That's good to hear about Myra. I have a tree I'm hoping will come into fruit this year.

And good luck finding anyone on this forum with more information than you just provided. Just one tree devoted to Fuji is more than I need but now I want to shift it to Myra.

I'm out of room for apples, too, sadly, but I will say my BC 2 Red Fuji produced its first small crop this year, along with my regular Fuji. Both were excellent, but the Red Fuji was probably one of the best apples off the tree I've ever eaten. I was so excited to get such an outstanding apple. I like my apples sweet, but not grossly sweet. The apples were large, crisp, extremely juicy (dripping down the chin juicy) nice and sweet but has a nice complex taste. I did leave them on the tree until last week, they just didn't look quite ready until then. Glad I did. They were perfect. Really looking forward to more next year. I will say, my Golden Dorsett wasn't half bad, as an early season apple, now that I have this to use as the benchmark for the rest of my apples. I have some Pink Lady still to pick, so I'll be interested in seeing how they are this year, as well. All are the first season for my young trees, so I except this to be their worst season. Very happy with my choices so far.

Patty S.

Has anyone tried growing (or tasting for that matter) Beni Shogun Fuji? I know it is one recommended for our area and I'm wondering if it is a quality keeper.

David, where did you find the Myra Fuji?

Patty S.

I got my Myra Fujis 10 years ago from C and O Nursery in Wenatchee, Washington. I don't see them listed in their new catalogs. You might give them a call and see if they still carry them. Recently they've been promoting their own strains "September Wonder" and "Top Export". I've grown both and didn't care for them. They also have "Aztec" which is being promoted for its dark red color, but as I said it doesn't have as much flavor as regular Fuji. I guess the nurseries are doing the same thing with Fujis as they did with Red Delicious - less flavor, more color. If you can't find Myra, I'd suggest you give Banning Red a try. I've been hearing that it has 14 - 16 brix - same as a regular Fuji - and it has even more color than Myra - and it is larger than a regular Fuji. The have some at Van Wells Nursery in Wenatchee. Unfortunately they only have them on M-111. Fujis are too vigorous for that rootstock and they'll produce tons of wood and leaves, but few fruits. And they won't bear every year. You need a dwarf rootstock for good Fuji production.

Fuji will eventually produce just fine on 111 in my experience if you have some space, although here they tend to be pretty bienniel on any free standing root stock.

It is important to remove oversized branches during the training process (more than a third diameter of trunk a point of attachment) when Fuji is grown on vigorous root stock. This will speed productivity a great deal.

Of course, proper training of all apple trees on vigorous rootstocks is a dying art form.

I got my Myra from Cummins.

Thanks, ltilton. I didn't find it in the 2013 catalog, but I've sent them an email.

Patty S.

Oh, David, didn't see your response. I'll send C&O an email as well. My Red Fuji is on M111, not sure what my regular Fuji is on. My Red Fuji was just planted this last bare root season and I got 6 apples. I keep them very small. Was surprised to get any fruits this year, but happy to get anything from either Fuji, and my oh my, were they both exceptional.

Patty S.

My Myra from Cummins is on Bud 9, but I don't recall what other choices there were.

I see that Adams County Nursery in PA has the Brak Fuji strain. It is larger, sweeter, and more attractive than the regular Fuji. I just ordered 3 trees from them on M9.

davidguss, have you had the chance to taste the Daybreak Fuji as of yet? I am currently having a real hard time deciding between Auvil and Daybreak that I can purchase for 2014, but I keep leaning towards the Daybreak based on my research alone. I also see that Auvil may contain Apple Mosaic Virus, and I'm wondering if you see your Auvil trees discolored with cream spots? Which rootstock is your Auvil on (I want M7 or M-9 / EMLA 111 INTERSTEM), and do you notice any issue with your crop yield?

All Fuji's I've tried in the USA have been very disappointing... I grew up in Korea and had the most amazing Fuji apples there, so juicy, crisp,fragrant, and complex. They were all quite large, generally about 4" or larger in diameter. I just don't know why it is so different in the US with the texture and flavor, but I'm determined to try finding my own tree reminiscent of the true Asian Fuji.

As for your Myra Red, is it possible that it's tastier because the tree is more mature than others? I hear that mature trees produce better tasting crops?

I share your love of Fuji and I'm hoping to gain from your experience.

btw, to everyone else with Fuji experiences (taste, crop yield, reliability, etc), I'd love to hear from you as well!

I have been very happy with my Auvil Fujis. Fruit has a beautiful pinkish blush. They are sweet and fragrant, however I think the late ripening strains have more flavor and are crisper, probably because they ripen in cold weather. My Daybreaks have not produced yet. I should have some next year. I don't know why your Fujis aren't as good as the Fujis in Korea. it could be your climate or soil conditions are not favorable. I have grown Fujis on various rootstocks and would not recommend m111 nor m7. They will give you too much vegetative growth and will shade the fruit causing poor color. And less flavor. Go for the least vigorous rootstocks with Fuji and you will get better fruit. Good luck!

Thanks davidguss. I ended up getting both Auvil Fuji and Daybreak Fuji along with 5 other apple trees, mostly on M7 and EMLA7 rootstocks (along with a few interstems for experiment). I plan on pruning hard to keep the vegetative growth in check, and I couldn't risk M9 or other dwarfing rootstocks since I had to take account of fireblight and wooly aphids very prone in my area.

I couldn't decided between Auvil and Daybreak but did find an article praising highly of Daybreak compared to Auvil, so ended up getting both. Do let us know when your Daybreaks start producing and how it compares to your Myra. I also wanted Aztec but I couldn't get my hands on one since I'm not a commercial grower. None of the Fujis I tried in US grocery stores are up to par with the Korean grown, so I buy imports to satisfy my cravings. I'm not sure why that is either but I do hope my home grown Fujis will be more similar to the Korean ones I love, or at least I'll let them vine ripe longer to see if that makes difference.

This post was edited by bluema on Mon, Mar 24, 14 at 13:23

I had a good crop on my Daybreak Fujis this year. They colored up earlier than my Auvil Fujis and I would rate them a little better in both taste and appearance. My Brak Fujis also produced a good crop. The ones I grafted onto EMLA 26 were large, firm, and outstanding eating and appearance. The ones from the nursery on 9s taste great, but have a brownish color (A characteristic of Brak is that it has poor color the first 3 years, unless grafted onto a mature rootstock). I stilll haven't had a crop on my Banning Fujis. I also have a Rock island Fuji from Van Well Nursery. Both Brak and Rock Island seem more vigorous than other strains. I have noticed than all my Fujis on 26 are larger than those on 7s or 111s. If I were to grow just one Fuji ctv. I think I would go for the Braks - you may have to wait a few years to get outstanding fruit (unless you graft onto a mature rootstock), but the quality and number of salable fruit make it the best choice..