Macoun versus McIntosh

In my orchard I have a Macoun apple tree that I grafted. Also a McIntosh and a Lindamac strain of McIntosh. This year both McIntosh still taste a little green on October 2nd. The Macoun normally ripens after both the McIntosh yet this year it is ripe now and the McIntosh are not.

I am very impressed with my Macoun tree. The flavor, size and skin color of the apple are excellent. Like McIntosh it still is very prone to apple scab. It definitely drops a lot more apples off the tree than McIntosh does as ripening draws near. Luckily I can use the windfalls for cider or pie. I hear it is good for fresh use only yet I find that for pie and sauce it works just as good as McIntosh.

For me Macoun keeps its crispness longer than McIntosh when I store them in the refrigerator. My Macs last til thanksgiving then get a little soft for fresh eating yet the Macoun lasted until mid-December with better crispness.

Sort of a royal pain growing it due to the scab issues but worth it if you have the space and time to put up with it. This variety ripens unevenly so I end up harvesting 3 times before all are picked (similar to Honeycrisp). Also seemed a bit late to come into bearing compared to other apple varieties I grafted the same year. For all its quirks I am still a fan of Macoun.

Almost impossible to find it grown commercially in Wisconsin. I know of one orchard that has them. They will not sell the fruit to just anyone. One has to be “on the list” to have the privilege of purchasing them. This grower had just a few old trees left and apparently no desire to plant any more of them. On a visit to this orchard one Autumn, I had the pleasure of talking with a one of the lucky people on “the list” and he really bent my ear about the joys of eating a Macoun apple. It was his intense proclamation about the exquisite flavor of Macoun that made me want to graft a tree for my orchard.

13 Likes

Congratulations on your Macoun. I think it’s a better apple that MacIntosh. I grafted repeatedly to my Liberty, finally got a couple of takes and this year have my first, a singleton that surprised me. It’s probably my wife’s favorite, and I put it ahead of Winesap and about as good as a really good Liberty.

2 Likes

I grafted a Macoun onto a Zestar this spring. I missed a blossom on it, so it produced an apple already. My brother worked for an orchard in southern Wisconsin years ago and said Macoun was their most popular apple.

2 Likes

Very nice report Spartan!

I have a Macoun I planted in '14 that deer got to. (I had it fenced in using concrete wire mesh and a T-post. Happened to hang a trail-cam on it and I had trail cam pictures of a buck going after the camera and in the process he ripped the fencing off and it broke the tree in two)

So it’s been set-back some but I am so looking forward to the day it makes an apple!

As an aside, I have a huge McIntosh tree that has been our favorite for a lot of years. I went over and checked the apples one day and it had a pretty fair crop, five days later most were gone. Every time I drive over there 10-15 full grown turkeys are under that tree… not to mention the squirrels that vacate the premises when I roll up.

I think I got maybe a bushel off the Mac this year. They also raided the Red Delicious (which I didn’t care about if you know what I mean…)

About the only tree they’ve seemed to let be for now is Haralson. I assume because they’re hard as a brick and pull off the tree hard too.

1 Like

I got a few late hanging Macoun apples last year and they made a great impression. This year we have started sampling and found them tender, juicy, tasty with that flavor I think is described as vineous. I am sure they would get sweeter allowed to hang longer, but then I’m sure the turkeys under the trees would be the ones enjoying them. I’ll just keep pulling the reddest apple I can find when I want one. Turkeys will taste just fine NOT finished on fine fruit.

4 Likes

I went to an apple orchard in RI this past Saturday. I tried macoun for the first time. I was VERY impressed.

1 Like