Dessert Quality Low Spray Apple-Ripens in September
This seedling apple was found in one of our planting beds of Malus coronaria or sweet crab from a Pennsylvania seed source. The leaves were a bright green color free of disease so I kept the apple in its spot and tilled around it. When it began fruiting it was one of the few eating apples at our farm that has produced clean fruit with no spray. However as time went on, the tree became more shaded from a nearby oak tree and the yields dropped along with the quality of the fruit. The level of insect damage to the fruit varies from year to year so it will require some insect control to insure clean fruit. The foliage appears totally resistant to insect damage and completely immune to black spot, anthracnose and mildew. The foliage is resistant to Japanese beetle.
Package comes with 3 pieces of scionwood and a package of 200 seeds of mixed wild apples with clean fruit, timber growth habit and vigorous growth from seed. All are produced at my farm selected specifically for this package. The seeds will continue the strains necessary for low spray apples as well as vigorous seedlings with a wide range of uses beyond desert apples. The clonal selection "Ecos Red" can be produced by grafting but ideally is would be best on its own root system as the tree is the most productive this way. So if it is possible to plant the graft union below the ground, it would be the ideal way to grow it as a standard.
To germinate the seed: Seed is easy to germinate. Add a lightly moist media like Canadian peat moss to the seeds and store at 33-38 F refrigerated for 90-120 days. Seeds can sprout while under cold dormancy so they can be plucked out and planted in small pots. If planted outside, lightly cover the seeds after dormancy with 1/4 inch of sandy soil. Seeds germinate within 1-4 weeks after planting.
Plant Specs |
Genus & Species |
Malus x domestica |
Seed Source |
Michigan |
Hardiness |
-30F |
Height (ft) |
50 |
Width (ft) |
25 |
Pollination Requirements |
Self fertile |
Soil |
Sandy loam to loam. Not particular. Similar to other apples but not wet. |
Climate |
Zone 3ish to zone 8. |
Ease of Cultivation |
Easy to grow and fruit. Trees are vigorous with healthy foliage. This in itself is an ornamental feature as the leaves are a nice dark green and keep that way without spray. Fruit will require some spray but often this selection produces clean fruit without it but not every year. |