HELLA KITTY

SKILLCULT APPLE BREEDING PROJECT

THIS PAGE IS FOR INFORMATION AND NOTES ON MY SEEDLING APPLE HELLA KITTY.

Hella Kitty is a pink fleshed dessert crab that packs an acidic punch.

This apple is the evil twin of the sweet and gentle Cherub. Born of a wee sweet little mommy and a hell raising fiery fleshed Daddy, HELLA KITTY’s pretty red blush and small size hides a hellcat of a rebel girl. She might look cute, but just when you think she’s about to curtsey, she’ll punch you right in the taste buds. Beneath the delicate berry flavors, this bad kitty hid a vile of acid in that pretty pink flesh. You can wait for the flavor to mellow, but she pretty much keeps up her acerbicly ascorbic assault through the season. Too cool for school, she’s probably out shoplifting lemonheads, defacing public property or peeing in your shrubbery. Whether you can’t abide tart apples, or can’t get enough of them, Hella Kitty’s brattitude will have you foaming at the mouth one way or the other. You’d better cultivate that unconditional love for this problem child. You’re going to need it. Long live the brats.

This apple is a truly eye popping shade of pink. It has to be seen to be appreciated. I mean, like it is made in a lab, a bright girly pink of a shade that I’m not sure I have exactly seen in other red fleshed apples. The color is usually mottled with white but sometimes solid. That may change as it matures more and is likely to vary year to year and by climate.

Fruits are a beautiful shade of red, slightly flattened, pretty uniform in size and overall very nice to look at. They are also a pretty close match to the oval head of the hello kitty icon. I need a Hella Kitty face to draw on them. The foliage is weirdly very light green all year. As to other growing habits and disease resistance, it is too early to tell. The season seems to be around late November, depending on just how much sourness a person likes.

Hella Kitty is not a polite apple. Out of my trio of Wickson x Rubaiyat seedlings, Cherub is the angelic polite one, Tomboy is refreshingly tart, but well balanced and easy to get along with, and Hella Kitty is the problem child. It is not low in sugar, it is just high in acid. Flavors run toward berries. As the fruit ripens it becomes more flavorful. There seems to be a hint of Its mother Wickson’s savory flavors, but not much. The more the fruit can be ripened thoroughly in good condition, the more we are likely to see that flavor component develop.

This is one for those kids (big and little) who like the sour candies, the lemon suckers and green apple eaters. It does mellow somewhat, but not much until it is over ripe. This can be a delicious little desert crab with the most striking neon color.