Thanks, though I actually thought a while about swapping the Golden Russet out for a sweet-tart apple. Golden Russet has been a favorite for years, but it and jujubes overlap more than with some of the tarter apples. 4 candidates to replace it would be Goldrush, Ashmead’s Kernel, one of the limbertwigs (I’m not sure which, but it is late, hard, crunchy and high brix), and Katherine(late, large crunchy, and tart bite).
Evercrisp is pretty secure in it’s slot.
First you should determine what apple taste you prefer. Generally there are sweet and tart. Williams pride versus gold rush.
Personally my two are gold rush- late harvest and best storage and Gravenstein which is earlier to harvest and tends to ripen over a long period. So you can eat fully ripe apples over several weeks
In my climate I would probably choose Frostbite and Zestar. These should be reliably hardy for this region. I could eat Zestar for 4 or 5 weeks before Frostbite ripens. This past winter I ate my last Frostbite apple for about 4 months after picking, and it was still quite edible. Frostbite is one of my all-time favorites for flavor.
Newtown Pippin and Fuji
or
Newtown Pippin and Braeburn
I am only growing 2 apples in my new orchard.
Early Mcintosh (FG2)
Novamac (FG4)
With grafts of Chestnut (FG3), Trailman (FG4) and Pristine (FG4).
TNHunter
I have a stick of Pristine but see that Cummins calls it blight prone. Is taste so good it outweighs that trait? I’ve never tasted it.
Kind of anecdotal, but in my no spray orchard I’ve had Pristine for 5-6 years and never had a single strike of fireblight on it. I’ve lost a few pear grafts to FB, my Korean Giant pear shows a bit of blight most years, and Bardsey had some FB strikes a few years ago, but Pristine has lived up to its name here. First ripe apple off of it was on June 23rd last year here in the MO Ozarks.
Lamb Abbey & Gold Rush: easy bloom overlap, high flavored. Lamb Abbey comes ripe the last week of August & keeps to Christmas; smaller, tough tree; nary a spot on tree or fruit. Gold Rush also a natural semi-dwarf, no disease problems in my neck of the woods, excellent crotch angles with no help from me; frost tolerant bloom, keeps thru May.
They have become the backbone of my li’l orchard.
Ewalt. Is an heirloom apple found by the Lost Apple Project that originated in Pa.
Glad to hear that @Ahouse422 about pristine.
I am not so sure it matters what anyone says about an apples FB resistence… if it is growing here and has blooms into April… (when it warms up good) it is getting FB.
My FG2 Early Mac finishes blooming before it warms up good… when it finishes with the main bloom… it will continue blooming in new growth in the limb tips for a week or two. If it does get FB it is in ideal location… limb tip… which you can prune off.
Novamac FG4 rated very resistent to FB… got a load of FB last year… lost two bottom scaffold branches… but survived it and produced some very nice apples. It starts blooming around first of April… so it is quite warm when it is in full bloom… and it is often quite wet here in the spring.
I hope NM and Pristene and those crabs can survive it… and perhaps build up resistence to it eventually.
TNHunter
Macoun in the Northeast. Prolific and reliable too.
Rubinette, Hudson’s Golden Gem, Golden Russet, Pitmaston Pineapple. As you can tell, I like very sweet apples.
Doesn’t seem all that blight prone. No one on here including myself has ever mentioned blight with it. As for the apple I think it’s great for that ripening bracket. The apples don’t really get a lot of insect damage and the tree has been pretty easy as well. I’ve got three trees of it.
Seems like most nurseries say Pristine is not all that blight resistant.
Send me a scion and I will hades test it for you. We have very virulent blight here. Went right through Rouville with no delay.
I think it has a lot to do with localization. Get to try Empire this year. See how it compares to our local heritage types.
David at Century Farm Orchards told me his Pristine gets hit with blight every other year. I’ve had the apple before and I think it’s very good
Well, based on the frozen wasteland around me, my options narrow. However, Morden Russet and Trailman Applecrab would be my choices.
Based off this thread and my tastes, I may look at Goldrush in a couple decades, if global warming bumps me up a couple zones.
Of the six varieties of apple trees I have, Liberty clearly stands out for its disease resistance, and lack of codling moth infestation. I can basically ignore the Liberty apple trees and still get a reasonable crop, plus they’re good tasting.
I’m amazed to read that. My Liberty is an absolute cm magnet. I hope your luck continues!
Trev, I’m sorry the FB hit you last year but you’re not alone. We had it in Williamson County too. Are you going to treat for it this year?
Maybe I have been lucky. In any case, this last year I tented my apple trees (they’re all on dwarf rootstock so tenting them is fairly easy) with good results on all of them. Better results, in fact, then previous efforts with different sprays, traps, etc.