Does anyone have suggestions for a red storage apple to replace Enterprise?
My wife and I are in the process of starting to build a new house and I’m going to move some of my trees and replace others, likely by grafting. So I’m looking for a storage apple to replace somewhat lackluster Enterprise. My Suncrisp and Goldrush will be moving with me, I think. But Enterprise is a bigger tree and will be staying.
Does anyone have Cripps Pink in Zone 5 Midwest? Other suggestions?
Red Fuji #2.
Boyer sells trees.
Scions can be requested from USDA/GRIN.
I just ate a cold-stored locally-grown Fuji today. It was excellent. They keep thru March!
They improve in cold storage. Sweet, crisp, and juicy. Nothing like the grassy picked-too-soon tasteless giants found at delicatessens and supermarkets.
Black Oxford of Maine might work for you too.
I haven’t tasted that one yet.
Depends on how long you need apples to store. Nothing stores better than Fuji, but if low acid isn’t your thing Spitz is good for some regions- still good out of my fridge and mouth puckering tart- where are you? You can split the difference a bit with Jonagold- one of the new red strains. If you pick them just a bit underipe, they store well. Pink Lady also, if your season is long enough. Braeburn can be problematic but also stores pretty well and is a high quality semi-tart. Some of the new DR;s are also good, I can vouch for Crimson Crisp, but Winecrisp is supposed to be great in the south, so it is probably easy anywhere- but it’s prone to biennial bearing according to Adams.
Crimson Crisp is extremely grower friendly in all ways and much better tasting to me than Enterprise…
@Levers101 How would you describe taste and texture of your Enterprise? I have one that hasn’t fruited yet. Is thick skin a problem? Seems that Enterprise gets wildly varying fresh eating evaluations, more so than other varieties.
Hambone I have Enterprise as well. Very thick skinned apple, but the taste, to me, is good, it has a bit of tartness, along with its sweetness. Mine has a definite crunch, but it has not kept well for me and the apple is on the small side.
Exactly what I wanted to know. Am debating grafting it over to much rarer Southern varieties.
Also a very good apple is Stayman Winesap- old strain. The newer and redder strains don’t seem to be as flavorful.
I’m in East-Central Iowa. Our average sub-24F temp is about Nov 1, but I’d say more recently it has been about a week later than that. I’d say our average bloom is about April 28 or so. So about 190-195 or so days. We get plenty of heat in summer. Do you think Pink Lady would do OK here. I wonder if any of our other Iowa or Nebraska growers grow it. We are pretty much intermediate between Great Lakes/Upper Ohio Valley and Great Plains climate.
I’d like to have apples that store into early spring (April-May-ish).
It has been so long since I’ve had a Fuji, I couldn’t say for sure I like it or not. But it being low acid doesn’t make it high on my list.
The others are good suggestions.Crimson Crisp seems to do well here from our local growers when it gets some size, and has a nice flavor. Does the flavor last well into spring? I can imagine as hard as it is when fresh that it stores well.
Well, I have fruited exactly two sub-par Enterprise. They weren’t very good. But I couldn’t store them long because they had silverfish damage. They also had watercore, which would have kept them from storing.
I have Enterprise on M7 (did I say how much I dislike that rootstock?) and it is my most shaded tree. It has been slowest to bear of all my trees. But that might not be the fault of the tree with the significant shade. I’m probably judging it too soon.
I’ve had it from other growers and it has ranged from a nice, spicy apple flavor, to nearly tasteless. With the thick skin, I’m looking for a replacement. If I wasn’t moving, I’d keep it, but now I’m starting over and will do things differently (but probably not better, ha!).
There are many varieties from U of Minn that are good keepers. Honeycrisp of course, but also many others. Cold climate types should do well. McIntosh, wealthy, Some won’t be listed here because they’re off patent and they don’t make the big bucks off them anymore. you know the story:
https://mnhardy.umn.edu/varieties/fruit/apples/all-apple-varieties
John S
PDX OR
I haven’t stored Crimson Crisp and only taste it from nursery trees but Adams says 4-5 months in common storage. I store Pink Lady, Braeburn, a few Baldwin, some old strain Stayman. Cameo is good if you want something quite sweet but maybe more aromatic than Fuji. Here it seems biennial, but I’ve only tasted that one off the tree in my nursery, but I’ve seen it at farm stands and out of common storage in late winter. I bet Scott could make some good recs-
You probably have as long a season as me and Pink Lady could use some more time for full ripeness some years. I probably need to open up the tree more to help it ripen a bit sooner but it still gives me some great apples- especially when spring comes early and very hard frost comes late. It can take it to at least 22.
I really wish I liked more of the late season Gopher apples. I can’t say I’ve had them all, but I have had many and none of them are outstanding to me. A couple have weird savory flavors that I don’t like. Winecrisp from PRI can be like that too. HC is good but just doesn’t do well here ripening in early Sept. We tend to be hot then or get a spurt of late summer rain and they either all drop early or have blah flavor. Zestar and Sweet 16 are the outstanding apples from that program in my book. Zestar is a good keeper for its season; Sweet 16 is positively terrible after 2 months in storage.
Thanks everyone for the suggestions. Fuji, Stayman Winesap and Crimson Crisp weren’t on my list for storage apples. I have a scion of Baldwin from Chikn, so I might have to move it to its own tree this spring. Crimson Crisp I will be definitely adding even though I will have to buy it.