Lowest temps for apples on the tree?

Bob brought it to my attention that the tree on my property I’d purchased from Cummin’s was mislabled as Ashmead’s Kernel, which surprises me because I have a customer that bought what must be Ash from the NYFT nursery, presumably the original source of Cummin’s wood. What they sold me ripens several weeks sooner and is a solid russet. Its high acid-sugar flavor and somewhat grainy texture is very similar to what I now believe to be the genuine variety, based on comparing it to photos. I picked some apples from the “genuine” tree and left one in my truck before we had the 17F freeze. Other apples in the car were mush, including Goldrush, but the AK was firm, crisp and absolutely delicious. It was stored higher in the truck than the other apples, so I’m not sure what this proves beyond that I need to graft some real AK wood into my own nursery, but keep the mystery Russet- the best flavored Russet I have ever eaten.

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Just climbed a ladder to get last two Winesaps down. They seem totally untouched by the cold snap. And have improved on the tree. I saved some in my fridge so will see how they are in a months time.

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Winesap

I found some Goldrush on a tree in my nursery that were still firm and good to eat. They were softened just a tad by the hard freeze that reached around 17 on parts of my property. This tree was at the lower elevation of my property and I can’t see how the spot is particularly protected. My takeaway is that Rush is probably safe down to at least 21F

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My Goldrush

my Goldrush
next to my Winesap didn’t fair great. Most were inedible some were a bit harder, but very little flavor and still a little soft. Bottom one seemed more ripe and was worse than the lesser ripe one.

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Cape Cod would be stretching it. Because the ocean lowers temps in general and you get more fog it seems things ripen a bit later. You probably will only get good Rush on years with early spring and plenty of clear days. Dawn to dusk sun helps as does pruning them wide open.

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John is in zone 7a, a zone warmer than mine. If he has difficulty ripening GR, mine would likely be worse. For mine, the ones facing the sun ripened earlier than those in a shadier location ( not fully ripened when picked)

Ripening GR in time (or not) was my concern for me. Nowadays, I am not that concerned. I also have a few other varieties on it. I’ll get something.

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No, coastal conditions delay ripening a great deal. I have customers on the beach in Greenwich CT and Westport. They get the benefit of seldom suffering consequences of frost, but the cooler air and more filtered sun delays ripening.

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I’m moving and ordering a few more apple trees and putting them in the center of my veggie garden so some of my trees will get more all day sun. Home yards aren’t great for picture perfect apples. I get some nice ones, but others just don’t get enough sun.

FYI, the industry standard is -2 to -3 Celsius in CA storage. If below -3, apples may be frozen.

That’s about 26-28 F.

From what you stated, when it gets down to 24-25 F, apples in storage get damaged.

I personally will pick apples from my trees when temp hits 25-26 F, to be on a safe side.

Beside the temperature, the length is another factor. If it hits 24 -25 just a couple of hours, apples should be ok. The industry standards tell that apples store best without damage for months in that range. Apples may survive the lower temperature.

I just noticed one White Winter Pearmain still hanging that I had missed earlier. It took 21F by my thermometer but its still crunchy and excellent. The brix isn’t anything out of the ordinary – 16.

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If the apples are unripe the safest thing may be to leave them on the tree. I feel positive that 25F does not damage my hard late ripeners. When you finally have a real crop, I bet you do what I did and hedge your bet by harvesting some and leaving some at least until the forecast is for 22 or below.

I’m beginning to think that around 22 might be the point of no return for Goldrush and other late apples. I’m sure there can not be a precise number, unless you included the variables of relative brix and duration of cold. A problem with deciding when to pick is that a forecast of 25 could easily be off by 3 degrees and midnight harvesting is a lousy option.

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I was able to use the few GoldRush I left through the 22 degree low. I picked them about a week later and the texture was clearly impacted, but there were zero off flavors. I made a quick batch of applesauce.

My kids actually just picked a couple yesterday that I missed and they’re soft but still taste good. This is 2 weeks after the freeze.

The night before the freeze I was out picking in the wind and rain at near freezing temps in the dark. Next year I’ll pick before work or try to get out while there’s still daylight. :grin:

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The orchard with damaged Rush that I thought only got down to 21 now appears to have gotten to a 17 low based on records of a nearby weather station similarly located on top of a hill- the sites are about a mile apart. I’ve had Goldrush survive 22 without affecting texture, so it may be that a lot depends on the brix of the apples.

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Bumping this conversation to share this year’s experience and see what others went through:
-Just ate a Liberty that went through a low of about 19 F October 10 and was still on the tree until today. It showed no signs of damage.

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I wish I’d read thru this thread before last week

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Colder than you’d think.

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