The fable I heard is that someone discovered a late ripening apple on a local homestead, took cuttings, named it Pomo Sanel and it shows up occasionally at scion exchanges. Like any such apple, it may be an older named variety, but I don't know that anyone has identified it as such. Although I'm not crazy about the Banana overtones, it's late hanging and richness of flavor have impressed me, and I think it would be found worthy of propagation by some. If nothing else, the genes that allow it to hang late into the winter are worth preserving.
Very late hanging apples are one of my great apple interests. Walking out to my trees crunching through the frost to munch on a sugary, juicy, flavorful apple is something I've become attached to. I recall in previous years that Pomo Sanel is usually my second latest apple, ripening in January, between a group of Christmas apples like pink parfait and Katherine and Lady Williams ripening February 1st. This year it is earlier. Apples from storage can be quite good at times, but they can also be less than optimal and may pick up off flavors. Besides, letting apples hang does not preclude storing them as well, even the same variety. I think this apple may be better if picked at some point and then stored. By that I mean that it may be more reliable and I might have fewer losses to rot in the stem wells or the occasional cracked apple, and that ultimately the apples would last later. Even for a durable apple, hanging through rain and freezing weather an take it's toll. But I would still let a few hang, because I like having them off the tree. Another thing to consider is storage space. I have no root cellar. I have unheated rooms and a small fridge. Storage of apples is not convenient for me. And I was just last night trying to stuff things in the fridge because the crisper drawers are mostly full of apples. In the end, I think a combination of both hanging late apples and storage, will prove the best strategy to carry fresh eating apples through. Some varieties will keep long, but will not hang late. I suspect that most long hangers will store well if picked at the right time.
Pomo Sanel is well above average for winter durability. It will show cracking on some fruits though. It also frequently shows separation of the skin from the stem down in the stem well. It also seems to dehydrate naturally on the tree a little bit.
As long storing apples go, I suspect that many others may do better than this one. Dehydration and resultant shriveling are commonly considered a fault of storage apples and Pomo Sanel is already showing signs of shriveling on the tree. It is not always a deal killer though. Sometimes they will retain an acceptable texture as they lose water. A good example is that some Russet apples will wrinkle up and become rubbery in storage. Given the tough flesh and somewhat rubbery tooth of some of the specimens on the tree now, I suspect it will have a partial tendency toward that effect. Other apples will soften in their own ways. Some become what might be called tender, but without being at all mushy or mealy. I personally enjoy coarse grained tender apples. This one also seems to have a tendency in that direction. Although they were clearly picked too late for best storage life and quality, I do have some put away in the fridge now, and am interested to see how they do. I must have stored a few in the past, but I don't recall.
My general impression of Pomo Sanel is that it's a gem in the rough. It is not a highly bred apple, like modern specimens of perfection being created now. It has some character with it's freckles and somewhat uneven matte colored skin. The dense flesh requires a little jaw work, something modern people don't get enough of anyway, so that could be a plus.
The flavor is pretty complex, with maybe something like a fruit smoothie effect. The most prominent flavor is banana. It's not a sickly sweet banana flavor, but it's definitely there on top, like it or not. The sugar is not overly high, but very adequate and compliments the level of acidity well. Intensity of flavor is definitely above average. It's no Suntan, but it asserts itself for sure.
Pomo Sanel's very late hanging characteristics got my attention. I've been meaning to make some crosses with it, but this is the first year I did. I crossed it with the queen of late hanging apples (in my orchard), the sleek, durable, beautiful, highly flavored, well behaved Lady Williams. She impressed someone, because she is one of the parents of Pink Lady, an excellent late hanging apple in it's own right that I've eaten off the tree here at the new year. Another potential cross would be Gold Rush and Pomo Sanel. Gold Rush is by all accounts an outstanding storage apple and has disease resistance genes. The ones I'm eating out of storage now are quite good around Christmas. They both have Banana as a prominent flavor when ripe, but other flavors differ a little. Gold Rush has more spice in it. Gold rush is not durable on the tree though, where it cracks and declines in quality. Both seem productive. Gold rush has Golden Delicious and given the characteristics and appearance of this apple, it wouldn't surprise me if it comes from the Grime's Golden/Golden Delicious line. Other late hanging apples that come to mind as possible candidates for crossing are Whitwick Pippin, Allen's Everlasting, Pink Parfait, Grenadine, Granny Smith, Katherine (of Etter) and Pink Lady. Since I've made crosses using some of those late apples already I also hope to have seedlings that could potentially provide breeding material. Who knows what the limits of quality, hanging and storage apples might be if we keep crossing these late lines.
I'm saving some seeds from this interesting apple to distribute this winter, but I can't send out scions of Pomo Sanel, or anything else, due to disease issues in the orchard. I may at some point try to sleuth out a new source of scions to distribute to people that might grow it and share it out. I have no idea what level and duration of cold it can stand. Even if picking it for storage, it has to ripen into at least late November here. It's okay to pick apples early for storage, but they should be fully sized up. The picture below shows Pomo Sanel in mid November still looking a little lean and green. Your mileage may vary of course.
Pomo Sanel looking a little bit green on November 14th here in Northern California
One thing I feel sure of is that this variety is worth saving, and it is certainly not remotely safe at this point. Maybe the longest standing, most knowledgeable and well connected local fruit collector/experimenter I know asked me for some mosaic virus infected scions a couple of years ago. I'm sure there are more copies out there among the local fruit collectors somewhere, but if it's not distributed much by any of us, it will fizzle out like so many others have. That is assuming that it is a unique variety and just an unidentified more common named variety.
