I don't grow apples, but at a major Portland apple festival currently in progress, the apples from eastern Washington and Oregon ripened so early this year due to warmth and drought that they had to be put in cold storage early and by festival time were not very juicy and had below-par flavor. Still decent apples, but not compared to previous years.

First year I got anything off of sweet sixteen. Tree is still in a 5 gal pot, though it has rooted right into the ground. Got 2 very large fruit, I found them fallen from the tree (expected them to color up more). Wow! The kids devoured both of them and begged for more. This one is definitely going in the ground (there was a question about it at one point).

All my other apples were disappointing.... barely any set fruit and none of them reached picking.

At least I have many other fruits. :)

Chills

Thank you Scott. I copied your list for future reference after reading it. Your studious and passionate observations are useful and interesting as always.

I think it should be mentioned to others, tempted to use this as a guideline, that it takes at least ten years of cropping to really get a handle on the quality of any given variety- it is amazing how much variation there is year to year. And that variation gives you a clue about how much any given variety can vary region to region. Also a tree has to be in full production to accurately asses the fruit. A couple of fruit with lots of leaves may not be a realistic representation.

There is also the obvious fact that taste evaluations are extremely subjective

Please don't take these comments as a criticism of your evaluations, which I value highly. I only offer them to suggest to others to choose varieties to grow based on a wide range of information. The best information may be available by sampling a wide range of apples at a nearby farmers market to find apples that are bound to be relatively easy to grow.

In my experience unusual apples often turn out to be unusual because they do not crop reliably or are otherwise unproductive or difficult to grow. For a beginner I think it's best to start with reliable varieties and then literally branch out.

I have found Kidd's to be pretty easy to grow also, although it tends to be biennial for me. This may be due to tardy thinning, however.

For me, in southeastern NY, most of the Russets seem very prone to bug and wasp damage with Roxbury being an exception. Roxbury is also extremely and reliably annually productive. Another exception is Ashmeads Kernel (alhtough not so productive but a best of best apple). Neither of these is fully russeted, however.

I'd like to get some Pomme Gris wood from you. Have to see if it isn't easier for me than the likes of Golden Russet and Hudson's Golden Gem- two wonderful but difficult to grow apples for me. By the time they are ripe they tend to be either full of bird and wasp holes or bug bumps and dimples.

After all the late frost, squirrel, bird and wasp problems I only have Goldrush, Jonathon, and Roxbury in storage this year. Worst season in memory and good riddance to it!

Thanks Scott nice report!! I took notes just in case I decide to plant more apples at some point. Do have three of your favorites so that's a good start.

Scott-
You continue to be an amazing source of information and experience. Thanks for sharing your list.
John S
PDX OR

Hman, I have also found Kidds to be prone to biennial bearing. I should have thinned it more this year, probably no apples next year.

I have also had major problems with Hudsons Golden Gem, the stinkbugs loved them to death.

The problem with the unusual apples is there is not good grower information on them. The description sounds great but it might have some big flaw which you only get to find out by growing it. On the other hand some of them have no grower flaws at all, they are easier than most modern varieties. Rambour d'Hiver is an example of that, its the easiest apple ever. Even the wasps and stinkbugs didn't like it.

Scott

The only unusual apple of mine this year that escaped the late frost was king of pippin (reine de reinnnette). It is a noticeably late bloomer, as many of the European apples seem to be.

I really like this apple, fairly high acid, but well balanced by sugar when it finally ripens up all the way around the first or second week of october (the last week of ripening makes a huge difference). Lots of flavor, rich...almost nutty at times. Dense solid fine grained flesh. It has been a great apple to introduce people to something a bit more complex

Most years I have seen a lot of premature drop on it. not so this year. They also sized up quite a bit more than normal.

Management wise it has been pretty easy. No problem with scab. No particular insect pressure with the strange exception of aphids in early summer. None of the other apples get bothered much but this one always sees a lot on the tips. Actually, now that I think about it the fruit showed significantly less PC damage both early season thinning and at harvest then anything else in the orchard....but there weren't many trees bearing this year to compare it to.

Unfortunately it seems to be a poor keeper with the skin and surface getting "rubbery" within a month. At that point the they still a make a great drying apple.

Rob, that sounds exactly like how RdR behaves for me. It also tends to do well with the bugs. It is not usually biennial but I let it set too many last year and so it did not set this year. Overall I would call it one of the definite "winner" heirlooms overall, it is an easy tree that fruits early and productively without particular disease etc problems.

Scott

Scott -
I'll echo the others with a big THANKS for posting this. I love this stuff and will archive it for future reference.

Are these all your apples or do you grow "usual" ones too like Gala and Fuji? Just wondering where some of "my" apples (Gala, Fuji, Ginger Gold, Spartan, Monark Arkansas, Macoun) fit in on the scale.

Thanks again,
Bart

Bart, I did have Gala and Fuji, they are very good apples for the mid-atlantic and are the two varieties I recommend for people looking for "normal" apples. I took them out because my planting of 1' between trees was too close, but I may add them back at some future date. Gala is not as complex as Kidds and otherwise is similar (it is a child of Kidds) so I didn't feel too bad about removing Gala. For most folks though they probably prefer the greater reliability and productivity of Gala. Fuji is more mild flavored than I usually like, but it gets a unique honeyed flavor when grown in the backyard and left on the tree long enough - backyard Fuji can be far better than the grocery store version. I have a small graft of Ginger Gold that the squirrels have gotten before me, and I did have MonArk until the deer munched it to death.

Scott

Squirrels are usually more a problem on early apples.

Priscilla- This was the first year the tree fruited (2nd leaf) and it only had 2 apples. I picked them at the start of September, one being a tad early (12 brix), while the 2nd was just about right (14 brix). I was getting worried about it, as I'd seen some negative comments posted. But, it was a pretty good apple for the season. They had decent size (~3") and great density/crunch, with an interesting sweet flavor. I've read that it can have an anise flavor, but I'm not sure if that is what I was detecting. If so, it is a very mild anise. It had wide appeal, as the 2nd apple was approved of by the 4 others (including 2 kids) who had it. It's not a Goldrush, but it is pretty good for when I picked it, as it beats what I was getting at the farmer's market (my closest notes are for low-brix (10-11) Golden Supreme and Gala).

Ecos Red- Also the first bearing year (3rd leaf on a near full-size rootstock), with ~10 apples. This tree supposedly has some crab ancestry and it is evident in the size of the apples. The largest diameter I got was 2.75", but most were closer to 2". The first mostly-ripe one was on 8/24, at 10.5 brix. It reminded me of a mac, but with better crunch and small size. The later ones (I finished picking on 9/8) were higher brix (12.5 as a high), but several of those had lost the crunch and were somewhat softer like macs. Even at 12.5, it is a tart apple. Many (most?) of them had 3-4 spots of bitter pit, which I cut out. Several also cracked and a few rotted at the end, inside the bags (Priscilla had none of these issues). It wasn't a good first year for Ecos Red and I'm starting the process of grafting different varieties onto it. I'll leave a few branches of the original around to see if it eventually wins me over.

Goldrush- I love this apple. It was 2nd leaf this year and ripened ~8 apples. See this thread for more info.

I should have plenty more next year, as several of my 2nd leaf trees set fruit, then dropped them. I also added another 11 varieties, which will be in their 2nd leaf next year (some of which also flowered this year).

Picture of Priscilla: