Native Hunter 2023 Apples

[Native Hunter]

I'm going to continue this thread into 2024, because I will likely have some new varieties this year that were not covered last year. Today I took note of this Virginia (Hewe's) Crab that is in full bloom. This variety is said to be Thomas Jefferson's favorite cider apple. This tree started out kind of slow, but appears to now be hitting its stride. Stay tuned and I will be reporting back with some new varieties soon.

 

[Native Hunter]

For the first time in several years I'm seeing fireblight on some of my apple trees. The weather has been perfect for it. So far it hasn't been severe, but I thought it would be worth giving information on a few trees:

Brushy Mountain Limbertwig - This is one of the worst, but it is still going to bear a good crop of apples. I can see the FB going into at least 2 year old wood on several limbs. This tree has had FB in the past, but it has been several years.

Milam - About the same as tree above.

Franklin Cider - This one is about equal to the tree above but is a younger tree. I've seen a little FB on this tree the last three years.

Striped June - This one is a surprise, because it has been totally clean in the past. It appears to only be going into this year's growth on a few limbs. The tree is still going to bear a big crop despite the FB.

Summer Champion - Same report as Striped June.

30-06 Crab - Minor to moderate but not enough to stop fruit production.

Freedom - Very minor. Only a few limbs barely affected.

Caney Fork Limbertwig - Very minor. Huge crop of apples this time.

Several trees that flowered and fruited but with no signs of FB - Yates, Myer's Royal Limbertwig, Hewes, Priscilla, Sundance, Arkansas Black, Dolgo Crab, Big Dog Crab, Turning Point, Sweet November, Sonofcal, King David.... The reason I mentioned flowering and fruiting is that I have never seen a tree get FB that didn't flower. I'm not saying it is impossible - just that I have never observed it.

Something Interesting - Not a single pear has even had one limb affected. This includes a Bartlett that was sent to me by mistake once.

I'm sure I'm leaving out some and may update this later on after I make another trip to the farm.

 

[Drycreek]

What can you do about fire blight ? I’m totally ignorant about apples, hardly anybody grows them here.

 

[Native Hunter]

What can you do about fire blight ? I’m totally ignorant about apples, hardly anybody grows them here.

You can spray streptomycin at bloom time and have a good chance of preventing it. However, the timing is critical, because once the infection starts, the spraying is too late. That's what professional growers generally do. I'm a no spray guy, so I just try to plant cultivars that are resistant to it. As you can see, I do have some varieties that are moderately susceptible, but most of my varieties were selected to be very resistant to all of the major apple diseases. In the past I have taken a chance on some varieties that I wasn't sure of, but at this point in time, I won't plant any variety that I've not researched thoroughly for disease resistance.

 

[Native Hunter]

My early apples are ripening about 2 weeks earlier than normal. I think all the rain we’ve had has caused everything to be earlier this year.
PS - for the first time ever I had a small amount of FB on this tree, but not enough to concern me.

 

[Native Hunter]

The fruit on Williams Pride looks better this year than it has in previous years. At least half the apples are real nice. I’m ready to declare it a good early drop deer apple and if it continues improving I will say the same for human consumption. I need more time to evaluate. It is CAR and FB free.

 

[NoviceTreeGuy]

When will William's Pride ripen? Are they tart or more sweet?

 

[Native Hunter]

When will William's Pride ripen? Are they tart or more sweet?

The are described on the Internet as a balanced taste between sweet and tart, but I would say slightly more on the tart side. They will ripen here in about another 2 - 3 weeks or so. This tree was planted around 2018, and has been fruiting for about 3 years. Up until this year most of the fruit has been kind of ugly, but this crop has a good number of premium looking apples.

William's Pride was one of the apples that came out of the PRI breeding program. If you would like to see what they say about it, you can read on the following link: https://hort.purdue.edu/newcrop/pri/coop23.html

PS - Some good no spray apples and some duds (without spraying) have come out of that program. The best one in my opinion is Priscilla - which is close to a perfect apple for me.

 

[Native Hunter]

Pink Flesh on Striped June - kind of unusual looking for an apple: