Scott's Apple Experiences Through 2022

General Fruit Growing
#21

That is very funny
!!!

#22

Reine does Reinettes is not a GD apple, it is a very old French variety. I would not call it sour but it is probably more sour than the kinds of apples you like.

Looking at the list above it looks like I forgot to put a GD on Pristine, will add that now.

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#23

Thank you for pointing out about GD’s children. I obviously did not read well. Of the 8 (or 9 if including Pristine), I have 6 GD’s children. I don’t have Mutsu and may not have Freyberg. I knew I grafted it but don’t know if the graft is still there or not.

I have one Kidd’s fruited this year but have not tried it yet. The 5 that I have, I like them all. Thank you for your generosity.

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#24

Where did you buy your Crunch a Bunch tree? Gurney’s perhaps? All I see they have is an apple tree that either a 25’ standard size version or a 4-6’ version. Nothing in between. I definitely do not need a full size tree version. I would hate to get a full size version just to have to constantly cut it down to a workable size.

#25

Great contribution Scott, and a tribute to your dedication and probably disciplined note keeping, not to mention your passionate dedication to apples. Just storing more than about 10 varieties to evaluate in winter is too much work for me- I lack your discipline, apparently.

I feel I should point out that region affects flavor even less than individual palate and it seems Scott favors apples on the sweet side. This encyclopedic list is mind-boggling, however, one person in one location sampling limited quantities of any given variety from single grafted branches shouldn’t limit anyone else’s explorations. Tom Burford probably has (if he’s still alive) as much experience with apples grown not so far from Scott’s orchard and his list of favorite apples would be much different, I’m sure, although I doubt he has studied nearly as many varieties as Scott- based on conversations with him I believe he is drawn to tarter apples.

I love having both tart and sweet apples in storage to enjoy well into following springs. Apples that are still crisp in spring are hard to come by and the only ones still really good by April and beyond that I grow are Goldrush and an early sport of Pink Lady sold by ACN. By mid-winter, Goldrush is a sweet by my standards. I don’t care if an apple is widely grown- rarity is of no importance to me because I only purchase apples on the rare seasons of crop-failure in my orchard. Pink Lady has a unique texture I find appealing and the right sugar acid balance to suit my palate. Here, in southern NY, it is easy to grow and a reliable cropper. It is also very precocious.

My staple sweet apple is Jonaprince, a smaller (but still large), redder, harder sport of Jonagold- it is a much more useful apple in the kitchen to my palate than the great keeper, Fuji.

My most important apples are Goldrush, early Pink Lady, Jonaprince (Jonagold), King David, Spitz and Wickson crab. Less important but appreciated are Ashmead’s, Hudson’s G G, Sept. Fuji, old strain Yellow D., Rhode Island Greening with Hoople’s a very probable future contender, based on the few the squirrels left me this season- it’s pretty much like an old strain, fully russetted Yellow D. to my palate.

Next year I will probably have a different list, but Goldrush will likely always be on top. About 10 varieties is all I need to fully satisfy my desires for a range of flavor. I believe that most of us share my limitation in this regard, apples are just one part of the foods I love and my palate may not be as sensitive as Scott’s- certainly my flavor memory is not exceptional. That has a positive side- every season I’m surprised again.

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#26

I bought it from Gurney. They only have a very dwarf and a full size. I have no space for full size and am not keen on pruning to control size. So, I chose the M27 rootstock.

After I have tasted the apples for a few years, I regret the rootstock I chose. If I were to do it again, I would go for a full size. This apple is so good. I want a lot of them on a tree.

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#27

I have a Goldrush that I grafted CB on top of 3 years ago. It bore plenty of GR this year but not a single CB. Apparently the crunchy one does not share GRs precocity. At least your dwarfing rootstock accelerated your opportunity to taste it.

#28

I would say I am only slightly biased toward sweet apples. I like eating all kinds but my stomach prefers less sour stuff. All of the apples on your faves list I also like a great deal. The only one which is hard for me to eat is Wickson, but it is more the hard flesh than the sourness that my stomach can’t stomach. I got my first Spitz this year and I can finally see what all the fuss is about.

Re: Crunch-a-Bunch I got the standard rootstock version from Gurneys. I have one area of my yard with standard trees and it is there. I top worked most of the tree with King Russet, that one I want a lot of!

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#29

Is your list in order of current preference? Your description of King Russet is surprisingly short on adjectives given its prominence. What’s it taste like?

Your top 10, if that is what it is, is very heavy on sweet apples. That’s where I got the impression of your relative preference being sweets.

#30

King Russet is a sport of Reine does Reinettes which is why I didn’t say much about it … similar to that one but more intense. Yes that is the list in order of preference but the order seems to change every year so doesn’t mean a whole lot. There are quite a few non-sweet apples in my list but they might not be ones you know very well. RdR is one, Abbondanza, Rubinette, Ashmeads, Clochard, Golden Nugget. There are also too many GD-like apples there which are mostly sweets, the problem is there are many GD children which are fantastic apples and even though they are similar I don’t feel like arbitrarily removing some of them. That is why I marked the GD ones: don’t overdo getting too many of them. Of all of those GD apples I only have a full-size tree of Hooples.

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#31

Well, at any rate, your list is fantastic and all lists are going to be subjective, or taste tests would require only on taster.

Thomas Jefferson loved Spitz and tried to grow it at his slave plantation. He ended up having to purchase the apple from NY growers as it did poorly there.

#32

Crunch a Lot sounds good, but is listed as Zone 5. Have any farther north tried growing it?

#33

I meant Crunch a Bunch

#34

Another official name for Crunch-a-Bunch is Malus PP29126 4-10. 4-10 conjures up “fortean.” Fortean is used to describe anomalous phenomena. Anomalous means “deviating from what is usual, normal, or expected.” That sounds like the description I’m hearing about this variety, so wouldn’t Anomolous be a good and legitimate alternative name to Crunch-a-Bunch?

Now back to preparing for Thanksgiving. Hope you have a good one, all!

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#35

“Fortean” ain’t bad, either!

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#36

I got the full size and planted it on a hillside that was still in the reclamation process (stumps that prevent close mowing, that allow blackberries to grow tall). I wanted something there that wouldn’t take much care to keep going and figured the full vigorous stock would make it more bulletproof. Otherwise my trees in the open are mostly on M26, semi-dwarf.

I may have gotten it the same year as you, I vaguely recall, and it has yet to produce any fruit. I don’t recall if it put out any flowers this spring, maybe not. But I put a backup graft onto one of my other trees and that has produced a few fruit. Enough to believe it a winner, in spite of being a low graft on the North side of the tree.

I have an espalier of Goldrush in my vegetable garden. All of the apples in the orchard are stripped, but those are still hanging. The seeds are dark, but the skin is still yellow with a tinge of green, and I think they are still a little starchy. Fortunately, that’s how my daughter likes them. And the are remarkably free of disease and insects with no spray. That’s a huge, huge plus for the apple in my book. My other espalier, Rubinette, was riddled with brown inside, I think Apple Maggot. These are maybe 20 feet apart and starkly different in outcome.

Fortunately the bear that broke in only ate the Rubinette. Maybe they smelled better, or it could see the red, or was attracted to the apples on the ground.

Next year hopefully I’ll summon the time and energy to bag the Rubinettes.

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#37

Too bad they didn’t name it sir crunch a lot

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#38

You can grow some seeds out and name your seedling that.

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#39

I hope @scottfsmith does mot mind we stray into Crunch A Bunch. I do not know anyone growing it in zone 4. Not sure how it will perform. It may not even ripen in time.

@lodidian Anomalous sound much better than CaB.

@alan yup, I know dwarf rootstock is helpful as it fruited the year after planting.

Scott - my Hoople’s Antique quality is inconsistent even fruit from the same season. Some fruit (both taste and texture) were great. Others were rather bland. This variety was grafted on the shady side of the tree. The tasty ones may have gotten more sun exposure than the poor quality ones. I think lack of sun/heat is the major factor.

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#40

I have heard good things about Hoople’s Antique Gold from others living in my area. I’m hoping to graft some this spring. Looking forward to trying this apple! I’ll make sure to graft it on a sunny side of the tree.

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