@scottfsmith do you have a recommended supplier that has really stood out when sourcing these rarer varieties? I know you mentioned Cummins with respect to the Hawaii. Wasn’t sure if you were primarily sourcing bare root or scion wood, but I am open to either.
Also, there is no such thing as too many Golden Delicious children. It is such an amazing apple (unless you talk to my wife haha)!
Nearly all of my trees are grafted. If you want to grow rare varieties it is many times easier to learn grafting than to try to find nurseries selling trees. The nurseries I have used the most for apples are Cummins and Trees of Antiquity, also Century Farm. For scionwood there are tons of great sources, see the scionwood list here for many dozens of places.
Question about this- everyrhing I read said pristine is a crisp and crunchy apple. But, it sounds like it is soft?
It tastes plenty crunchy in spite of the softness, I was trying to hint at that but I guess I mis-worded things. The softness is only relative to other apples in June, well before they are ripe. It’s almost as soft in June as it is when ripe, whereas most apples are hard balls in June and get softer when they ripen. The only problem with the softness is it makes them more susceptible to bug and environmental damage.
Maybe the term breaking is best way to describe a softer apple that isn’t mealy or mushy.
I believe Vernon from Century Farms uses this term frequently. I like the description.
I thought breaking meant that it will split on its own as you bite into it. Generally more hard apples are more likely to be breaking.
Pristine is relatively soft
I don’t like soft apples but I have a pristine tree because it’s the best early apple period: disease and taste wise for dmv
Thank you. My family doesn’t like anything even remotely soft, so I’m a tad worried. I grafted goldrush and Priscilla to it and will just graft more next year and leave one pristine scaffold.
I am not averse to soft textured fruit if the flavor and taste is good. Crisp is ok but it is not a defining trait I live or die for. So far I find hard and dense fruit are less attractive to me except as storage food.
I have only tried them once, but I did not feel like they were too “soft”. I guess you could say that they are in the sense that it is easier to press into the flesh, unlike goldrush which feels like squeezing a rock, in comparison.
My eating experience found it to be a more “tender crispness”. Still broke off in pieces when I bit into it as opposed to a soft pear like flesh.
I wouldn’t give up on it yet! In terms of an apple that is ripe mid July (where I’m at), nothing comes close.