough guide. In our heat even B118 is more semi-dwarfish. M111 is more M106 like. Neither B9 or B118 crop well in our area. But Polish P series with that Malling half parentage does not seem as phased by heat.
@Leveraction35 Love your by-line…
Darren has it right: rootstocks operate in a range of results, depending on a host of factors. Here, Bud118 has done splendidly for me, while Bud9 is hardly worth bothering with except under the most vigorous cultivars.
In your case I don’t think Summer Rambo will struggle on B9, just be 8 feet unpruned. The tree is rather vigorous. Of course, your care will also influence its growth. Practically strip it the first couple times it sets fruit or it will be stunted.
As to Goldrush on G935, my guess is yours on that will eventually get as big as mine on Bud118, due to widely differing conditions. My second crop of GR on B118 was about 90 nice sized apples. One of my favorites.
(I live in far eastern Washington state, only 30 miles from desert: less than 14 inches precipitation annually. At this altitude I “enjoy” all of 17" annually, much of it snow.)
I considered that too but I have a bunch of disease resistant trees so I’m willing to try a tree that may be a little more delicate
I would get an extra Goldrush as it is the most delicious apple on that list, and keeps the best into late winter/spring in cold storage.
For what it’s worth- Summer Rambo is not a tasty apple in my opinion.
Good to know about summer Rambo! The early harvest was my only real attraction to it… not a bad idea doubling up on some other trees either 
If you have Williams’ Pride, then you have the early-ripening thing down. The only other super early apple I can whole-heartedly endorse is Sansa (good). Pristine is okay too. After those are done, then GingerGold is the next great apple to come on.
Henry Clay is showing some promise as a decent super early dessert apple, but is hard to find.
Yellow Trans is rot-gut sour eaten out-of-hand. Lodi is always disappointingly pithy. Summer Rambo is a hard sour otherwise flavorless apple useless for eating out-of-hand in my opinion.
I have not yet fruited/tasted Lievland/Lowland Raspberry, Irish Peach, Baker’s Delicious, Carolina Red June, nor the other super-early apples that are out there.
Ya the more I read, the more I see that same feedback about the summer Rambo. Maybe I’ll double up on the Williams Pride or GoldRush instead of a new variety
I would pick Crimson Topaz because Topaz is one of the parents of Opal (along with Golden Delicious). So maybe it is Topaz that turned the very good Golden Delicious into something divine?
I just looked that one up. I’m intrigued.
Ive had some good Zestar, which is pretty early. Sacrlett Surprise is red fleshed and ripens mid August here in NY. Tart, but good flavor with some definite strawberry notes. Texture was pretty good as well.
I had Topaz fruit for the first time last year. Definitely a great apple, especially if you like a decent amount of acidity. It is susceptible to stem canker though. My tree has developed a pretty nasty one on the main trunk.
