Set-It-And-Forget-It Late Apples

I was the one who came here looking for advice, so take my advice with a grain of salt. From what I have gathered, thick-skinned, hard-flesh apples are most resilient to bugs. Perhaps the variety that has recieved the most attention in this regard is Arkansas Black or Yates, but there are others. You may have to store the apple for some time (months) before eating it. Also, Enterprise may be a good compromise between fungal disease and insect resistance. I am going to try out a bunch of different varieties (~20)- I’ll let you know how it goes in 5-10 years!

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I should add that Red Delicious is pretty disease free…but everything in the insect realm seem to like eating ‘delicious’ apples too. :no_mouth:

(Actually RD is not bothered by insects nearly as much as some apples are.)

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My limited experience having had a Liberty tree in the 1990’s,it is a good tree to have (if you like the taste, but there are too many apples that taste better, IMO).
I have Triumph, the Honeycrisp x Liberty, but I can already tell you it is not as insect or disease free as Liberty. But hopefully tastes better.
And if not, I’ll graft it over to something else.

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@BlueBerry I have a Triumph apple im planting this week. Can you tell me more about disease issues? If it’s not worth my time ill plant something else!

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No, sorry, mine still is not 3 feet tall…not quite as tall as the crooked tree before I cut it back hard. So, it’ll take some time.

I’ll say on G890 it’s not as vigorous as I might like. And, I grafted a ‘backup’ copy of the tree and ditto. But, the leaves appear to be scab free. Just minor cedar apple rust. No fireblight or other fungus observed so far. Still, the appearance of the leaves are not as nice as some such as Arkansas Black, Northwest Greening, wolf river, etc.
And, of course, there are none that resist all insects. Arkansas Black is about the best at it though.

As of the moment, the Univ. of Minnesota has as much to say as anyone…they say it’s ‘disease resistant’, but mostly I suspect they mean it has double resistance to scab.

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yeah im hesitant to take up a spot in my orchard for something unproven…YOLO I guess!

You stay using old timey heirlooms if you never try unproven things.
And that might not be all bad.

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hey @BlueBerry im looking at the Burford Red flesh apple, can you tell me anything you can about it in regards to ease of growing, flavor, etc? It comes from VA which is where I live and I like super tart apples so I might even enjoy it fresh eating. Thanks

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Sorry, I did graft this variety, but it didn’t live beyond one season in my pot culture.
So, I can’t help a lot.

It should be a very late apple, very dark red flesh and very sour. Blooms a red/purple. But, I never got it that far.
(I’d graft it again if I had scion, but I have 30+ other red flesh apples, so it’s hard to care for every one.

Maybe try a post in the topic Experience / red fleshed apples.

Maple Valley sells sticks of scion.

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Can’t recall the source person that shared Burford RF.
I’d graft it again if I had scion.
But not a big priority…as I have a bunch
of red fleshed cultivars.

If Burford RF is Clifford, then @derekamills can supply scionwood at a modest cost.

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Some disease resistant late ripening apple trees:

Common Name Zones Pomiferous Harvest Period Ripe in 6a
GoldRush Apple (Co-op 38) 4-8 middle of the fifth Nov 10
King David Apple 4-8 last half of the fifth Nov 3
Keener Seedling Apple 4b-7 middle of the fifth, hangs
Sundance Apple (Co-op 29) 5-8 last half of the fifth Oct 27
Sheepnose or Black Gilliflower 3-9 middle of the fifth
Redfield Applecrab 3-7 middle of the fifth Nov 3
York Imperial Apple 4-8 late in the fifth
Snowsweet or Wilding (MN 1797) 4-7 last half of the fifth Oct 13
Claygate Pearmain Apple 3-8 last half of the fifth Sep 29
Golden Russet American 4-6 middle of the fifth Nov 3
WineCrisp Apple (Co-op 31) 4-8 middle of the fifth Nov 3
Nova Spy Apple 4-7 middle of the fifth Oct 20
Hudson’s Golden Gem Apple 3-8 middle of the fifth Sep 20
Blue Pearmain Apple 3-8 middle of the fifth Nov 3
Nickajack Apple 5-9 fifth
Sturmer Pippin Apple 4-8 middle of the fifth Oct 27
Shockley Apple 4b-8 fifth
Spice or Fenouillet Gris 4-8 middle of the fifth Oct 15
Franklin Cider or Mayo 3-7 middle of the fifth Oct 13
Hardy Cumberland Apple 4-8 middle of the fifth
Enterprise Apple (Co-op 30) 4-7 first three weeks of third period Nov 3
Fallawater Apple 3-? first three weeks of the fifth
Black Oxford Apple 3-6 first half of the fifth Nov 10
Bonkers Apple (NY 35) 4-7 first half of the fifth Oct 5
Arkansas Black Apple 5-8 early in the fifth Nov 3
Kinnaird’s Choice Apple 4-? early in the fifth
Sauk River Winter Apple 4-8 early in the fifth?
Heliodor Apple 4-9 early in the fifth
Ashmead’s Kernal Apple 4-8 early in the fifth Oct 20
Bramley’s Seedling Apple 4-9 early in the fifth Oct 10
Grimes Golden Apple 4-8 early in the fifth Oct 6
Hunt’s Russet Apple 3-? start of the fifth
Big Ten Apple 4-7 late in the fourth?
Freedom Apple 4-7 early in the fifth Oct 20
Hubbardston Nonsuch Apple 4-8 early in the fifth Oct 20
Pilot Apple 2-? early in the fifth
Wolf River Apple 3-8 early in the fifth Oct 6
Belle de Boskoop Apple 4-7 early in the fifth Sep 29
Liberty Apple (NY 55140-19) 4-8 early in the fifth Sep 29
Burford Redflesh Apple 5-8 late in the fourth, early fifth Oct 20
Virginia Beauty Apple 4-8 late in the fourth, early fifth
American Limbertwig Apple 5-8 late in the fourth, early fifth
Spartan Apple 3-8 late in the fourth, early fifth Sep 29
Chieftain Apple 4-8 latter half of the fourth Nov 3
Sweet Sixteen Apple 3-7 last half fourth, continues weeks Sep 22
Court Pendu Plat Apple 4-8 late in the fourth Nov 3
Galarina Apple (X-4982) 4-7 late in the fourth Oct 9
Niedzwetzkyana Apple 5-9 late in the fourth
Egremont Russet Apple 3-8 late in the fourth Sep 29
Florina Querina Apple 5-8 late in the fourth Oct 20
Gilpin Apple 4-8 fourth Oct 20
Crimsom Topaz 5-9 late in the fourth? Oct 13
Pixie Crunch (Co-op 33) 3-9 late in the fourth Sep 20
Black Limbertwig (Old Fashioned) 5-8 late in the fourth
Belmac Apple 4-9 late in the fourth
Peak Attraction Applecrab 4b-8 late in the fourth?
Tallow Road Teaser Apple 3-8
RubyRush Apple (NJ 150) 4b-7
Jonafree Apple (Co-op 22) 3-7 middle of the fourth
Royal Limbertwig Apple 5-8 middle of the fourth
Nova Easy Gro Apple 2-7 middle of the fourth
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Disease resistant details of later ripening apple trees:

Name 1. Apple Scab 2. Fire Blight 3. Powdery Mildew 4. Cedar Rust
Galarina Very Resistant Very Resistant Very Resistant Very Resistant
Sundance Immune Very Resistant Resistant Very Resistant
Liberty Immune Resistant Resistant Immune
Keener Seedling Very Resistant Very Resistant Very Resistant Very Resistant
Freedom Very Resistant Resistant Resistant Resistant
Bramley’s Seedling Very Resistant Resistant Resistant Resistant
Claygate Pearman Very Resistant Resistant Resistant Resistant
RubyRush Very Resistant Resistant Unknown Resistant
WineCrisp Immune Resistant Resistant Susceptible
Florina Querina Very Resistant Resistant Resistant Highly Susceptible
Enterprise Immune Resistant Moderate Resistance Resistant
Goldrush Immune Moderate Resistance Resistant Susceptible
Crimson Crisp Immune Moderate Resistance Moderate Susceptibility Moderate Susceptibility
Jonafree Immune Moderate Susceptibility Resistant Susceptible
Pixie Crunch Immune Resistant Susceptible Susceptible
Scarlett O’Hara Immune Susceptible Resistant Resistant
Nova Spy Resistant Very Resistant Moderate Resistance Susceptible
Spartan Resistant Resistant Resistant Unknown
Chieftain Resistant Resistant Unknown Unknown
Redfield Very Resistant Resistant Unknown Unknown
Court Pendu Plat Very Resistant Moderate Resistance Very Resistant Resistant
Black Oxford Resistant Resistant Resistant Very Resistant
Hudson’s Golden Gem Resistant Resistant Resistant Resistant
Grimes Golden Resistant Resistant Resistant Resistant
Hubbardston Resistant Resistant Resistant Resistant
Gilpin Resistant Resistant Resistant Resistant
Campfield Resistant Resistant Resistant Resistant
Belle De Boskoop Resistant Resistant Unknown Unknown
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