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| Not too late to order in a Robada. It's my highest quality apricot reaching 23 brix on well sun exposed fruit. This is a point or two higher than Tomcot. It's a big blocky fruit with a pretty red blush on sun exposed parts of the fruit. Acid is pretty high so if picked early or if the brix falters it can be tart. But when the brix matches the acid, it reaches apricot heaven!!
Here's another plus, it blooms late, about a week after Tomcot. It also matures about a week to 10 days after Tomcot. They are my best tasting apricots and the latest blooming except for Hunza. What's not to like. Everyone praises Tomcot. I don't think many have tried Robada. |
Follow-Up Postings:
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| And you can order Robada through March from my favorite nursery, Fowler's. Their website doesn't say they ship, but they do. Carla in Sac |
Here is a link that might be useful: Fowler's Backyard Tree Sales
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- Posted by scottfsmith 6B-7A-MD (My Page) on Sun, Feb 13, 11 at 20:19
| You guys already convinced me, I ordered one a few weeks ago from Fowler. Not many apricots do well in my climate with my minimal spray program, but I hope it comes through! Carla, I already have a very positive opinion of Fowlers, they were incredibly nice on the phone even though I am only getting one tree from them. Scott |
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- Posted by harvestman z6, NY (My Page) on Mon, Feb 14, 11 at 5:22
| Great to know that Fowler has gone retail. Years ago I used to get Korean Giants from them because no one out here carried it but they required a pretty big order. Scott, I'm glad you are such a pioneer. I always assume an apricot will fail in the east unless it's been bred for colder conditions. You can test it for us. |
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- Posted by scottfsmith 6B-7A-MD (My Page) on Mon, Feb 14, 11 at 8:09
| Hman, one reason why I think Robada is worth a try here is that one parent is Orangered which is a NJ-bred cot. But, overall I'm not super optimistic since its a later cot - the earlier ones always fare better. Scott |
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| Oh, what the heck, my wife doesn't really want the wax myrtle she told me to plant, she'll like the Robada better |
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| Any of you Robada fanciers willing to send me a scion would be much appreciated. No room for another tree - but adding a late-blooming branch to my tree would be a great opportunity to try something that might work in spite of the spring rains we get in the otherwise splendid climate. Can swap royal blemheim, tomcot, canadian white blenheim, katy, moorpark - or paypal postage, etc. thanks! john |
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| John: I would be happy to send you some Robada if you can wait until July of 2015, when the patent runs out. Carla in Sac |
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| Oops! Didn't think about the patent! Never mind, my bad... |
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| My observation that Robada blooms late may not hold in all climates. According to some reports Orangered, one parent of Robada, blooms later in CA. Apricots may also vary in quality across climates more than most fruits. |
Here is a link that might be useful: Good apricot variety discussion
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- Posted by theaceofspades 7 Long Island (My Page) on Mon, Feb 14, 11 at 21:38
| I got this from the patent text, "The new variety also differs substantially from its seed parent `Orangered.` It is significantly larger and ripens approximately 25 days prior to `Orangered` in the central San Joaquin Valley, Calif. Furthermore, the bloom period of the new variety is distinguished from that of `Orangered` by occurring approximately 20 days prior to that of `Orangered.` Robada may be tough to grow outside California or a greenhouse. I'll still give it a shot on grafted on the top so it bears several fruits next year. It is said to get astringent under a blush. Fruitnut do your Robada cots blush in the greenhouse. Does Robada get astringent and when does it bloom compared to other cots?
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Here is a link that might be useful: Robada patent text
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| Ace: For me Robada has consistently been a late bloomer, 3-4 weeks after the early stuff. It blooms after most of the nectarines but before sweet cherries. This was after 1150 Utah chill hrs this winter. I've got Orangered but it's to young to bloom. Robada was bred by David Manning the grape breeder from Fresno, CA. I haven't tried Apache. Robada has a very pretty red blush and on a dark orange background. It's my prettiest and biggest apricot. Like most cots it can be astringent if not fully ripe. I'm sure it won't work for everyone, most fruits don't. All I can say is it can be sensational eating. |
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- Posted by scottfsmith 6B-7A-MD (My Page) on Tue, Feb 15, 11 at 9:19
| For me that data actually looks better than what I thought, early bloom is not my problem, its rotting, and so I would prefer an early harvest. In my climate I get two bloom periods for my cots, the early period when nearly all bloom and the late period about a week later when a few late bloomers bloom. It doesn't make a huge difference either since its only a difference of a week. The hardiness of the flowers ends up mattering more and is why Tomcot is so good. Scott |
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- Posted by franktank232 z5 WI (My Page) on Tue, Feb 15, 11 at 9:49
| If I can keep the PC at bay, I should have a good Tomcot harvest this year (given weather cooperates). I have a Harogem on order from ACN. Along with those I have Hunza and Puget Gold. I'm almost positive I've bought Robada from the stores here. The big grocery store here just sets out the boxes so you can read where they are from/variety... I'm pretty sure I've had these...of course we are talking store bought garbage vs homegrown perfection! |
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- Posted by Chris-7b-GA 7b (My Page) on Sun, Aug 31, 14 at 11:01
| Im going try growing apricots here in the deep south, from what I can gather, I should order a Tomcot and maybe 1 more as a pollinator, Fruitnut seems to be sold on Robada, will it pollinate Tomcot with a later bloom time? I am open to variety suggestions that can handle the humidity here, thanks. |
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- Posted by scottfsmith 6B-7A-MD (My Page) on Sun, Aug 31, 14 at 17:00
| Chris, Robada has not been doing all that well for me. Its a dry weather variety bred in California. I would get an Early Blush, you will then have some really early ones. Tomcot is also pretty early. In our climate the early ripening ones are the best, the brown rot had not really gotten going yet. Scott |
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