Checking on my apple trees, as well as recent grafts, I made some observations that
might be useful. (And your experiences in your neck of the woods might differ, but be glad to hear them anyhow.)
Nicest looking foliage as of first weekend in June–goes to
Reine des Hatives
Johnson’s Keeper
Geneva Crab
and Winter Red Flesh.
But, other varieties looking nice include:
May Queen
Wolf River
Veralma Simontornya
Niedzwetzkyana
Snow
Cornish Aromatic
Northwest Greening
Braeburn
Arkansas Black
Odysso
…
And one not living up to expectations,
Triumph has a pretty good case of Cedar Apple Rust.
(This the latest release from the U of MN breeding program).
I do recall from previous seasons Granny Smith has decent resistance to everything but mildew on the foliage and rots in the fruits.
And let’s remember that Red Delicious has clean foliage most years.
Snow is a beautiful heirloom apple. Cold-hardy, fireblight resistant and self-pollinating. It is uniquely flavored and aromatic both. My grandmother would make wonderful white applesauce with Snows. If you leave the skins on for applesauce they add a nice red color. We add it to the cider mix too.
Some years it may have a little scab but not as bad as McIntosh.
I love planting the seeds and sharing little trees as they grow true to the parent❤
Thanks for the info. concerning Snow.
My little guy is only 3rd leaf. But I have a neighbor that has a tree…maybe I can trade him out of an apple this fall. (Antonovka are supposed to come true from seeds, but having over 100…I can tell you there is a bunch of difference in some. Currently I’m letting a couple bypass getting a graft. One is very green and other has reddish limb tips. I’ve grafted quite a number of Antonovka.)
I really can’t give a good answer. I’ll need more time. But, my guess is about the same amount of time as a M111. A 5th leaf Arkansas Black had a first bloom but no fruit this year that I had grafted to Antonovka. Others cultivars 3 to 6 years have not bloomed. (But a lot of mine are in containers and ‘stunted’ because of it.)
I have more than one goal…I’m collecting apples, but the main goal is pairing parents for intentional crosses. So the ones I’m ‘collecting’ but not necessarily that interested in, are apt to get a lack of attention. I don’t have the room to plant all the Antonovka trees anyhooo.
I’ll update the above list as I get around to observing more of my apple trees (more than one location).
I’d love to hear of pretty foliage and disease resistance in your orchard (or front-yard apple tree if that’s where yours happens to live).
Arkansas Black is my most disease resistant and insect resistant apple in my orchard. I think the bugs leave it alone because of the dark color and maybe because of the thick skin. It doesn’t always ripen in my zone 6a but when it does its really good. An orchard down the street from me seems to always get ripe ones but maybe a different microclimate.
We have had cooler than normal summers the last 3 years. So far this year it has been a hot spring. Also, maybe I am not leaving the blacks on the tree long enough as I usually pick them as soon as I think there is going to be a frost.
My suggestion is you can leave the Arkansas Black apples on the tree down to at least 24-26 degrees if you need to. No harm done even at 20 in some instances.
I left some in cab of my pickup truck in zone 6b until after x-mas and they were still ok.
On B-118 and more recently on G-202. I’ve not gotten to sample the fruit yet. pomiferous.com might give you more insight or ask @smsmith here on the forum.
NW Greening is considered to be a “pie apple” by most folks I think. We eat them fresh, but there are plenty of other apples better for fresh eating IMO. The fruit is kind of dry, tart/sweet, dense flesh, late ripening (mid-late October here) and will hang through temps in the mid 20s. I picked a couple off my tree and ate them during last November’s deer season. They were still tasty and not mushy. My tree is on Antonovka. Very hardy, has seen plenty of -30 and lower temps.
NW Greening is a variety that most home/farmsteads in the upper midwest used to have.
Dear @fieldsofgreen: Please let me know if you can share the seeds of Snow heirloom apple or if you can direct me to some vendors.
In exchange, I can send fig cuttings (if you like). Thank you
I Googled it as I am interested in it, too, and found several suppliers but most are sold out or no longer carry it. One supplier has a bare root for about $36.