This page is for apple descriptions of many of the varieties I use in breeding or sell seed or cuttings of. It is a standing database, so I won’t have all of them every year.

(Info on new 2024 seedling varieties here )

ALLEN’S EVERLASTING: A pretty richly flavored, flattened apple that ripens here in December on the tree. Good keeper worth growing in my region. It has promise as breeding stock for the pursuit of flavorful, high quality late hanging/ripening apples. I’ve gotten a lot of positive comments from tasters and it’s generally popular with apple nerds. An old Irish variety

APPLEOOSA: Grenadine x Lady Williams. Appleoosa was a joke working name, but it stuck :). This apple seems to be an improvement in grenadine in most regards, while retaining much of the flavor and flesh color. Given that both parents are winter ripening it will hopefully prove a good parent for breeding winter hanging red fleshed apples and I’ve been using it in breeding for some years now. It can show strong solid red flesh and rich, complex flavor, predominated by berry notes. Texture can go off when it gets riper, but not as much as grenadine, tannins are lower and it does not seem to suffer from erly drops like Grenadine does. The skin is fairly thick. All in all, it is a still somewhat primitive red fleshed apple with amazing flavor. Read more about this variety HERE

AMBERWINE: I am very enthusiastic about this Williams’ Pride x Vixen cross. It is a medium sized apple with firm crisp flesh. The color when well ripened tends toward rich amber highlights. That color can also be faintly seen in the flesh at times. It is a new introduction to the savory class of apples, of which there are very few. What I know is that I like eating these apples and I’ve had good responses from the few others that have tasted them. It is a subtle sophisticated apple with a rich umami flavor when well ripened. READ MORE ABOUT AMBERWINE HERE

ASHMEAD’S KERNEL: One of the most praised English desert russets, and just among English apples in general. Although Ashmeads is a keeper and often ripe later, it is often very edible here in September. Flavor wise, it takes second place to Golden Russet, but it is very worth growing and probably great breeding stock.

BECCA’S CRAB. Once upon a time, my friend Becca Munroe sent me some scions of a small crab she used to make cider from. Chris Homanics thinks it is Malus Prunifolia, a species of crab apple and looking at pictures I think he is right. Becca’s crab is the size of a small cherry, and hangs in abundant bunches, ripening late in the season and hanging well. It is fun to eat whole, fairly crabby, but still good. I have fed it to random “normal” people and generally got positive comments. The flesh is very yellow. I love having them on the table and munching them whole seeds and all. It is super clean and easy to eat it off the stem whole. You also get the cyanic compounds in the seeds that research indicates may be cancer preventative and no doubt more phytonutrients like antioxidants by eating them whole. Recent research also shows that different parts of the apple have different beneficial bacteria and the core is especially high. The texture is very crisp, fine and crunchy. I have made crosses with it in hopes of creating more complex and sweeter versions of similar apples. This apple and it’s offspring could also make good cider apples, although picking them would be a real chore. I propose that we create a new class of super sweet crabs intended to be eaten whole, with red flesh and call them cherry apples or cherry crabs or something. I think it is probably doable, because they are already pretty good and they seem to cross pollinate with other apples well.

BIG RED: I’m not sure I’ll ever send this Grenadine x Golden Russet cross out into the world, but have used it in breeding a bit. Like the name says it’s large and red, with red flesh. Decent texture early in the season, but not a ton of red flesh flavor. Large vigorous, productive seedling.

BLACK STRAWBERRY: Read more about Black Strawberry here. I’m mostly sure this is a King David x Grenadine cross, or vice versa. It has very dark red skin and is quite striking hanging on the tree. The flesh is mottled pink to solid pink. It is not the reddest inside, but it’s very flavorful. The dominant taste is usually strawberry, but three are other flavors in the fruit punch and berry realm. It has issues similar to Grenadine it’s parent, like a thick, high tannin skin and tendency to go meally, but I think it’s an improvement on that apple overall and seems like a good stepping stone in breeding. I’m using it a lot to breed with until something better comes along. The two things that make this apple worth releasing are the striking appearance and the delicious complex flavor with that unique strawberry twist. Overall though, I consider it a stepping stone in breeding, especially toward a very similar apple with overall higher dessert quallity and strawberry flavor.

C TOWN RED: A small red fleshed crab. It’s crabby, but it has very red flesh. Otherwise, not much to recommend it, except for crab type uses and maybe cider blending.

CAROLINA RED JUNE: A small summer apple that can have very good flavor. Flesh is sometimes tinged red, so it might make a good parent to cross with red fleshed apples for breeding. It might also be worth crossing with William’s Pride and July Red, which are both summer apples that have red staining in the flesh.

CENTENNIAL CRAB: This apple has a very high reputation as a dessert apple among the few who grow it. I have made a few crosses anyway, based on reputation alone. Very likely a top tier apple for breeding crab derived fruit. Several crabs on this page come up frequently as favorites for many people, including Centennial, Wickson and Chestnut Crab. That should tell you something. Use them in breeding!

CHERRY COX: Can Cherry Cox’s cherry flavor be carried into other apples? I’ve wondered that for sure and in 2021 I got my answer, yes! Cherry Crush, a new Cherry Cox x Grenadine seedling is very excellent and has a mild cherry flavor. In good years Cherry Cox tastes strongly of Cherry or something like cherry cough drops. It is a sport of Cox’s Orange Pippin, but seems a healthier grower and tastes better than C.O.P. to me as grown here where Cox doesn’t perform well.

CHERRY CRUSH: New seedling cross of Cherry Cox x Grenadine. I’m quite fond of this apple. It 2023 it was my favorite of its season. I would generally rather eat it than Cherry Cox or Cox’s Orange Pippin as grown here. It is an improvement in texture over those two apples, being more crisp and fine grained. It is also larger. It is not as complex, but it’s just satisfying to eat. Some Pink flesh, but not a ton of red fleshed flavor. The cherry flavor is probably going to be less than Cherry Cox on average, but it’s still the distinguishing feature of this apple and delicious. I would say it is also more balanced in its various flavors than Cherry Cox. So excited to get this apple out there and see how it does in other places and how people like it. Also, awesome name, which I apparently sniped from Freddy Menge’s Pineapple Crush. Who wouldn’t want to try an apple with a name like Cherry Crush?! Seems to be fairly susceptible to scab, as are both parents. READ MORE ABOUT THIS APPLE HERE.

CHERUB: My own Wickson x Rubaiyat, pink fleshed crab apple. This is a sweet, crab with variable flavor, from berries to savory flavors from Wickson, rose and burnt sugar or caramel. If it has a fault, it’s too polite, lacking in acid, which some like. It holds on the tree well. Seems a very promising breeder and I’ve crossed it with lots of other apples already. I think kids will love this apple.

CHESTNUT CRAB: A small August ripening apple with excellent dessert qualities. Nothing like your typical summer apple. Rich and very sweet. A favorite of many. Also very cold hardy apparently. I think it has promise for pursuing higher quality summer apples as well as for crossing with high quality russets like Golden Russet, Court Pendu Plat and Ashmead’s Kernel.

DUTCH MASTER: GRENADINE X GOLD RUSH This is a dense, sometimes richly flavored and rustically beautiful apple. The size is highly variable, from quite large to small. The flesh is very firm, almost hard when less ripe. Flavors tend toward rich and fruity, but I’m not able to pick out anything specific. It doesn’t seem to keep really well like Gold Rush does, but it ripens gradually, so it has a long season off the tree. Bottom line, it looks really neat, I like eating them a lot and I’ve had good responses from tasters. Appearance can be highly variable regarding the cool russetting effect. READ MORE ABOUT DUTCH MASTER HERE.

GOLDEN RUSSET: The best overall Russet I’ve ever tasted, and I’m not the only one that will say that. This is a very famous old American apple for good reason. High, complex flavor and high sugar content. Keeps well, good for cider. Just a great apple. I wish I would have used it more in breeding efforts earlier.

GOLD RUSH: If someone almost anywhere were to ask me what apple to plant for a homestead, I’d probably say start with GoldRush. It is disease resistant, widely adapted, has unbelievable storage ability and develops more flavor in storage. The only problem is you can’t really enjoy it until it has been picked and stored into the winter. These genes seem worth taking advantage of. My video on goldrush.

GRAVENSTEIN: A very old and famous early apple. Much loved for pies and sauce. Good tart/sweet balance. Short lived after it’s picked, but prized by many.

GRENADINE: The most flavorful red fleshed apple I had to breed with in the beginning. My Grenadine and other red fleshed seedlings have now replaced it for breeding and eating. Flavor like fruit punch, deep solid dark pink flesh. Texture is never great and often terrible, It usually goes very dry and mealy by the time it is very ripe. Fairly late. Scab susceptible like most red fleshed apples. I will probably never use it in breeding again, but it served its purpose and the better traits are being carried forward.

HARD CANDY CIDER: This is a new seedling that can have very strong fruit flavors, reminding of mixed hard fruit candies. The first year it fruited, it could probably compete with any apple on the homestead for intensity of flavor. It is a Grenadine x Lady Williams cross. It is pretty much a cider only, or juice apple as it has a lot of tannin in the skin and a somewhat woody flesh. The hope is that the very strong flavors will hold up through fermentation, resulting in flavorful ciders. I have crossed it with other very strongly flavored apples. READ MORE ABOUT HARD CANDY CIDER HERE.

HALL: This small southern apple has a fruity, complex flavor at it’s best. Overall, a little mediocre as grown here, but it has a very high reputation in old writings. Once lost, it was found and reintroduced by apple hunter Tom Brown.

HAUER PIPPIN: While I’m not a great fan of this apple, I think it has potential for breeding late hanging apples. It hangs on the tree til about Christmas when it ripens. My friend that lives at a higher elevation than me in a small, cold mountain valley, says that it is the only apple that withstands really hard freezes. The skin is quite thick and the flesh oddly solid.

CLARION (formerly referred to as Ice Princess): A small Grendine x Golden Russet cross that I’m quite fond of. Excepting the scab, which is it very susceptible to, Clarion has a clean appearance and a clean flavor to match. The skin is very smooth, greasy and a beautiful pale color. It can be extremely crisp and late hanging, though both have varied. It is a small apple, yellow, with a clean, clear flavor laced with high notes of pine and sometimes banana. It is a hard flavor to describe, but refreshing and compelling. I have had problem with early drops, which I think comes from grenadine, but the early drops have mostly been worth eating, so they seem to be more like early ripening specimens. Later specimens develop more flavor. This apple has a long eating season off the tree, perhaps months.

INGRAM: Hangs into December, dark red skin, white flesh. I’m not a huge fan, but it’s pretty good. I want to use it in breeding late hanging and red fleshed apples. I think there may very well be a synergy between dark red skinned apples and red fleshed apples, that will increase the likelihood of the offspring showing red flesh.

KERRY PIPPIN: aka Kerry’s Irish Pippin. An early apple, ripens in August here usually. Good tart apple for cooking and eating. Often has an anise flavor. For me it takes a back seat to William’s Pride and Chestnut Crab in the same August season, but it’s very good for an early apple. For a large collection including early apples, I think it is a must try.

KING DAVID: King David is an excellent apple in this region. When well ripened it is delicious, as I and others have described it, like concentrated cider flavor with a little spice. It has a decent measure of balancing acidity, makes incredible juice and excellent hard cider. The skin is very dark, as dark as oxford black in some years. It has a very “red apple” flavor, but without any of the aspects I don’t like in some American red apples. It has none of the floral/perfumy flavor typical in Red Delicious and some others. I’ve gotten some good red fleshed seedlings crossing Etter apples with King David, including the best RF seedling yet, a cross between KD and Rubaiyat.

“KING WICKSON”: That is what I jokingly call this Wickson x King David cross from Freddy Menge It may very well have a real name now. It has some of the savory flavor of Wickson, sometimes a lot, small, but a little bigger than Wickson I think. Excellent parentage on both sides and seems worth using to pursue more offspring in the savory category.

MARCH HEDGE: I discovered this apple growing in a hedgerow on the old homestead site at the top of my driveway. I’ve seen it ripen as late as march and have high hopes for it as a breeding parent for apples that can hang til spring while retaining eating quality. I have had exceptionally crisp specimens in February, if a little lackluster in the sugar and flavor department. It seems to have no negative flavor traits though. I’m inclined to think it is a seedling or seedling rootstock. There is a Newtown Pippin nearby, so maybe that is the parent. So far it has been lackluster in the flavor department, but is still hopeful for breeding late hanging apples. Small to medium, Yellow skin.

MERE PIPPIN: A medium sized English apple that hangs into the winter. It's a little ho hum as grown here, but it’s pretty good for cooking and not bad eating. I suspect it does better elsewhere. Flavor tends toward banana when very ripe. The tree runs slightly toward a columnar habit, but on a larger scale. Branches tend to grow out a short distance and then turn up. buds are not very closely spaced, so not really a dwarf.

MUSCAT DE VENUS: A small crab derived apple from Albert Etter that must be in the Wickson group. This is hands down the umami bomb of apples as I’ve tasted. It is not a great apple to me. It has no acid to speak of, so it’s cloyingly sweet. But is has savoriness to spare. Since I’m determined that we all recognize, grow more, eat more, and talk about more, apples in this savory category, this is an obvious breeders choice. It reminds me of sweet seafood, along the lines of lobster or shrimp, minus the fish flavor, so it puts the crab is crab apple lol. Wickson can have that same type of presentation when it is under ripe.

MY JEWEL: This is a crisp, very late hanging and late ripening winter apple. It tastes strongly of banana, like artificial banana candy, especially when ripe. It is an all around excellent apple, though scab prone. Just depends on if you like Banana flavor. The flavor can be crazy strong. High potential for breeding late hanging winter apples. Obvious things to cross it with are Pomo Sanel and my Grenadine x Golden Russet cross nick named “Ice Princess”, both of which are also late hanging. Pomo Sanel can be strongly Banana flavored and Ice Princess, very mildly so. It is worth trying out in regions mild enough to hang apples through at least December, but probably has potential for storage as well.

MAY POLE CRAB: This is a small red fleshed crab. It’s pretty crabby, but it has red fleshed flavor and a very cool dwarf columnar or “ballerina” growth habit. The tree does not grow very tall and has few side branches. The branches it has generally turn upward making the total foot print very small. I’ve used it to try to breed more columnar apples and the trait is passed much of the time, maybe about 50%. It is a primitive apple though, so it may take generations to breed out the crabiness. So far, most offspring are very crabby and not exciting. I have named and released only one and have cut down quite a few already.

NOT KATHERINE?: There is an english apple called catherine, so maybe this is it It is not Albert Etter’s Katherine. Whatever it is, it is a very late hanging/ripening apple with good flavor and very crisp, juicy flesh. I am still eating a few here in January 2021, but think of it mostly as a December apple off the tree. I have used it quite a lot in breeding for winter hanging apples. My branch of it is infected with apple mosaic virus, so I do not send out scions. I need to get a clean scion of the english Catherine and grow it out to see if it’s the same.

OXFORD BLACK: This is an old apple with very dark red skin. Pretty good and worth breeding with for pursuing dark skinned red fleshed apples like Black Strawberry.

PENDRAGON: Pendragon is a very old Welsh apple with deep red flesh. I have never had a good specimen of what I have grafted under this name. It is thin and crabby and not worth a second bite. Chris Homanics says it tastes like roses. Maybe mine is not the real Pendragon.

PILOT: This is a fun apple. It is very vigorous and productive. The apples are huge, with a cool speckled appearance. It’s great for baked apples because of the size, stuffed with toasted walnuts, sugar, raisins, salt and butter. I think it has potential in breeding as it is very unique looking and seems healthy. Apples hang well, but it’s not a winter hanging apple, more like late fall into maybe early December. The flavor is a little dilute, typical of very large fruits, but pleasant and fun to eat. A Southern heirloom that should be grown more.

PINK LADY, AKA CRIPPS PINK: This apple is familiar to most as a reliably good grocery store apple. It can have a complex fruity flavor. It hangs well and is best ripened on the tree into late winter. I’ve had it at least as late as New Years in excellent condition. Should probably be a cornerstone in breeding more winter hanging apples for flavor, lateness, durability and overall quality.

PINK PARFAIT: Best overall dessert quality red fleshed apple here, but with only mottled pink flesh. flavors of honey and mild berry. Ripens super late from Dec to sometimes February! Hangs very well and retains quality for a long time for fresh eating off the tree. I am eating them off the tree now in mid January, but they are finally declining. What’s more interesting though is I’ve been eating them since November, so they ripen and then store on the tree. It is very scab susceptible like most of Albert Etter’s reds. One of the best textured apples on the homestead. Juicy. It seems a great candidate for breeding, especially winter hanging apples. One of the best dessert apples here when tree ripened. I’m a huge fan!

POMO SANEL: Discovered in this area by Michael Maltas growing on a hillside above a road. He estimated the tree to be 100 years old. Ripens on the tree in January. Some years tastes strongly of Bananas, other years, mild mixed tropical flavor. Tough skin, scab susceptible. Hangs tenaciously on the tree past ripe.

ROSS NONPAREIL: Very strongly flavored small apple. It doesn’t do that well here, but can be a flavor bomb. Flavor is “pear drop”, an english candy.

RUBAIYAT: Second most flavorful Etter blood apple I have tried, with lots of berry like flavor, pure red/pink solid flesh, very nice looking apple, excellent texture at it’s best, but the texture does degrade as it gets really ripe. One of my worst for susceptibility to Apple Scab and early drops are also a problem.

SAINT EDMUND’S PIPPIN: An early russet, well liked in it’s native country of England. A true russet.

SAM YOUNG: This is a high flavored little Irish apple with late hanging tendencies. Many fruit nerds that are lucky enough to grow it have developed a fondness for it. Sometimes russety and generally rustic appearing. Probably a great choice for pursuing rustic high flavored, late hanging and keeping russets.

SKINNER’S SEEDLING: Originated from a Newton Pippin seed planted on the banks of Coyote Creek in San Jose California. On the trip from the east by wagon, Judge skinner saved a few seeds of newton pippin, one of which resulted in this apple. It has a high reputation in old writings. Very large, early ripening apple.

SUGARWOOD: Grenadine x Wickson cross which seems promising for cider. Woody flesh, noticeable tannin and very high sugar. It seems to hang very well to the tree and ripens pretty late. Still hanging in pressable condition here in mid January 2022 Sometimes shows a little pink flesh, but that’s not a major characteristic. Not a dessert apple, could be a good juice apple and for making juice based goods like cider syrup, apple butter and apple jelly. May ripen too late for some areas, but it’s durable, so it might also ripen off the tree if picked earlier. Masses of small pretty red apples. It might be the highest sugar apple I’ve measured here at 28% Flavor can be pretty rich. READ MORE ABOUT SUGARWOOD HERE.

SUNRISE: This is a polite easy eating apple with very nice flavor. It might be a little tame for some apple snobs, but I can eat piles of them in season. Good breeding potential to bring modern genetics into the mix. Early fall.

SWEET 16: What a perfect name. If this could be characterized as a person, it’s a pretty, bubble gum smacking, precocious, lip gloss wearing, over-the-top on everything, chattering girl of an apple. Sometimes it seems like the best most delicious thing ever and other times it is just annoying and cloying and I want it to get out of my face.   It often has intense candy like flavors including bubble gum, almond, anise and cherry, though the flavor varies considerably from year to year and even apple to apple.  When it goes overripe, it is terrible, mealy, and as my friend put it, "everything I don't like in an apple".  My other favorite quote is from a girlfriend "It's like holy shit what's going on in my mouth?!".  Short window of eating.  Probably great breeding potential.  A modern UofM apple supposed to have some disease resistance and never gets scab here.  Mid season. A must try apple. Here it is too variable in flavor to bother growing much of for eating. Too bad, because when at its best, it is amazing.

TOMBOY CRAB: A day will come when the average person does not automatically assume bitter and sour when they hear the word crab apple. Tomboy Crab is a step in that directions. She is rough and unkempt on the outside, but sweet and pink inside. This is proving to be a delicious little crab that is worthy of being in the conversation with the usual quality dessert crabs. Read more about tomboy here.

TRAILMAN: From what I’ve gathered, Trailman is the best of the extremely hardy apples. Brings very good flavor and unique flavor components from it’s crab heritage, as well as extreme cold hardiness. Small crab, susceptible to scab. If you are in the extreme cold North, this might be the apple to use in breeding.

VANILLA PINK: This cross of Grenadine x Gold Rush has been a little hit and miss in it’s early fruitings, but has come around nicely. It has a vanilla background that is candy like, along the lines of a sweet, non acid candy like circus peanuts or candy corn. There are also berry high notes on top of that. Texture is variable, but often pretty good. The flesh can get downright neon pink and I’ve seen it almost lean toward purple in very dark colored specimens. Bottom line when I’m eating a good one, I’m compelled to finish it, largely due to that intriguing candy like background, but whatever it is, the flavor just works. I used to sell tons of scions of an apple called Vanilla Pippin, but I don’t think I ever detected as much of that type of flavor in that apple as in this one. It is not a dead ringer for vanilla, it’s just the best descriptor I can come up with besides circus peanuts. I fed it to my nephew and he caught the flavor right away. the down sides are the skin is fairly thick, and a little tannic. The flesh texture tends to go down as it ripens, with the characteristic Grenadine Graininess. Read more about Vanilla pink here.

WALTANA: This is an apple bred by Albert Etter. It is large, beautiful, tasty and much liked by local growers in Northern California where it originated. Good tart sweet balance, and pretty flavorful.

WHITWICK PIPPIN: Pronounced witick, this is a gem of an apple when it comes to flavor. It also can hang quite late into the winter and Nigel Deacon reports it hanging all the way until bloom in England. Very complex rich fruity flavors & crisp texture. It is on the small side, with red striped skin. Should be dispersed and tried by more growers. I am using it a lot now in breeding winter hanging apples.

WICKSON: I’m fairly convinced that if we all just plant a lot of Wickson seeds, some amazing apples will result. Very high sugar, can be over 25%. Unique malt-like savory flavor. This apple makes it onto a lot of favorite apples lists. I had no scab on mine this year and it was the worst year for scab I can remember. Other years it gets scab, so I’m not sure what’s up with that. Very small, but the flavor can definitely be transferred into larger offspring. It seems to be a good parent, at least when it is the seed parent, not sure yet about offspring quality when it is the pollen parent. Putting these hyper sweet and malty genes into other apples, is producing an entirely new class of fruits with a rich, savory flavor character, examples of which are my seedling BITE ME!, a Wickson x King David cross by Freddy Menge, Etter’s own apples Muscat de Venus & Vixen, and a new William’s Pride x Vixen cross of mine dubbed Amberwine. This is just the beginning. More of these genes need to be propagated.

WILLIAMS’ PRIDE: William’s pride is early, very large, excellent quality, scab free, and develops more fruit flavor during storage. It would be good at any season, but ripens in August! Also has pink in the flesh some years, so hopefully a good parent for breeding red fleshed apples. I have been using it a lot in breeding to bring quality and disease resistance into red flesh lines. A small row of William’s Pride x Vixen crosses have proven to be precocious. Several have been named, Twang, Integrity and Amberwine and others are under observation. We should use this apple in breeding a lot more!