Thanks for the report Jerry. The deer got all mine but I am going to get some eventually as the tree gets bigger. The few I got several years ago were awesome. Tippy they were similar ripening time as Pink Lady.
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Really? Oh, no!! I should have kept the graftš
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Thanks for the report @jerry, Iām glad you liked them! Iām going to pick my Katharine apples in about a week.
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I thought Pink Lady is harvested around Christmas/New Year here in Nor. Cal. That doesnāt necessarily mean thats when the fruit is ready. But given Katherine is ripe in Nov means their harvest periods shouldnāt be too different.
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I harvested Pink Lady when temp is going to be at 25 F or lower. That is usually some time in Nov. They tasted fine to me, though possibly not optimal. Same as Gold Rush.
I probably will try to get Katherine scionwood and try again.
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Itās harvest time for Katharine here at Point Reyes, and Iām stopping by to repeat my praise of it. Itās a very fine fresh-eating apple that ought to be better-known, at least in areas that support a long growing season.
Ram Fishman reported it to be an especially fine pie apple as well, and Iāll find out for myself tomorrow, as my wife is making a Thanksgiving cobbler of Katharine, Vixen, and Christmas Pink apples. Itās the first time Iāve had enough of the former two not to hoard them for fresh eating.
Happily, ToA is now offering Katharine trees along with most of Ramās other Etter varieties.
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Katherine is on my to do list of Etter Apples. Along with Etter Gold, Crimson Gold and the oddly quixotic Alaska apparently slid off the face of the earth except at Greenmantle. And a place in BC, Canada that at least reported Alaska is Medium-Large, and as one expects from an Etter, a good bearer.
Iām in a space that needs more compact trees. And all Greenmantle has is Mark rootstock, which probably will not like my sandy loam and heat.
I have grafted on G.30 and now G-969 for others and they do great here. Even a few on temperamental scion cultivars.
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Have you fruited Waltana yet? Iām curious to see how these two compare. I grafted the Katharine scion you sent onto my Waltana, so hopefully Iāll get to try the two side by side in a few years. My only complaint about Waltana so far is that I had several go mealy. Otherwise they were very juicy, large, and crisp.
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My Waltana graft fruited for the first time this season, and itās about time to sample one (if any survived).
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Nice! Very interesting. Mine were all done by late October. But I get more sun and heat than you Iām fairly certain so that could be a factor.
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I have a struggling āEtter treeā with Katherine, Waltana, Vixen and Etterās Gold attached. The Waltana scaffold especially struggles on this tree. I grafted a 1.5ā piece (all I could get out of the ā22 seasonās growth) of Waltana to G890 last spring, where it grew well, and will eventually attach Katherine and maybe Etterās Gold (my least favorite Etter among the six I grow) and replace the struggling tree. Vixen got its own tree a few years ago (love that variety!).
Anyway, the tree hasnāt been the best producer, for obvious reasons, but Iāve sampled Katherine and Waltana twice now and like Waltana a little better. Both are very good. Iād have an updated report for you from this year, but the handful of Waltana and triple the amount of Katherine apples got tossed into a bin with other varieties as I harvested all my late apples the day before we had a 19 degree low, and I lost track of them. Iām sure they were, or maybe still are, tasty, but unless we avoid late frosts next spring, the last year Iāll keep the struggling tree, it will be a few years before I can assess them again.
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Just went out and checked, and I did have a few Waltana apples on my little graft, so I tried one. It was quite good: pleasingly tart, crisp, and juicy. Itās a clear keeper, especially given its reputation for long storage. Here, Iād give Katharine the edge for slightly better flavor and texture, but Iām very happy to have them both. I may give Waltana its own tree when/if the space is available.
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Etterās Gold isnāt very interesting here, either, though itās a good bearer. I also grafted an Alaska scion a while back, but it turned out to be mislabeled, so I donāt know what that one is really like. (I didnāt get it from Ram.)
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Etterās Gold competes with Wickson as my best bearing Etter, but itās easily the least interesting apple in that groupāthe sixth Etter is Crimson Gold, which is excellent, though itās weepy growing habit is a PITA for me. EG is okay, but hasnāt given me any reason to keep it around after I remove the tree itās attached to, as I have plenty of non Etter apples that are at least as good and bear much more regularly.
Next year Iām going to start reducing the number of apples Iām growing and use the space they occupied to increase production on varieties that are much better performers here, so eliminating EG from my collection should be an easy decision.
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A good plan. Iām (too, too) gradually doing the same.
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