LONG HANGING APPLES PROJECT
This is the hub page for the Winter/Spring hanging apples aspect of my apple breeding project. Below is information on the project, why it’s important, what parents I’m using and links to related material, such as descriptions of late hanging apples that already exist as well as my new seedlings in this class.
Some apples are capable of hanging on the tree into winter in good condition, and a few even until spring. In order for these apples to be useful, they have to meet several criteria.
Criteria 1: They must hang steadfastly to the tree and not fall off easily either by physiologic processes, or weather.
Criteria 2: The fruit must actually ripen late, although,. It may also hang for a long time in edible condition after ripening, but that is a bonus.
Criteria 3: It must resist cracking and other damage, usually weather related, that can cause rot to set in.
Criteria 4: It has to be good enough to be worth eating or cooking with.
I have collected a goodly number of apples that meet all or most of these criteria and have been actively making pollinations to create more of them.
The value of these apples can be very high for home growers. I eat fresh apples off the tree from Late July to February and I feel pretty sure that we will be able to extend that into spring, possibly with just one or two generations of breeding. Apples tend to pick up odors/flavors in storage, even careful storage. Apples fresh off the tree have no taint of any sort and are indeed actually fresh. If I can have that for 7 to 9 months of the year, I’m going to pursue that.
I also think they have great potential as market apples in a local food model. The greater apple industry may not be interested as they are heavily invested in the picking early and storage model. For local markets though, showing up at Farmer’s Markets and local small stores or fruit stands, with fresh picked apples deep into winter, maybe even spring, could be amazing. If I could show up to the farmers market or the local coop, with good pink parfait fruits during the winter, people would come back for more and wait for them the next year. But we need more and better varieties to pull that off. Weather and time are particularly hard on the fruit, so breeding more durable varieties will be key to any type of market success.
It turns out that many of these apples are of good quality. I think it may be because they ripen in the cool season, away from the punishing heat of summer, which can be hard on the fruit. If a variety is still rock hard through all the heat, it seems less likely to be affected by it, then along comes cool weather for the fruit to finish it’s development in. Some are very good, some are mediocre and a few are maybe not great, but my overall assessment is that the stable of late hangers I’m starting with is actually very promising and it’s not as though I’m having to go to some primitive apple to get this trait and move it forward through many generations. I already have several winter hanging apples out of my seedling trials that seem worth growing and grafting.
Here are the parents I am working with so far.
LADY WILLIAMS: This apple is part of the parentage of the now popular Cripp’s Pink (aka pink lady). It typically ripens here around February first, but sometimes earlier. Lady Williams is a decent apple. It can develop quite a bit of flavor late in the season and it is very durable. It is medium to smallish, with shiny red skin. The flesh is somewhat spongy at times, which is maybe it’s biggest flaw. I have used it as a parent with some success. My early impression was that it throws a large number of primitive offspring, but I’m not so sure now. I use it less now, but it still figures in the mix and should probably continue to be used, especially for it’s high durability, lateness and decent quality.
PINK PARFAIT: This apple from Albert Etter’s breeding line of red fleshed apples is kind of the star of the show. I have eaten it anywhere from Nov. to Feb. It seems to have a very long eating season and stores on the tree well. This year it was in good eating from some time in November to til the start of January. It has pink flesh, with flavor notes of honey and mild strawberry. It is juicy, sweet and crisp. It’s only real drawback is that it gets scab very badly. This is the top of my list for breeding stock and I’ve crossed almost every other late hanging apple with it.
WHITWICK PIPPIN: A wonderful little flavorful apple from England, also known as Berkin Beauty after the man who grew it from a seed. The flavor is strong, complex and fruity. it can hang fairly late, certainly into December. A great breeding parent for introducing great flavor. Smallish apple with red skin. Should be grown and bred with more.
SAM YOUNG: A small, very flavorful Irish apple. Most would probably not think of it as a late hanging apple, but it certainly can hang late here. It has a complex fruity flavor.
POMO SANEL: A local selection found by fruit collector Michael Maltas on a brushy hillside. He said the tree looked to be maybe 100 years old or more. It usually ripens here in January. Yellow conical apples and look like they could be from the Grime’s Golden/Golden Delicious genetic line. Flavor can be mixed fruit, almost tropical to banana. It can hold up very well on the tree to all kinds of weather. It is fairly scab susceptible. Could be crossed to My Jewel to pursue a late hanging Banana flavored apple if you are into that sort of thing.
MUSCAT DE VENUS: This apple can hang pretty late and still retain quality. Since it is also a Savory apple in the biggest way, it might be good for breeding late hanging savory apples! I definitely want to make some crosses in that direction.
NOT KATHERINE: I am not sure what this apple really is. It might be the English Catherine, but I don’t have enough information to figure it out. Whatever it is, it ripens in Dec and Jan, has a great crisp, juicy texture and is pretty delicious. At it’s best the flavor is deep and nuanced. it does not hold up as well as some winter hanging apples and many will crack. It is definitely worth breeding with though, and I’ve used it already.
PILOT: This one is not super late, but it’s a fun apple and it will usually be in eating condition into at least part of December. It is a huge apple, with speckles all over it. A very vigorous grower. Handsome clean looking fruits. I’m inclined to throw it’s genes in the mix.
MERE PIPPIN: This one hangs well in good condition. It is an English apple. Small, yellowish. I’m not super fond of it as an eating apple, but there is nothing wrong with it and it’s a good cooker. The tree has a tendency to grow somewhat like a columnar dwarf. Not fully, but it tends to have small upright branches with few side branches.
HAUER PIPPIN: I don’t care for this apple much, but it hangs into december in good condition, so it’s probably good for breeding. It’s a nice looking apple too. It’s not terrible or anything, it’s just when I bite one, I don’t want to finish it.
JANUARY RUSSET: This is one of my seedlings. It is a very rustic apple, somewhat tannic, but very sweet with rich fruity flavor. I quite like it, especially in January! I just ate two this morning on January 20th. It is a small russeted apple, most likely Grenadine x Lady Williams, but the tag was lost. It is useless early in the season and must be ripened well, probably on the tree. Before it’s ripe, it’s a harsh, tannic little thing. The flesh remains crunchy. It’s not crisp, it’s more like hard. Bottom line I want them around to eat this time of year. I’ve already used it for breeding.
MARCH HEDGE: I found this apple growing at the top of my driveway in a hedge at a very old homestead site. It is growing in the shade, so it’s hard to be sure of what the overall quality will be until it’s grown out in the sun. But I’ve seen it hang as late as march and specimens one year in February were extremely crisp. It’s a yellow apple. Specimens so far have been low sugar and low flavor, but no defects. For moving forward with apples we can pick in spring, this is an obvious breeding choice.
“ICE PRINCESS”: I’ve had mixed results on hanging this seedling of Grenadine x Golden Russet late. The first year it fruited I had it as late as January, and it seemed like maybe the most crisp apple I’d ever eaten. This year it dropped a lot of fruit early and was not nearly as crisp or as late. The early drops were good to eat however. I love this little apple! It has a super clean flavor with high notes of pine and sometimes banana. At first bite, it might seem a little lackluster, but there is something about it that is very compelling and I just want to eat more of them. Looking forward to seeing how this develops and already making crosses with it.
MY JEWEL: This a very crisp, winter hanging apple with intense banana flavor. Obvious crosses to make would be with Pomo Sanel and Ice Princes, both late hanging with more or less banana flavor. I can’t deal with the artificial banana candy flavor, but otherwise, it’s an excellent apple.
‘PIE QUEEN”: The working name of a seedling, almost certainly of Grenadine x Lady Williams. This is a huge apple that hangs into early winter. It is more along the lines of a cooking apple, with some good flavor and plenty of tartness. Seems promising as both a winter cooking apple, or as a dessert apple for people that like them tart.
CRIPP’S PINK, AKA PINK LADY: This is a good late hanger I can pick it here at least as late as new years in some years. It’s a good apple with good potential for breeding. Most are now familiar with it from the store, but it’s better when ripened on the tree :) It would seem an excellent breeding choice.
GRANNY SMITH: This apple is actually in the lineage of Lady Williams and may be part of where LW gets here late hanging abilities. A ripe Granny is quite a bit different than what most people think of them as. Less tartness, more flavor. I would tend to go with Pink Lady or some of my Lady William’s crosses now instead, but it might be worth throwing back in the mix.
GRENADINE X LADY WILLIAMS 2011 #1: This apple hangs into December at least, sometimes January. It is not the best desert apple, but it’s okay when at it’s best. Flavor can get pretty good when it hangs long enough, reminiscent of Lady Williams. It is a uniform, striped red apple with plenty of tartness. It has been precocious and consistently productive too. Seems a promising breeder and winter cooking apple. Makes good sauce.