Descriptions of Apple Scion Wood available for Spring Field Day 2025
Apple
Akane
Akane apple tree was developed at the Morioka Experimental Station, Japan, 1937. A cross between Jonathan and Worcester Pearmain. Sometimes known as Tokyo Rose. The Akane apple tree produces an outstanding red dessert apple; also great for drying. The Akane apple is school box sized, bright red with crisp juicy sweet/sharp flesh and the sprightly flavor of Jonathan. Hangs well on the tree and is a better keeper than most early fall varieties. The Akane apple tree is winter hardy, precocious (early bearing) tree that should be thinned well to reach a good size. The Akane does best with consistent thinning for good size.
Alkmene
Alkmene was raised in Germany in the 1930s. It is sometimes also known as Early Windsor. The flavor is quite strong and has the Cox tanginess but is noticeably juicier. Some tasters have compared the flavor to a Granny Smith. The flesh is cream-colored and quite dense; biting into one of these gives teeth and gums a good workout. It ripens a bit earlier than Cox – around early September. It has much more strength and body than most early varieties. If you like a strong, tart apple, early in the season, then give this a try. Alkmene was developed from a cross between Cox’s Orange Pippin apples and Duchess of Oldenburg.
Ananas Reinette
An heirloom variety of yellow apple originally discovered in France in the 1500s, although the first written documentation of the cultivar was recorded in 1826 by German pomologist August Friedrich Adrian Diel. Ananas Reinette means “pineapple russet”, named so for the distinctive vertical green stripes visible on the skin, and when fully ripe its taste has a slight indication of pineapple. The fruit is small and ovoid. The grass-green base color goes gradually into olive green to dull yellow with greenish tinge. Quite mature and well developed fruits are golden yellow to orange yellow on the sunny side. The flesh is first white with greenish tint and green veins, the later white yellow. It is crisp, medium juicy, with a sweet taste and a strong, pleasant and distinctive aroma. The smell is strong and spicy.
Ashmead’s Kernel
An old nondescript green russeted apple, originating in the 1700s. The appearance is, let’s be honest, not especially attractive. Ashmead’s Kernel is lumpy, misshapen, and rather small. The underlying bright green skin is entirely covered in russet. Russet can be very appealing- think of the dull golden glow of Egremont Russet for example – but somehow on Ashmead’s Kernel it just looks plain dull. Yet appearances can be deceiving. Ashmead’s Kernel has remained popular for well over 2 centuries, and with good reason: it has a distinctive flavor which is quite different from most other varieties. Tasters rarely agree on exactly what the elusive flavor reminds them of, but pear drops is probably close. It is perhaps no surprise that Ashmead’s Kernel does not seem to be related to any of the mainstream apple varieties, although one of its probable cousins – Duke of Devonshire – is also quite well known. The name “kernel” suggests that this variety was discovered as a chance seedling. Ashmead’s Kernel is a versatile apple, not just for eating fresh, it can also be used for salads and cooking, and it is a highly valued apple for juicing and hard cider.
Belle de Boskoop
Belle de Boskoop was introduced in 1856 in the Netherlands and is still popular on the Continent. It is a large, lumpy, dull red apple, often with extensive russeting. There is also a modern “sport” with a darker red coloring but otherwise quite similar. Belle de Boskoop is essentially a dual-purpose apple, suitable for both dessert and culinary uses. It works equally well in a savory salad or can be used sliced in continental-style apple pies and flans. Unlike the English Bramley cooking apple, Belle de Boskoop keeps its shape when cooked. Eaten fresh, Belle de Boskoop is quite a sharp apple. This and its large size make it unsuitable as a snack apple, but it can be nice cut into slices to share after a meal. The white-green flesh is dense with a very firm texture. It is one of those curiosities of the apple world, a triploid, meaning it has three chromosomes instead of the normal two. It’s an interesting phenomenon that happens in all manner of plants, not just apples. Triploid apples tend to be largely infertile and thus require having another variety nearby, a diploid.
Ben Davis
The Ben Davis originated as a chance seedling that was found growing along the roads of the southeastern United States by Bill Davis in 1799 in Virginia or North Carolina. A once widely grown heirloom apple that is a parent of Cortland. This tree is precocious and productive. It is upright, and spreading, resistant to wooly apple aphid, cedar-apple rust, and mildew, but susceptible to scab and canker. The apple is medium sized, with a smooth skin washed red over yellow-green. The flesh is coarse, somewhat soft, aromatic, juicy, and subacid. It hangs well on the tree, stores very well, and resists bruising. Ben Davis is most famous as a parent of Cortland apple (Ben Davis x McIntosh). It got its other common name “Mortgage Lifter” from its productivity and ability to travel without bruising, making it a highly profitable commercial apple in its day.
Beni Shogun
An early-ripening Fuji sport. Also known as Heisei Fuji. This tree is upright with narrow crotch angles. Detailed tree data is not yet available, but Beni Shogun should be expected to perform in a similar manner to Fuji. Growers should avoid using (standard) Fuji as a pollenizer as the genetic composition of these two varieties may be too similar. Many fruit lovers love the crisp juicy and very sweet taste of the Japanese apple Fuji. However, Fuji has too long of a ripening season to grow in areas with relatively cool summers. The Beni Shogun sport of Fuji has a beautiful pinkish-red color, outstanding flavor, and ripens almost a month before Fuji.
Black Gilliflower
Blue Pearmain
Blue Pearmain is an heirloom American apple first discovered as a chance seedling sometime before 1833. It was a favorite of Henry David Thoreau, who wrote about it in his essay Wild Apples: “for I do not refuse the Blue-Pearmain, I fill my pockets on each side; and as I retrace my steps in the frosty eve, being perhaps four or five miles from home, I eat one first from this side, and then from that, to keep my balance.” In Rowan Jacobsen’s Apples of Uncommon Character describes this apple’s appearance as “mottled with pink, green, yellow, orange, taupe, auburn, carmine and black, all airbrushed with loveliest powdery blue bloom.” A good all-around apple, makes great pie and has an superb fresh off the tree taste.
Braeburn
Braeburn is one of the most important commercial apple varieties. It originated in New Zealand in the 1950s, and by the last decades of the 20th century had been planted in all the major warm apple-growing regions of the world. Braeburn accounts for 40% of the entire apple production of New Zealand. Even in conservative Washington state, the most important apple-producing area of the USA, where Red Delicious and Golden Delicious have always held sway, Braeburn is now in the top 5 varieties produced. The reasons for this success are not difficult to pinpoint. Braeburn has all the necessary criteria for large-scale production: it is fairly easy to grow, produces heavily and early in the life of the tree, it stores well, and withstands the handling demands of inter-national supply chains. What marks it out from the competition is flavor. Braeburn was the first modern apple variety in large-scale production where the flavor was genuinely on a par with the older classic apple varieties. Braeburn’s depth of flavor makes s main competition – Red Delicious and Golden Delicious – seem one-dimensional in comparison. At a time when consumers were starting to look for something less bland in their weekly shopping, Braeburn was the right apple at the right time.
Bramley’s Seedling
Bramley’s Seedling is without doubt the definitive English cooking apple, and in terms of flavor ranks as one of the world’s great culinary apples. Although England has produced a large number of excellent “cookers”, Bramley is so dominant that the others are largely forgotten. Most cooks reach automatically for the trusty Bramley, and it is equally prevalent in commercial apple bakery products in the UK. Its key feature is the very high level of acidity, and the excellent strong apple flavour it lends to any apple dish. In England a clear distinction is made between “eaters” and “cookers”. English apple cookery usually calls for apples which cook to a puree – and the intense acidity of Bramley’s Seedling guarantees the lightest and fluffiest of purees. This contrasts with the traditions of other countries, notably France and the USA, where cooks often prefer apples which keep their shape in cooking.
Brown Snout
The Brown Snout apple tree is a late flowering variety, classed as a “bittersweet” cider apple, with high tannins and mild acidity. The Brown Snout cider apple tree produces a medium-sized tree with a stiffly upright habit. The Brown Snout apple skin is smooth, slightly waxy, often with slight flush orange; russet around the eye, hence the name. The flesh white, soft and dry with slight astringency. Cider only
Cap of Liberty
You know you’re dealing with an old apple variety… a really, really old apple variety… when the debate is not over which year or which decade it originated, but rather which century. Was it the 11th, 12th, 13th or 14th century that first saw Cap of Liberty identified? We don’t know. But we do know it’s a bittersharp cider apple (high tannins and also high acid) and that it’s well-suited to use in a cider blend, especially one also including lots of sweet and/or bittersweet varieties. In fact, testing by Washington State University found that it’s got complex, spicy flavors that are evident when Cap of Liberty juice is properly blended with other varieties to make cider.
Centennial
Chisel Jersey
Chisel Jersey is late blooming and susceptible to fireblight and mildew. It is low vigor but cold hardy. Like most old cider varieties, it tends to biennialism and needs diligent pruning and thinning to maintain annual bearing. Steve Wood of Farnum Hill Ciders reports that especial care must be taken that a weak central leader is not choked out by laterals. Chisel Jersey is predominantly a cider apple; it is not typically esteemed for fresh eating.
Daliest Elstar
Elstar is another successful offspring of Golden Delicious, developed in the Netherlands in the 1950s. It is a popular easy-eating dessert apple, widely grown in Europe but less well-known in the UK or North America. There are a number of commercial sports, including Elista and Valstar. The skin is marbled, often with a soft sheen to it. It also lacks the perfect smoothness of many modern varieties. The underlying color is golden yellow but overlaid with deep red.
There is also a “sport” known as Red Elstar, where the red color usually covers the entire surface with only the occasional peep of yellow. The flavor can be more intense than is often the case with other Golden Delicious offspring. It retains the appealing sweetness – usually described as ‘honeyed’ in most apple text books – but with a good balance of acidity.
Elstar is definitely a crunchy apple, but not as crisp or hard as some – definitely the softer side of crunchy, so a good choice if you have fragile teeth. The flesh is lemon-white.
In most Golden Delicious offspring it is the other parent which provides the essential counter-balance to offset the sweet blandness of Golden Delicious. In the case of Elstar this is Ingrid Marie, a variety which originates from Denmark. Although not a widely-known apple, it lends a bit of extra flavor to the mix – inherited from its own parent, Cox’s Orange Pippin.
Esophus Spitzenburg
The Spitzenburg apple tree was discovered in the late 1700s by an early Dutch settler of that name. It was found at the settlement of Esopus, on the Hudson River, in Ulster County, New York. Much attention was bestowed upon Spitzenburg apples when Thomas Jefferson ordered thirty two trees for his orchard in Monticello, and rumored to be his favorite apple. The Spitzenburg apple is unexcelled in flavor and quality, the fruit is great off the tree, but flavor improves immensely in storage. The Spitzenburg apple is often medium sized with crisp, yellow skin covered with inconspicuous red stripes and russet freckles. Today, apple connoisseurs still consider this variety among the finest ever known.
Fameuse (Snow)
The Snow/Fameuse apple tree produces one of the oldest and most desired dessert apples, and is a parent of the aromatic McIntosh. This variety was noted in Canada in 1739 and was first introduced to the United States that same year. Snow Apples were found in almost every French settlement in the late 1700s and were the most commonly cultivated apple in Quebec for over 100 years. The historical origins of Snow apples are debated, with some experts tracing the variety back to the 1600s in France, while other pomologists believe they were originally developed from French seedlings in Canada. Flesh is tender, spicy, distinctive in flavor, and snow white in color with occasional crimson stains near the skin. Snow apple is very hardy, heavy bearing tree that is excellent for home orchards.
Golden Russet
This apple is one of the most prized among apple connoisseurs, ranking with Cox’s Orange Pippin in terms of flavor quality. It is a medium-sized apple that is russeted bronze over greenish gold and speckled with white lenticels. The flesh is creamy and dense, yielding a rich, aromatic juice that is high in sugar and acid and low in tannin. Golden Russet is highly esteemed among cider makers for its ability to reliably produce excellent juice, and it is often used for single-variety ciders. The fruit stores exceptionally well, remaining crunchy and flavorful throughout winter. Tasters often describe the flavor of Golden Russet as “nutty,” but this doesn’t even begin to capture the delightful intensity of its honeyed sweetness. The history of Golden Russet apples is complex and challenging to categorize. Historically, the term Golden Russet was used throughout the Eastern United States and England as a general descriptor for apple cultivars that exhibited russeted skin and a golden hue. Many apples were recorded as Golden Russet, and even after years of research, genetic testing, and studies conducted among historians and pomologists, the true Golden Russet apples are heavily debated. Some historians assert the apple originated in Burlington County, New Jersey in the late 1700s; others state that it was known to have been grown in North Carolina in 1714. It is likely that it originated as a seedling of one of the many English Russets that were well known in North America from its founding.
Grand Alexander
Gravenstein
Gravenstein is an attractive high-quality dessert and culinary apple, first described in 1797. It is well-known in the USA and northern Europe and is still grown commercially on a small-scale. Gravenstein is a triploid variety and as is often the case with such varieties, produces a large vigorous tree with dark thick leaves. Possibly because of its triploid nature Gravenstein seems to have a greater degree of variability than most varieties. There is also a red “sport” known as Red Gravenstein, where the red coloration is more prominent. Gravenstein is a relatively hardy variety and can withstand difficult conditions – by European standards. In North America where summers are often hotter and winters much colder, it has a reputation for being fussy, and undoubtedly does best in areas where the climate is closer to the milder winters and cooler summers of northern Europe. The real problem with Gravenstein is that it is prone to many diseases and therefore has never achieved the popularity it deserves. As so often in the world of apples, it seems that the apples with the best flavor are often the most difficult to grow. Not surprisingly for such an old variety, the origins are uncertain. It is most closely associated with Denmark, and although widely known as “Gravenstein” in English-speaking countries, an alternative name is “Graasten” since it is thought the mother tree was raised at Graasten Castle in southern Jutland, Denmark.
Grimes Golden
Grimes Golden is a 19th century apple from the USA. You may not have heard of it, but if it looks familiar it is not surprising – this is almost certainly the parent of Golden Delicious, and therefore a distant ancestor of a great number of the apple varieties on this website. One of our listed suppliers, Stephen Cummins of Cummins Nursery recalls his Great Grandfather planted 20 acres of this variety at the start of the 20th century – a good illustration of how important this variety was commercially at that time. However, by the 1930s its success had waned, as growers turned to its offspring Golden Delicious instead, which offered more consistent production and higher yields. If Grimes Golden has a weakness it is its irregular production. The main characteristics of Grimes Golden, which are also found in Golden Delicious are the clean dry finish, very slight russeting tendency, somewhat prominent lenticels (the attractive speckles on the skin) and the slightly tall shape with a hint of ribs. The long stalk, which often remains attached to the fruit after picking, is generally a reliable indicator of Golden Delicious / Grimes Golden heritage in all its offspring. Even Rubinette, that most Cox-like of Golden Delicious crosses, has the familiar long stalk. Grimes Golden is one of a relatively select group of apple varieties that are self-fertile. Golden Delicious is not self-fertile, but is usually considered partially self-fertile.
Harrison
The Harrison apple tree enjoyed the highest reputation as a cider apple over a century ago. Originated in Essex County, New Jersey which at the time, early 19th century, was the most celebrated cider making district in America. The Harrison apple tree was grown extensively throughout Eastern United States until 1900. The flesh is rich, yellow, firm; pleasant and sprightly, but dry. Harrison apple juice makes an extremely dark, rich cider. The Harrison apple is scab resistant, and stores well. It remains one of the very finest apples for cider-making, either fresh or fermented. Historically planted for cider with the Campfield apple trees.
Harry Masters Jersey
Harry Master’s was the miller at Yarlington Mill in Somerset England in late 1800’s. The Harry Master’s Jersey cider apple is considered having the same parentage as the Yarlington Mill cider apple. The fruit is medium size and provides a bittersweet juice when pressed. The skin is streaked red over a green yellow background. The fruit has some russeting around the stem. Please see below for further information on our organically grown Harry Master’s Jersey cider apple trees for sale.
Hawaii
Hawkeye
Hatsuaki
Hatsuaki is medium, tending to large size. Round to round-conic. The base colour is yellow over which are orange-red stripes on the sun-exposed faces. Small russet patches in the stem cavity. Large russet lenticels on the faces. The stem is long and slender, set in a narrow and moderately deep cavity. The calyx is small and partly open, set in a funnel shaped, shallow basin. The skin tends to be tough. Medium tending to large size. Round to round-conic. The base colour is yellow over which are orange-red stripes on the sun-exposed faces. Small russet patches in the stem cavity. Large russet lenticels on the faces. The stem is long and slender, set in a narrow and moderately deep cavity. The calyx is small and partly open, set in a funnel shaped, shallow basin. The skin tends to be tough.Red skin which can sometimes be russeted. Nice sweet flavor. Sweetly tart, juicy. Excellent for baking, pies. Good for eating.
Hewes Virginia Crab
An American heirloom and one of the best cider crabapples. Virginia Crab, aka Hewe’s, is a vigorous, productive, healthy tree. Extremely cold hardy, it was once commonly used as a rootstock as far north as Maine. While this tree is more often grown for cider than as an ornamental, the midseason bloom is long lasting and makes this tree an excellent pollinizer. It is susceptible to fireblight and it will need to be thinned to maintain annual bearing. Virginia Crab is one of the oldest and best American cider crabapples. The fruit is small, light green blushed with a pinkish red and it hangs on a long, slender stem. It yields a juice that is remarkably clear, fermenting to a full-bodied, biscuity cider that carries notes of cinnamon. The apple has won high praise from cider makers since 1817, when William Coxe first described the “sweet and highly flavored” juice. Today, Albemarle Cider Works writes: “Our first reserve cider, Virginia Hewes Crab has a complexity rarely found in single varietals. Very balanced, with a bold body, this cider is floral and intense. It pairs well with sausage as well as nutty and mushroom flavors.
Hudson’s Golden Gem
It was discovered as a fence row seedling at the Hudson Nursery in Tangent, Oregon, about 1931. Because of its brownish color and elongated shape, it was originally marketed as a pear. One of the tastiest russetted apples, the flesh is crisp and sweet, and the flavor is nutty and refreshing. It is productive, annual bearing and somewhat scab – and mildew – resistant. Chill hour requires are estimated between 800-1000. The medium-sized fruit will hang on the tree well into winter. Good keeper. Ripens late October.
Jonagold deCoster
Jonagold is high quality American apple, developed in the 1940s. As its name suggests, this is a cross between a Jonathan and a Golden Delicious. It is quite widely grown, and unusually for a Golden Delicious cross, is not limited to the warm apple regions, although it is not often found in the UK. Jonagold is a large apple, and makes a substantial snack. The large size is a good clue that this is a triploid apple variety, with 3 sets of genes. As a result, it is a poor pollinator of other apple varieties, and needs two different nearby compatible pollinating apple varieties. Golden Delicious is well-known as a good pollinator of other apple varieties but cannot pollinate Jonagold. The coloring is yellow of Golden Delicious, with large flushes of red. This is a crisp apple to bite into, with gleaming white flesh. The flavor is sweet but with a lot of balancing acidity – a very pleasant apple.
Kingston Black
Kingston Black cider apples, also known as Black Taunton, is crimson over yellow-orange ground color. The Kingston Black apples are bitter sharp juice ferments to a distinctively flavored hard cider without blending. The fruit is aromatic with a sweet-acid flavor and a noticeable astringent aftertaste. The full bodied cider has a distinctive rich flavor and is rich bodied. The Kingston Black apples often produce a stand-alone varietal cider, tannins are soft, good balance, wonderful apple flavor. Citrus, apple, butterscotch. Kingston Black apple trees have an irregular growth habit. Cider only, except for the very brave.
Milton
Melrose
The Melrose apple has large fruit, with a yellowish green skin flushed and streaked dark red with russet spots. It has firm, coarse, juicy, creamy, white flesh with a slightly acid flavor. Very good cooking and dessert qualities. Best after Christmas when it develops its fruity aroma. Developed by Freeman Howlett at the Ohio AES in 1944, the Melrose apple is the official state apple of Ohio. Its late harvest time makes this a good storing apple and is meant as a modern (at the time) dessert apple. It is a cross between the Red (Stark) Delicious and Jonathan apples. The tree yields apples of dull copper red skin, which are firm, very juicy, and slightly tart. Its slightly pentagonal shape is evident when looking at the apple from above. The flesh is firm and crisp with an excellent flavor and high-quality fruit for dessert and cooking. One of the best keepers of all time, whose flavor improves in storage, Melrose reaches peak quality after 2-3 months.
Mollie’s Delicious
Newton Pippin
The Newtown Pippin apple tree sprang from a seed in Newtown, Long Island around 1750. George Washington and Thomas Jefferson were two noted admirers of this fine fruit. Jefferson wrote from Paris, “They have no apples here to compare with our Newtown Pippin.” Its skin is green to yellow, often russeted, with white dots. Newtown Pippin apple’s flesh is yellowish or tinged with green, firm, crisp, moderately fine grained, and sprightly aromatic with refreshing piney tartness. Some find a light tangerine scent. The fruit develops full sugar and rich flavor after a few months of cold storage. It is also often called Albemarle Pippin, and by this name was featured on a U S Postal stamp. By the 19th century Newtown Pippins were an important commercial variety in the USA, both for domestic use and exported in large quantities to London markets, where the Victorian author Hogg commented on their arrival in January each year. The appreciation of the flavors of apples reached a peak in Victorian England, and the popularity of Newtown Pippins in Victorian England is a sure sign that this is very high quality apple with the rich aromatic flavor most sought after at that time. Hogg also commented that the Newtown Pippin could not be grown successfully in England–it needs a hot summer and autumn and will not ripen properly most years in the cool temperate climate of England. During the 19th century, the Newtown Pippin experienced significant commercial success. It was part of the Select List of Apples kept by the Horticultural Society of London in 1807 and commanded the highest prices at Covent Garden. Queen Victoria so favored them so much that the British Parliament lifted the import duty on Newtown Pippins until World War I. In more recent history, the pomologist Tom Burford has included Newtown Pippin in his list of Top 20 Dessert Apples.
Niedzwetskyana
The Niedzwetzkyana apple is a large bright red fruit with brilliant red flesh. Only a handful continue to survive in their native highlands of Kyrgyzstan. Flavor is a bit sweet and tart. The Niedzwetkyana apple tree is not very vigorous; apples ripen at end of summer beginning fall. It makes great apple pies that resemble pies made from cherries and pressed fruit provides scarlet cider. It is an apple native to certain parts of China , Kazzakhatan, Kyrgystan and Uzebekistan, noted for its red-fleshed, red-skinned fruit and red flowers. The Niedzwetzky’s apple is rare; only 111 specimens of the tree are known to survive in Kyrgyzstan. There is some debate over whether Niedzwetkyana is its own species of Malus, or a unique variety of Malus pumila. However, the variety widely grown through the western world stems primarily from seeds which were sent from Turkestan in the late 1800s by amateur botanist Vladislav Niedziecki. These were raised by Georg Dieck who introduced them in 1890 at the Zöschen Arboretum near Merseburg, in Germany.
Northern Spy
A 1847 letter from Oliver Chapin, writes “the first Northern Spy apple trees were raised from seeds brought from the Northwest part of Connecticut, about the year 1800, by Elijah Taylor”. The Northern Spy apples are large, and thin-skinned. The greenish-yellow skin is flushed and striped scarlet red. Northern Spy apples flesh is yellow to white, rather firm, very tender, crisp, juicy, slightly sweet and mildly acidic. Good for apple sauce, pies, cider, or simply eating out of hand. There are several legends behind the apple’s name, but in true espionage fashion, the answer is thought to have self-destructed with its creators and remains shrouded in mystery. The leading theory connects the apple’s name to a written piece that was circulated among abolitionists in the 1830s. This piece told the story of a “Northern Spy” who established safehouses to transport slaves from Virginia to New York. The spy would impersonate a slave catcher and would usher slaves to safety. It has been featured on a U. S. postage stamp.
Oliver
In the early 1800’s, John Oliver of Washington County, Arkansas raised an apple tree on his farm that produced a striking red apple with large, distinctive dots, or lenticels, over the skin’s surface. It became a very popular local variety and was widely grown in the Ozarks of Arkansas. In 1895, Stark Bro’s Nursery sold this apple under the trademarked name, Senator. Valued for its size and high quality, it was especially noted for its long keeping abilities. Fruit size is medium to large with thick, smooth, glossy yellow skin overlaid with rich-red and streaks of darker red. The surface is punctuated with large, conspicuous, light-colored dots. The yellowish flesh is fine-grained and juicy and often stained with red. Ripens October to November and is an excellent keeper. Comments from a grower: “I have enjoyed a few of this variety for the past several years; this year, I finally have a dozen or so (it is a small graft) and am more fully appreciating it. It is a very tasty apple, in the Northern Spy school of taste (hard to describe if you have not had it – more grape-like perhaps). I particularly like it because I have lots of rotting problems on the Northern Spy types and this guy does not rot at all. I think I may replace my Wagener tree with this, Wagener has a similar taste but it rots a lot. They do not like being picked early, and they do color up early so you need to watch it. They would also prefer some time in the cellar. They are very tasty apple, super productive, and bulletproof. What’s not to like?”
Pricilla
Pristine
Pristine apples were the eleventh variety to be created by the PRI Disease Resistant Apple Breeding Program, which is a joint breeding venture between the University of Illinois, Rutgers, and Purdue University. Pristine apples are round to oblate in shape, averaging 6 to 8 centimeters in diameter, and have a somewhat uniform appearance with light ribbing. The semi-thick skin is smooth, waxy, glossy, and green yellow, ripening to a bright yellow when mature, and is sometimes spotted with faint, red-orange blush. Underneath the surface, the flesh is crisp, dense, pale yellow to ivory, and fine-grained, encasing a central core filled with a few black-brown seeds. Pristine apples have a balanced, sweet-tart flavor with light astringent notes of spice, banana, and green apple.
Roxbury Russet
The first Roxbury Russet apple tree sprung up around 1635 in the small town of Roxbury near Boston. The Roxbury Russet apple tree is considered one of our oldest American fruit trees still being grown today. Excellent old cider apple, a fine keeper and good for eating fresh out of hand. The Roxbury Russet apple is medium to large fruit, greenish, sometimes bronze tinged skin sometimes covered with yellowish-brown russet. The Roxbury Russet apples are remarkable for its amount of sugar. Firm, slightly coarse, fairly tender, yellowish-white flesh. Tree medium to large, a good cropper on rich soils. The tree bears an amazingly large crop every year, but don’t pick too early or the sugars will fail to develop. Roxbury Russet is in most respects typical of that group of apples known as russets. Although it has some tartness it is like all russets a fundamentally sweet apple. It is also a fairly good keeper, an important attribute before the advent of modern storage methods.
Rubinette
Rubinette is a modern apple variety developed in Switzerland between 1964 and 1982, and also known and trademarked as Rafzubin. It was raised by Walter Hauenstein, a grower from Rafz (hence ‘Rafzubin’) in the north of Switzerland. Hauenstein’s initial intention was to produce an improved Golden Delicious, retaining that variety’s excellent production and storage characteristics whilst adding more depth of flavor by cross-pollinating it with varieties such as Cox’s Orange Pippin. However, things did not go to plan – instead of an improved Golden Delicious, Hauenstein’s new apple turned out to be something far more remarkable. Rubinette is moderately good-looking, with characteristic orange and dull red streaks over a light green/yellow background. The apples are generally small to medium-sized. Overall, the appearance is attractive but in a rather subdued sort of way. There is also a natural red sport known as Red Rubinette or Rubinette Rosso which was discovered by Jochen Hubschneider. The red coloration is still quite dull compared to most red apple varieties, even so it is a more pleasing apple than the original. The parentage is Golden Delicious pollinated by (probably) –‘-Cox’s Orange Pippin– a very popular combination with other growers over the years.
Silken
Silken apples are moderately sized, round to oval fruits with a symmetrical, uniform appearance. The skin is smooth, waxy, delicate, and has a yellow-green base, sometimes splashed with light pink blush on the side most exposed to the sun. There is also some brown russeting surrounding the slender and fibrous stem. Underneath the thin skin, the flesh is crisp, white to ivory, aqueous, and aromatic, encasing a central core filled with small, black-brown seeds. Silken apples are crunchy and have a balanced, sweet-tart, honeyed flavor with moderate acidity. Silken apples are often featured at the annual Apple Festival held at the University of British Columbia’s Botanical Garden. This two-day event generally occurs in the fall and is the garden’s largest fundraising event, attracting over 15,000 visitors.
Summer Rose
Tompkins King
A Tompkins King apple tree was brought from New Jersey to New York in 1804 by Jacob Wycoff. Grown in Tompkins County, New York, and called the King of apples, for size and flavor. The Tompkins King was fourth most popular New York apple in early 1900’s. Tompkins King apples are large to very large, Skin is smooth, golden washed with orange red, yellow fleshed, coarse, crisp, tender, flavor subacid. Tompkins King apples are also good for cooking when green and excellent for eating when handsomely striped. Water core (translucent flesh) sweetens some fruit. The flesh of a Tompkins King apple is yellowish, coarse, crisp, aromatic and tender. The flavor is subacid and highly appreciated. Many people bite into one and immediately say it tastes exactly as they remember a great apple tasting when they were a child. Yes, it’s that good. Tompkins King is a fairly good keeper and the tree is vigorous, productive and well-suited to our West Coast climate. In addition to its fame as a fresh-eating apple, Tompkins King is also a wonderful cooker.
Tsugaru Homei
Tsugaru apples are moderately sized, round to conical fruits with a somewhat uniform shape and light russeting within the stem’s cavity. The skin is firm, slightly sticky, and has a yellow-green base that may be covered with red mottling, blushing, and striping. Underneath the surface, the flesh is dense, white, crisp, and aqueous, encasing a small central core filled with black-brown seeds. Tsugaru apples have an intensely sweet flavor with an acidic and mildly tart undertone. Tsugaru apples are native to Japan and were developed at the Aomori Prefectural Apple Experimental Station in the 1930s. The variety is a cross between a Kodama and Golden Delicious apple, and after approximately forty years of trials, Tsugaru apples were officially released to commercial markets in 1975.
Wealthy
Wealthy apples are native to Minnesota and were developed through apple breeder and grower Peter Gideon. There are several theories about the apple’s origins, with some of the stories including more dramatic touches, but the most retold version begins with Peter Gideon moving to Minnesota with his wife in 1853. It is said Peter moved to Minnesota for health reasons and established a homestead along the shores of Lake Minnetonka. On his homestead, Peter trialed apple, crab apple, plum, cherry, quince, pear, and peach trees to develop varieties that could survive the harsh climate of the Midwest. Most of the trialed fruit trees did not survive. Around the 1860s, Peter purchased a bushel of apple seeds from a grower named Albert Emerson in Bangor, Maine. The apple seeds were planted, and years later, all the seedling trees had died except for one. The tree was initially thought to be of Siberian crab apple descent, but over time, it was determined through DNA testing that the seedlings were a cross between Jonathan apples and Duchess of Oldenburg apples. The unnamed seedling continued to produce fruits each year, and Peter Gideon shared the apple’s seeds with other growers, especially other members of the Minnesota State Horticultural Society. The apple variety was eventually named Wealthy, released in 1868, and quickly became a popular apple nationally. By the early 20th century, Wealthy apples were being grown throughout the United States and England and remained a favored variety for several decades.
Westfield Seek No Further
Williams Pride
Williams’ Pride apples are a medium to large varietal, averaging 6 to 8 centimeters in diameter, and have a relatively uniform round, conical, to ovate shape with faint ribbing. The apple’s skin is semi-thick, tough, and slightly chewy with a waxy, glossy, and smooth surface. The skin also has a yellow-green base coloring, almost entirely enveloped in a burgundy, maroon to dark red blush, pocked with tiny, white lenticels. Underneath the surface, the flesh ranges in color from white to pale yellow and has a medium-grained, firm, aqueous, and crisp consistency. The flesh also encases a central core filled with small, oval to tear-drop-shaped black-brown seeds. Williams’ Pride apples have a faint aroma and a balanced, sweet-tart flavor with tangy, honeyed undertones. The taste of the flesh may vary, depending on the time in the season when the fruits are harvested, but some apple enthusiasts note that the variety sometimes emits spice-filled, fruity nuances reminiscent of pears, cherries, or melons.
Winter Banana
Wolf River
Almond
Nikita’s Pride
This hardy, very late blooming variety, Nikita’s Pride™ Almond Tree , bears good crops of large, high-quality, soft-shell nuts. Plant with Bounty and Oracle for cross pollination and large crops of these delicious and nutritious nuts.
Oracle
Bears abundant crops of sweet semi-hard shell Almonds. Use Nikita’s Pride as a pollinizer. You can graft almonds on plum rootstocks.
Cherry
Early Burlat
Early Burlat is moderately vigorous and spreading, reliably productive every year and also resistant to bacterial canker and to cracking. It is fast becoming a backyard favorite!
Lapins
Self-pollinating and tolerates late frost! One of the few self-pollinating sweet cherry trees. Puts on a brilliant spring show with billows of pink flowers. Deep, dark fruit has a Bing-like shape has a purple-red flesh that is sweet, firm and almost meaty. Exquisite fresh eating, right off the tree. Originated in Canada. Good overall disease-resistance and crack-resistance. Ripens in July.
Montmorency
One of the most famous tart cherries and most widely grown in the US, Montmorency is thought to have originated in the Montmorency Valley just north of Paris, where it was named after a noble family that had grown it since the 13th century. French settlers moving up the St. Lawrence River Valley toward the Great Lakes brought it to the New World around 1760, or perhaps earlier. Although the literature on Montmorency does not indicate why Montmorency was chosen over other cultivars, we suspect it was because of its cold hardiness. Given how much more temperate Europe is generally speaking than Canada, around the Great Lakes, and other northern areas where Montmorency was first grown, it is likely that many of the other tart cherry cultivars did not survive harsher winters. Meanwhile, we have seen Montmorency growing in solid zone 3 parts of Montana, which would put it on par with many of the cold climate adapted apples. The Montmorency fruit sweetens as it ripens but remains fairly tart for most people to eat out of hand. However, its flavor and tartness make for spectacular dried cherries. Plant in conjunction with Danube, which is less tart (albeit still a tart cherry), and complements the Montmorency in terms of uses. Hardy to zone 3.
White Gold
White Gold is an absolutely delicious red-and-yellow, mid-season, self fertile sweet cherry. White Gold is a product of crossing Emperor Francis x Stella from our friends at the NY Experiment Station. White Gold’s good size, great flavor, consistently heavy crops and resistance to cracking and to bacterial canker make the perfect substitute for Rainer cherries in areas where weather conditions are too wet and pollination options are limited.
Plum
Beauty
Beauty is one of the richest-flavored Japanese plums; a wonderful blend of sweet and tart that melts in your mouth. The tree is fast growing and extremely productive, bearing bright red, medium-sized fruit with amber-streaked, red flesh. This was one of developer Luther Burbank’s favorites of his plum varieties, and was introduced in 1911. The fruit is reminiscent of Santa Rosa, but much better suited to cool weather growers. Beauty starts producing at an early age, sometimes the year after planting! Self fertile in most regions, and a good pollinizer for other Asian plums. Low chill; only needing 250 hours to reliably set fruit.
Early Laxton
This beautiful pink-orange oblong freestone plum with delicious yellow meaty flesh is the season’s first European plum to ripen. The fruit is high in Vitamin C and is top rated. It needs a European plum pollinizer.
Imperial Epineuse
This wonderfully flavorful, sweet French prune plum has been used at the English National Fruit Trials as a standard to judge prune flavor. The medium-to-large plums have dusky burgundy/purple skin and clear amber flesh when perfectly ripe. The flavor is fabulous, and the fresh texture is dense, silky and succulent. The tree is an attractive upright grower; not as much of a spreader as many other plums. Requires a different variety Euro plum as a pollinizer. The freestone fruit ripens in late August.
Italian Plum
Kuban Burgundy
Methley
Methley Plum trees are known for their ease of growth, abundance of sweet fruit, and the ornamental beauty of the tree itself. Originating in South Africa, Methley Plum was introduced to the United States in 1922. It is a variety of Japanese Plum, prunus salicina ‘Methley.’ The plums are known for their mild, sweet taste, and red to purple colored skin. The flesh is red and juicy. These plums are clingstone, meaning the pit clings to the flesh of the fruit, and the tree is a heavy bearer, producing a high yield of fruit. The Methley Plum makes a stunning ornamental tree with its showy, white, fragrant blossoms in the early spring. The tree is beautiful in the summer as the red to purple plums develop against the green foliage. In the winter, the graceful shape of the tree is revealed.
Obilnaja
A very productive Asian plum with flavorful red fruit.
Prune d’Ente
The finish flavored European prune plum from France.
Shiro
The Shiro plum is a large, round, yellow plum with an mild, sweet flavor and sunshine yellow, translucent flesh. The Luther Burbank variety, introduced in 1899, is very prolific, the fruit ripens early, and it’s ridiculously juicy. You might want to get out a bib for this one! The fast-producing tree reliably cranks out loads of clingstone fruit every mid-summer, and builds a rather short, wide, layered form. Requires 400-500 chill hours to set fruit, and doubles its fruit production each year for the first 5 years!
European Pear
Atlantic Queen
An old time large European pear with great flavor.
Bosc
A delicious European pear with russet skin and great flavor.
Comice
Comice (pronounced ko-MEESE) appear in all sizes, but their shape is unique among varieties; having a rotund body with a very short, well-defined neck. They are most often green in color, and sometimes have a red blush covering small to large areas of the skin surface. However, some newer strains are almost entirely red in color. The succulent Comice can grow to be very large, and the jumbo-sized beauties are often the ones that appear in gift boxes.
Highland
An excellent European keeper pear ripe in October.
Orcas
Horticulturalist Joe Long discovered this tree growing on his property on Orcas Island, WA and it has become a regional favorite. The fruit is large, flavorful, and yellow with a carmine blush when perfectly ripe. The texture is smooth, slick and features very few grit cells. Orcas’ scab resistance is legendary! The tree has a vigorous, spreading habit and bears prolifically every year. The pears are great for canning, drying or eating fresh; they mature in early September. Since the tree is a late bloomer (even though it’s an early ripener), it’s great to match as a pollinizer with a later-ripening keeper variety like Bosc or Seckel.
Russet Comice
Very popular in Western Washington. A comice with brown russetted skin.
Stuttgarter Geishirtle
A small sized super productive European pear with great flavor and reliable production.
Suij
Pronounced “Sigh”, this is a pear that you pick while its rock hard in October or November and store it in a root cellar and eat fresh through March. This type of pear was popular for hundreds of years in Europe where people used it as a staple food through the winter but has gone out of fashion in the last 60 years. Suij is one of the best of this type. It makes a delicious and beautiful pink pear sauce. It is a cross of Comice and the winter keeper St. Remi, and both blooms and ripens late.
Asian Pear
Chojuro
Keeps for up to 20 weeks. A popular variety known for its butterscotch flavor. Green- to yellow-brown russeted skin surrounds crisp, juicy, flavorful white flesh. Similar to grocery store Asian pears, but homegrown tastes so much better! Pick when first yellow-brown in color (ripens after New Century variety). Originates from Japan in 1895. Ripens in late August. Pollinator required: Choose another pear variety, like New Century, Hosui, or Bartlett.
Hamese
The first of the season! This refreshingly sweet, crisp Asian pear is one of the first to ripen each summer in mid-August. Crunchy, juicy and delicately flavored, Hamese is a great addition to salads, picnic baskets and lunch boxes – take the taste of summer to work with you. The productive trees give large crops of medium sized, yellow-skinned fruits of superior flavor. Thin fruits carefully to encourage larger fruit development. Needs pollinizer.
Iciban Nashi
An Asian Pear with delicious crispy sweet yellow fruit.
Mishirasu
Enjoy big crops of orange/brown skinned, oval-shaped fruits that look like a chunky European pear. The huge fruit is very crisp and crunchy, with an excellent flavor. One of the latest to ripen here in the PNW. Stores for months in the fridge or cellar.
Quince
Aromatnaya
Quinces are self fertile. The delicious large yellow fruit has a wonderful pineapple like flavor. Trees can be maintained at about 10’ tall.
Karp’s Sweet
A quince with sweet yellow flesh.
Other Fruit
Breda Giant Medlar
Medlar’s are self fertile trees that have small brown fruits that are eaten in November after a hard frost and taste like apple sauce. Trees are grafted on pear rootstocks and make a small 7 to 10’ tall tree.
Shipova (Pear x Mt. Ash)
Disclaimer: The information provided above is sourced from various online descriptions and may not be entirely accurate. It is intended for use during the Spring Field Day at the WWFRF and should not be relied upon for other purposes.
