good pollinators for my apple choices

14 years ago

Greetings all:

I'm ready to try my hand at growing some fruit trees. I'm considering cherry and apple. For now, I'd like to discuss my apple options.

First, I'm looking for dwarf or semi dwarf because my site is near power lines. I'm considering EMLA 111 rootstock. My soil is very heavy clay loam. Exposure is Northwest. With light shade in the am due to large oak trees on the east of my property. I've removed as many as I can, further removal of remaining trees is NOT an option.

Second, my objectives are mostly ornamental, although I would like to enjoy the fruit. I am willing to share with animals. I avoid using pesticides and am willing to bag or use organic alternatives. I'm okay with low-yield, as long as I get *some* fruit to enjoy. I'm not fussy.

For starters I'd like to start with only 3 trees. I like firm, tart apples that are good for baking, eating and maybe eventually making cider if my yeild is sufficient in the distant future. (I'm thinking retirement in another 30 years.)

I REALLY like the idea of Grimes Golden because it's a historic, it's tart, can tolerate neglect, self fertile, is a good pollinator and is a good multi-use apple.

I'm also interested in the Pink Pearl because it's wierd, and is compatible with Grimes Golden.

Does anyone have any suggestions for a third option? I was thinking about Arkansas Black, but I'm not sure about compatibility with Grimes. I understand that Arkansas Black is a triploid and not a good pollinator, so I'm concerned about that.

What about Ruby Jon, Golden Supreme, Taylor Spur Rome Beauty or Red Fuji BC#2? I'm also thinking about Honeycrisp, but I understand that requires a lot of pruning maintenance and I'm not sure if I can commit to that.

Any suggestions, insights, etc for a newbie would be appreciated.

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Comments (6)

alan haigh
14 years ago
Get a good keeper for apples all winter. As long as bloom times aren't on opposite ends of the spectrum there will probably be plenty of overlap. I'm in Z 6 NY and I don't even have to worry about blooming time. There is adequate overlap from early to latest blooming. The further south you go the more this becomes an issue.

Goldrush, Goldrush, Goldrush
Michael
14 years ago
Asturnut: just being a horticultural snob here, the correct term would be pollenizer, a pollinator is something like a bee or human that gets pollen from one place to another.

Based on your desire to, "avoid using pesticides and... willing(ness) to bag or use organic alternatives", definitely look into the disease resistant apple varieties that are available. Harvestman listed Goldrush which is resistant to Scab and possibly Cedar Apple Rust.

Michael
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I am new to fruit also so I am going through this too. My understanding is the groups is just the time frame in which they bloom. A crabapple blooms for an extended period so they say they pollinate everything. Another good apple pollinator is Golden Delicious it is partiallly self pollinating. Some apple trees are triploids and require two other trees to pollinate. If you don't want a crabapple maybe try a 2 x 1 or 3 x 1 tree. So you can really mix it up.
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Chris, I can't comment too much, as I'm quite a bit north of you. I got my first few Crimson Crisp apples this year and they are pretty sharp/acidic. I picked the 2nd on September 1st and while it was 12.2-14.7 brix and the seeds were black, I don't think it was fully ripe. I was saving the last apple on the tree to ripen a bit more, but it disappeared a few days later. Maybe if they hang a long time, they will sweeten up, but at that point it won't be an early fall apple anymore. I would suggest Sweet Sixteen as a good early fall apple, as it has great flavor and decent disease resistance. But I'm not sure how it would do that far South (it's from Minnesota). It also took the year off for me in 2014, so that is another strike against it. Kidds Orange Red is definitely tasty and productive (it was the only tree this year which broke a branch due to fruit load). One caution is that it goes from perfect to mushy very quickly. I'm not sure how it would hold up in the South. Maybe it can be positioned in the row so that it gets shaded a bit during mid-day from one of the other trees? For season extension, Williams Pride would give you an extra 2-3 weeks (early August here, maybe late July for you?). It isn't a sweet apple, but has a pretty good balanced flavor. According to Kuffel Creek in Southern CA, WP takes the heat very well. Another they mention that you may want to consider is King David. I don't have it, but remember reading that it has resistance to all 4 major apple issues. I picked exactly one Sansa this year. It is a 2nd leaf tree, which produced at least half a dozen apples. But, they proved popular with the animals, so I broke down and picked the last one on 8/10. It wasn't ripe (white seeds and 12.5 brix), but still had a nice sweet flavor. Have you thought about any old Southern varieties like Aunt Rachel or Limbertwig? I don't have personal experience with them, but it seems like places like Century Farms would have some good knowledge. Now that I'm looking, I feel the need to place a small order...
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Thanks, Willy. I'm pretty much hearing that about the Dorsetts - they really aren't that tart. I think this is what my sister has, and if so, my gosh. Her tree must have had over 100 apples on it every year, and it is a well established dwarf. More than you could possibly eat as a family of 5! And the leaves not dropped are kind of a trait with both Anna and Golden Dorsetts. Just strip off the leaves at the end of the season. That way, they don't hang around and harbor fungii or scab. And my Anna did the same very, very weird thing this year (several folks have said this has happened to them as well in S. Calif) - Flowered in November, and I had 3 apples mature about a month ago! I had late blooms and 3 little apples ended up being ripe in January. They were very small but very sweet. Very weird. Must be due to the odd weather we had last year, and not a very hot summer. So right now, think I'll pick up a Dorsett Golden, a Pink Lady, some cross pollinator for the Pink Lady, and maybe a 3,4 or 5-in-1 that Bonita Creek has just for fun. And my two cherry trees. I'll let everyone know how these Minnie Royal and Royal Lee do. I'm about 7 miles from the ocean, and we just don't get too many nights under 45 degrees (although this last week has been really cold). I have heard nothing but good about them, so I'm expecting great things! Now, if I can just keep the animals and birds away, I'll have some fruit for myself :-) Patty S.
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if they bloomed at the same time, crabs would work. both one green world and raintree have pollinator charts(probably on the websites, too)- those are common varieties- look and see if they'll work with each other.
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lucky_p
14 years ago
GoldRush is good but it is NOT CAR-resistant.
Mine looks like a canary some years, the leaves are so heavily infected with rust lesions.

Pink Pearl was a fireblight magnet in my orchard - even more susceptible and sensitive than Spitzenberg - and is no longer in existence here.
alan haigh
14 years ago
Are you coastal S. Jersey or up in some hills? Disease pressure is much more intense by the coast I would assume. Anyway, you'll have to control the insects and disease control can be accomplished with the same sprays (different chemicals in the mix).

I you're unwilling to use synthetics disease resistance becomes a much larger issue.
Michael
14 years ago
From the experience of growing Freedom and Jonafree here in a CAR sesspool, I can confidently say that Freedom is highly resistant to CAR, Jonafree is not. Both are reported to be highly resistant to Scab, I've never seen a whiff of scab on either tree but the Jonafree is being sprayed for CAR which may be holding back Primary Scab.

Literature states that Liberty is highly resistant to Scab and CAR, there are others.
tradergordo
14 years ago
Liberty and Freedom for disease resistance (I don't grow them though). For best taste in a tart apple, I like Ginger Gold for super early (early August) picking, and Pink Lady for super late picking (stores exceptionally well and can be used for cider as well as fresh eating). Both are good tart apples highly rated on taste (Ginger starts off tart and then gets milder the longer you leave it on the tree).

Honeycrisp is a sweet apple. It has won many taste tastes and people love it, but if you love tart like I do, it might not be for you. I tried it for the first time last year and didn't think it was that great, but maybe it was the timing. I'm growing this one and my tree is fruiting this year for the first time, so I look forward to trying my own.

Ginger gold on 111 (a good rootstock choice as the trees won't fall over) produces massively big apples. I just took pictures TODAY of a Ginger Gold tree on 111 rootstock that I started bagging yesterday:

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Here is a link that might be useful: Apple Bagging

good pollinators for my apple choices

Comments (6)

alan haigh

Michael

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