I’m getting a scion this spring to try and graft it on one of my older trees. We will see how that goes and hopefully I will know something in a year or two.
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That is a great and accurate article. Thanks for sharing it.
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Would anyone know of what progeny or relatives of Cox which would be worth trialing in a pretty cold winter/short summer area in light of the parameters posted above? I’ve not tried cox orange pippin before, and most likely won’t be able to without traveling for a fall heritage apple fair.
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I’ve had good luck with Tumanga and Pinova in Z4A (both available through Fedco Seeeds). The Tumanga are nothing to look at (medium yellow apple with some russeting dots) but pack an excellent subacid flavor. They are thin-skinned and hang well on the tree and are excellent for juicing. The Pinova look much more like a modern apple and offer a nice combo of Golden Delicious (honeyed) flavor with a balancing acidity (Cox?). They also seem somewhat disease resistant.
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Thanks! I’ve heard of Pinova before. Sounds like a good flavor combo. Is it fairly fruitful or is it more biannual bearing?
Mine produce a decent crop every year. I’d consider them more of an eating apple that stores 2-3 months. They are delicious right off the tree.
Toadham… please repost the article as it is now a dead link
I’m gonna take this opportunity to update:
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Jupiter: It has grown and produced well on G.41, though it can be susceptible to dropping, which I think may be related to stress from dry weather. The flavor doesn’t knock me over – it’s got a little too much Red Delicious in it.
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Fiesta: It has repeatedly grown weakly on young G.41 rootstock. Nevertheless I did not remove it. Instead I grafted it to branches of Enterprise on established MM.111, There it grew very well and fruited the next year. I liked the flavor much more than Jupiter though I struggle to remember why. My notes say moderate sweetness, moderate acidity, low tannins, crisp flesh with some water core, and a flavor that is nutty and fruity.
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Alkemene: I have it grafted both on G.41 rootstock and on the same established MM.111. It is a very robust grower. No fruit as yet.
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Karmijn da Sonnevlle: Also grafted on G.41. Average growth. No fruit yet.
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Sorry those no longer work. Try this… Cox's Orange Pippin Tribe Offers Growers a Delicious Challenge - DocsLib
Orin Martin updated his thoughts on Cox in his book, Fruit Trees for Every Garden, which came out a few years ago.
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TLDR: they are all difficult to grow flavor bombs.
I had tried growing a Cox tree with scaffolds of many of the more hopeful progeny. It died this past year before bearing any fruit. Sad.
This weekend I visited Scott Farm and tasted Cox, Holstein and KDS. Hands down, Cox was better than its children, and was rated the highest of all the apples we tasted. And we tasted some good ones! However, I’ve also tasted COP from YaYa Farm in Colorado and never thought highly of those samples.
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I grafted Queen Cox this year. It hasn’t fruited yet obviously, but seems to be doing about as well as the other three unrelated apples I grafted at the same time to the same rootstock. I’ve never seen any of the more Cox-y flavored Cox-progeny (or Cox itself) for sale, even at a Farmer’s Market.
Unrelated, but I saw it on the list of cultivars from the tasting, the Knobbed Russet I grafted last year looks like it has some fruiting spurs on it. People here said it was terrible, so I may end up grafting over it, but the “It looks like your apple got cancer, and then started melting, a lot” photos were too enticing to not give it a shot. I can always gift the rest of them to my enemies before hitting reset on the rootstock. 
Orleans Reinette may fruit too, but that one looks and sounds tasty.
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