Today the nursery called me and said that they will be unable to deliver my ordered Liberty apple and opal plum, because they got damaged by mice.
I have time until tomorrow to decide if I want a replacement or to just let it be.
Soooo…do you have any ideas of other varieties that I could order?
Their stock is quite depleted, the nursery guy said, so it will be a gamble if they even have it.
Important characteristics in apples:
Disease-resistance, particularly against mildew
Not too late ripening, because of our high altitude
Cold-hardy, frost-resistant
In plums:
I chose opal because it was bred in Sweden and is said to be very robust. Are there any comparable plums? Colour is not important.
Opal is early and prolific, but flavor is mild. Many gages (Reine Claude plums) have a better flavor. Bavay is a good choice indeed. Purple gage (Reine Claude violet) is also very good.
For me, Bavay ripens slightly later than the classic green gage but otherwise they’re pretty similar. Which gage plums are available from your supplier?
I cannot compare them since i have not had fresh ripened green gages for 15ish years time but its my understanding bavays and oullins grow better and are top notch. I have gotten them at the grocer but they are never overripe like i like them.
I have decided on Wehntaler Hagapfel as substitute for Liberty. This is a very rare Swiss apple, said to have high sugar and acid levels. It keeps until December and is said to be very disease-resistant.
Here is a pdf in German where several very healthy and hardy varieties are described, including the Wehntaler Hagapfel:
For me, Early Laxton has been similar to Opal but tastes a little better. Both ripen early. Early Laxton starts blooming a bit earlier than my other Euro plums, but keeps blooming over a long enough period to set fruit reliably.
Thank you for this tip. I’ve looked at Laxton several times and have read conflicting accounts concerning the hardiness of the bloom.
But ultimately I decided it was nothing for me because it’s said to be very susceptible to bacterial cancer…
Would you mind sharing in what ways it is better than Opal? More sugar? A distinct aroma?
You are funny. But it IS funny, how I go from Liberty, a fairly known apple, to a completely obscure variety, which was only discovered in 2010.
Most people in Switzerland have never even heard from it.
But the story goes as follows: in a cidery in the canton of Zürich every year a farmer brought apples that were consistenty good. Juicy, no scab, every year 600 kg…The farmer called this apple Stadler Hagapfel (Hedge apple of Stadel). This is an old and obscure variety, but one which was documented in Swiss pomology.
But the owner of the cidery got curious and contacted fructus, a conservation organisation. They tested this apple and concluded that it is genetically distinct from Stadler Hagapfel, though related.
It’s main point of interest is that is significantly more disease-resistant.
According to its owner it’s a perfectly edible table apple and keeps until December.
So all in all, it fills Liberty’s spot decently well.
Edit: since most Americans are propably confused how we eat a cider apple. Switzerland produces mostly sweet cider (unfermented apple juice) for which the apples don’t have to be tannic like for hard cider.
Not where I am. As I I understand it, it is too late/ needs to much heat. Only the warmest region (canton Valais) grows it. The valais is otherwise known for apricots and wine.
Right now I work for a professional orchard and we picked the last Braeburn and Pink Lady this week. Pink Lady is too late and doesn’t reliably ripen every year.
Goldrush has been hit or miss for ripening fully on the tree for me but its been a great storage apple and many times just small for me but delicious. Unless im crazy it ripens a month sooner than pink lady
Im @ 5600’ and zone 5 with 120-160 frost free days
Richard I correct that Rush ripens before Pink Lady and in S NY is more likely to achieve its highest quality here than PL, especially in a commercial setting with dawn to dusk sun. I consider its ripening time similar to Breaburn. Here it is both insect and scab resistant but susceptible to CAR and summer fungus. If you can get a stick of wood maybe you can experiment with it with grafting on an existing tree. It will fruit in 2 years of the graft grows vigorously.
Interesting. If this is true in Switzerland I don’t know why it’s explicitly only reccomended for the warmest region with the longest season.
For me at home it’s absolutely ungrowable because of the altitude (~3400 ft) vs. the main apple regions where I work (~1300 ft). I’m almost a month later at home. But if what you say is true maybe we could graft a tree at work…
