Is Goldrush an appropriate apple for the southeast? Would it come out tasting good with a long, hot ripening window? (and storage, if necessary)
Two of my Goldrush went biennial on me this year. I will have to be mindful of not being greedy next year. Luckily my third one that I deflowered last year because I thought it would runt out is loaded. I love them right off the tree with a little kick to them. My Macoun went biennial, but I think I fixed it last year by getting rid of a good amount of apples on it last year. It has a fair , but not great flowers on them this year.
Muddy, from what I gather it is a good southern apple but I hope someone close to you chimes in. I know people grow it fine in VA and Indiana- two places that can get hot.
Thanks, Alan. That sounds like a reasonable extension of thought. I considered Virginia summers hot, too, when I lived there for my first 30 years. Now, when I go back to visit in the summers I find them refreshingly cool. I won’t even consider visiting in the winter unless it is absolutely necessary. 
I don’t think you’re too far off in the comparison, though. Our more northern Piedmont region and northern coastal areas seem to have summer temperatures and rainfall that could possibly be compared to those states. I just happen to be in the central area that seems to act as a heat sink for the state. I think some parts of Georgia and Alabama might have similar summer weather as here, but I’m not sure.
I wonder if you can grow Pink Lady there. Wonderful apple that keeps great.
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I hope so. I planted one this spring. 
The two apples that I planted this year were Pink Lady and Honeycrisp. Not long after that there was a series of comments in a thread about how Honeycrisp was disappointing when grown in less cold areas. Your comments were among them. At the time, I thought, “Well, at least I planted a Pink Lady. Maybe that will be happy here.” LOL
Alan, I’ve been trying to grow some apples for at least 10 years, and this is the first year that I even have a few on a tree. I think it’s Red Fuji. Third year I’ve had it. I’m determined to learn to do things better, including making better choices in what gets planted, and learning how and when to graft so that I can at least get some use out of existing non-performing plantings.
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Kevin Hauser of Kuffell Creek Apple Nursery says Honeycrisp does suprisingly well in southern Calif. So maybe there’s hope for yours. Check it out:
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My Goldrush in central Alabama is doing well and the fruit quality is good. It does tend to fruit early/heavy and runt out. If your grafting this variety let it grow a year or two before letting the fruit mature. Overall I’m pleased with it. Bill
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This looks like the first year my Honeycrisp will be giving me fruit. Should I let it be and see the fruit quality from my soil or start another type of spray for it.
Pink Lady (Cripps) is my second favorite apple here. It is nearly as good as Fuji or Red Fuji. I bought it as my cross-pollinator for the Fuji’s, but ended up likely it nearly as well as the supremely outstanding Fuji. For me in my area, Fuji is just so incredibly outstanding. I hope I get some apples this year on my Goldrush and my Honeycrips, as well as my Pink Pearl. IF I can provide enough water to them with our water restrictions 
Which reminds me - has Kevin been invited to our forum? For us in S. California, he is our “apple guru”. He is Applenut on GW. And, in the video that Matt posted (thanks Matt, very informative video), Kevin talks about “Sierra Beauty”. Anyone growing this apple? I"m interested in it, as it is supposedly a “California Native”. Sounds interesting to me.
Patty:
What is it you like so much about Fuji? I’ve grown them in three orchards in TX and one in CA plus eaten quit a few from CA fruit stands. To me it’s just sweet and little else. The fruit from CA was about the worst. Pink Lady is a much different apple. It can be extremely sweet and tart. It was my favorite in Amarillo but haven’t been able to grow good fruit here 400 miles further south. My stone fruit here easily beats any apple.
I agree with Fruitnut, but when I was younger I loved Fuji. Juicy and highest brix you are likely to find in an apple. Goldrush actually has similar brix- just a lot more acid.
I personally think Fuji is under-appreciated, because most Fuji are picked too early and stored too little. My summer is a bit short for it but some years I got some amazing honeyed apples. If you want honeyed nothing beats a Fuji.
@hoosierquilt, if you have Matts email feel free to invite him. I agree he would be a great resource to have here.
Scott
Scott is correct - I pick my Fuji apples late - about a month later than recommended. They are sweet, rich, complex and super crispy. Not mealy. Just out of this world flavor. I buy Fuji in the store, it’s my favorite store bought apple, and the Fuji’s from my yard are about a million times better. Like a store-bought Fuji on steroids. Remember - I do not like tart fruit, so the more tart apples are not my go-to choices. I hate that wincing factor when I eat fruit (which is why I love pears so much). And that is just the “parent” Fuji. For the first time, I have fruit on my Red Fuji, which was a bit of a push for me with chill hours (even though that doesn’t seem to really apply to apples), but you can see the lack of chill hour affect on both Fuji’s this year, especially the Red Fuji. Red Fuji is supposed to be even better. And, I bought Myra Fuji (another Red Fuji, and supposed to be the best of the Fuji’s, per Cummins), so hopefully next year I’ll have fruit on that one. This is year 5 for my 2 Fuji’s with fruit, and the first year getting some decent fruit amounts. And again, it could be a location issue, and that Fuji just perform extremely well in my area. Love them to pieces, but I also do like Pink Lady, it is not that tart to me, a little more “sprightly” maybe, but still very sweet, crisp and complex.
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In southeastern NY I’ve never had a season that the seeds didn’t get deep black. What I find affects their brix is too much water and too much vegetative growth that goes with that. I’ve tasted CA Fuji and as Hoosier would know, with the rainless growing season (and beyond, but let’s not go there) there they must consistently sugar up…
But I bet FN has consistent high brix Fujis as well. Some people like apple candy- some don’t.
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It could simply be different taste preferences. But it could also be that Vista climate is a lot better for apples than areas with hotter summers. Axel of Cloudforest.com seemed to think his apples were superb but peach/nectarines were a no go. He was inland a ways but still cooler than Vista. My climate with 90-95F summers is clearly better for stone fruit than apples.
My estimate of average summer highs would be:
Axel low 70s
Vista, CA low 80s
Alpine, TX low 90s
Riverside, CA mid 90s
20F is a lot of difference, 10F doesn’t seem like all that much but could be all it takes to greatly affect fruit eating quality. Kevin will say he grows great apples in Riverside. But I’d say his climate is a lot more stone fruit friendly than apple friendly.
But I’m told they grow awesome Granny Smith apples in Australia that make a mockery of what are grown in Washington State. So varieties play a role also. Fuji is known in CA as being a fine hot climate apple- they grow it in the Sac valley a lot.
I like getting the Honey Crisp at our market. This last winter I had some Fuji apples that were so crisp and sweet! They were the best apples I’ve eaten. They were even on sale for two dollars a bag. I bought four bags after getting the first bag!
Johnny
You should grow a Red Fuji apple tree. My is 8 yrs old and loaded with fruits every year. The fruits are real sweet and crunchy. I got mine from Starkbros. The fruits are formed at the tip of the branch.
Tony
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Agree w/ the comments about Fuji. It’s a great apple grown here.