All Biggies of the Northwest. Dad,Son and Grandson? Anyone one grow them?Anyone know the differences or possible improvements each bring?
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I grow Hanners Best but not the others, so I can’t compare them. I suspect that it’s pretty similar to Spokane Beauty, though. I like it, for what it’s worth.
Skinner’s Seedling (AKA Santa Clara King) is another worthy West Coast giant that I grow and enjoy.
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Skinner’s Seedling looks like a little yellow Pumpkin.
If you go around to Nurseries selling scionwood, you always see Spokane, Hanner’s or Eve’s Delight. Always one of them. Other then they are all mild apples good for cooking; there is little available to find why each is special.
Mine are shaped like the ones in Neil’s photo, but colored differently. They have a spotty red blush over a yellow/green ground, and end up a uniform pink when fully ripe. Here’s a slightly early drop:
A couple of other noteworthy giants are Gloria Mundi (US) and Howgate Wonder (UK). Most of these apples are fairly uncommon, so you may have to obtain scions from a specialty grower or a collector.
To be sure, the novelty of the size tends to be the most notable characteristic. Kids love them, and many former kids do, too. A few do have good flavor and texture for fresh eating, and most are indeed useful for cooking - it doesn’t take many apples of that size to make a pie or cobbler, or a lot of sauce.
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Yes. Howgate and Appletown Wonders are on my list this year. Was that Hanner in the picture?
these are monster apples, that’s huge! are there ones that are specially good for fresh eating or storage as well as cooking?
I’ve been browsing the ARS-Accession list looking for Eastern Bloc/Soviet apples so big; they must be pulled from tree with large Belarus Tractor machine!!!..lol
They do have a few plus 300-350 gram apples shaped like turnips.
Again I still want the Russian Vityaz apple that is very large. But more importantly grows on a massive, broad house sized tree.
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No, that’s Skinner’s Seedling.
Oh great.Now I want another kind of Apple.Thanks!
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I think that Skinner’s Seedling and Hanners Best are pretty good for fresh eating, and I’ve heard the same about Howgate Wonder (though I haven’t had an opportunity to try it yet). I don’t think that any of these are likely to compare favorably to the best of more conventional-sized apples for fresh eating, but some are pretty pleasant (to me). I’ve read that Gloria Mundi is a too acidic for fresh eating, but good for pie, sauce, and apple butter.
Storage-wise, Hanner’s, Howgate, and Gloria are supposed to keep (if refrigerated) for 3-4 months. Skinner’s is supposed to keep about half that time. I don’t have much personal experience with keeping them yet, as we tend to use them (and gift them).
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The UK’s top apple juice brand uses Howgate wonder as it’s main stock. You’d think Spokane/Hanners/Eve’s would be decent juicers.
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I have been by @39thparallel and saw some real monster apples. Maybe he can comment on his largest apples.
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I posted about very large apples including Eve’s Delight here: Growing Very Large to Huge Apples - General Fruit Growing - Growing Fruit
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