I got some scions of this apple from Axel quite a few years ago and got my first fruit this year (as in one) - my graft is on a weak stock and going very slowly. Its a very impressive very late apple - huge amounts of flavor that makes you want to eat it to the core. I am probably going to stick my wimpy graft somewhere else so I can get more of these. Below is Salt Spring’s description. For me the only issue with it is the slow growth, but I have it on a 3-way graft and its not uncommon for one variety to lose out. Axel thought it needed cellaring to bring out the best flavor. Note that Axel spelled it “Catherine” but I am pretty sure it is this Etter apple Katherine; there is a British Catherine but its not red and is a cooking apple. Etter is probably known the most today for his Wickson crab, and in the west Waltana is still popular.
Maybe this will be one of the few California apples that ends up being a real winner in the mid-Atlantic. It needs a long warm summer and there is plenty of warmth here
The story of Katharine:
Albert Etter is known pretty much only by North American apple enthusiasts and even then, only among those intrigued by the story of a brilliant individualist who bred important strawberry and apple varieties, gaining little credit and even less money in the process.
Katharine was Etter’s personal favourite of all the apples the California-based innovator bred during the early years of the 20th century, yet it’s even more obscure than his other varieties.
Admittedly, it can’t be grown everywhere, as it needs a long, warm summer to ripen. It’s definitely borderline for us to grow on Salt Spring.
But we’re intrigued by Etter’s story and keen to give Katharine a try. We certainly won’t criticize if you feel similarly.
I’ve had one in the ground for a couple of years on MM111; I got it as a bench graft from Greenmantle. Ram has a description of it near the end of this page. It’s been growing slowly for me as well, and it got some unscheduled pruning from a deer last year. It perked up quite a bit in the latter part of this summer though, and nearly doubled in size. It’ll probably be another couple of years before I can sample the fruit, alas.
I believe that @SkillCult has described it as being a vigorous grower up his way.
I hope you have enough heat for it jerry. I think I have been where you are several times, I remember lots of fog and wind. One time we were going to kayak on the inlet there but it was too windy.
Windy it is, but we get decent sun at the southeastern tip of Tomales Bay. Matters differ somewhat on the western side, though there are healthy old apple orchards all over West Marin. I don’t really know yet what our variety limitations will turn out to be. I’m trying a lot of different things, so I’ll find out pretty soon.
I just ordered Katharine, Vixen, Wicksen and Waltana from Greenmantle. All Etter apples.
Etter sounds like a great guy. He’d certainly fit in around here. Too bad he never made much from all his work. But he did live in a beautiful place and gained a small measure of success.
Thanks for posting that Matt. I hope it doesn’t crack for me, that has been the scourge of Etter’s Wickson. It sounds like Pink Parfait is similar in flavor.
Wickson is unique, it has clear-ish flesh which seems to be a sub-category of crabs that is not common. The brix is very high and the flavor is quite unique, a touch of apricot. I had lots of cracking problems though, every other year it would crack. I also could not find anything to do with them other than enjoy one or two as I walked by the tree - too hard fleshed to cook up well, and too hard on the stomach to eat too many raw ones in a row. It is late but not really late so a bit before GoldRush for example.
That was my conclusion, I could not find enough to do with them. I grafted over the tree last summer but will keep one limb so I can grab an apple or two off of it each year.
And here are Nigel Deacon and Julie Drake eating the Wickson apple. At minute marker 12:00, Julie is so surprised by its flavor, her false teeth fall out!
My growing environment is a lot closer to what you experience than Scott’s, fruitnut. Wickson has fruited twice for me now and has not cracked, so I’d chalk that up to the humidity in his region. I’ve liked every Wickson I’ve eaten, but it was only three days ago when I picked one from my tree that I had that ah-ha! moment and the intensity of the apple matched the description, so you have to let it hang a good while before it ratchets up the brix to the eye-crossing levels you like. It’s also got a healthy hit of acid, so you’ve got to like that too to really appreciate the fruit. Unlike Scott, I could eat a bowl full every day without any ill effect. They are supposed to make a great hard cider, so if you’re into that, excess Wickson would be easy to use up in that application.
If you’re more interested in intense sweetness with very little acid, I’d recommend Frostbite (MN 447), another small apple, though larger than Wickson. I’ve been enjoying my first harvest for a couple of months. It’s not just sweet, as there is a definite set of deeper flavors in every bite, but not much acid. If you’ve ever eaten a Sweet Sixteen and tried to unpack all the weirdness going on in that apple, Frostbite has a more reasonable dose of that. It’s a parent of Sweet Sixteen and, while it doesn’t have quite such an odd flavor package, it’s pretty clear where that apple inherited much of it’s flavor. However, it suffers from the cracking issue out here that Scott appears to have with Wickson at his place. If you read the U of Minnesota literature, that cracking around the stem is one of this apple’s drawbacks, but it also hasn’t had much of an affect on it’s keeping ability in a refrigerated plastic bag thus far. It rots very slowly and, if my experience this year holds true for others, even cracked it should keep about as long as it’s reputation (3-4 months).
Thanks for those videos. Those Wickson are awfully small.
HighandDry:
I like the sweet/tart apples so would very likely be into Wickson. But it sounds a lot like my experience with Summer Muscat grape. The best tasting grape I’ve ever eaten but with considerable downside.
Thank you for taking the time to give me your experiences…!!
A warning about Pink Parfait: Greenmantle warns that they require a very long growing season to ripen properly. I put in two of them here a couple of years ago, and have my fingers crossed.
You’ve convinced me about Katharine apple. I wonder if it is later than Goldrush in your orchard. If so, I don’t know if I could get it to ripen in time.
If it is ahead of Goldrush where you are, I may have a chance.
Greenmantle website scares me when they say Katharine ripens in Nov. asuming they talk about where they are in CA which is a lot warmer than where I am.
