My husband loves Fujis but I haven’t tried to grow them because the ones from the store are already pretty good. I aim to grow things that are hard to get at the store…but if Fujis are even better homegrown, as people on this forum have said, maybe I should graft a couple Fuji branches onto my apple next year, and surprise the hubby.
Lizzy that is true. Because Fuji is such a great keeping apple, if you can find them that have been picked at the right time, they are likely almost as good as what you can grow. In time you probably won’t be buying any of your apples and if Fuji is still amongst your favorites you will probably grow them then.
I used to be much less concerned about apples than the stone fruit I grow because I can always buy good apples, but now I’d hate to have to eat commercial apples- or pears, for that matter.
Here, in southern NY, Fuji doesn’t work quite as well perhaps as it does down south. It tends towards being biennial and its extremely vegetative growth habit can make it difficult to train and to get nice, well colored apples on a free standing tree.
When I first discovered Fuji apples long ago it was my favorite until I began to discover varieties that had more complicated aromatics and perhaps a bit of acid. I don’t know if it was because of exposure to different tastes or just my palate becoming more jaded and requiring of more sensation beyond crisp and juicy sweetness in an apple. I also lost my taste for Asian pears and became much more a connoisseur of more aromatic Euro varieties.
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Alan is correct. Lizzy, the difference between a store-bought Fuji, picked early so it can be shipped and stored, versus picking one off your own tree at the right time is like comparing a Volkswagen to a Ferrari. I was absolutely bowled over when I ate my first home-grown Fuji. So much so, I went out and bought two more Fuji varieties. It is the most incredibly delicious eating apple I’ve ever had. You will never buy a store bought one, again as they pale in comparison.
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Commercial growers tend to pick apples a bit green, or at least unevenly. Fewer pickings, less harvest cost.
I think I will buy a Fuji or at least get some scion wood.