Hi all.

I will be starting a 20 hectare (~50 acre) apple orchard next year. The land is being cleared right now.

I will be planting mostly goldens and similar cultivars, and I will be staggering the picking dates.

Most of the cultivars will either be on M7 or M7 with B9 interstems. M7 is the only dependable rootstock, that is readilly available, that I have tried that will grow well in my soil. I have some old trees on M4 (some with interstems) and they all are in perfect condition. Unfortunately M4 isn't being used much anymore and it is VERY difficult to find a nursery that uses it. Too bad.

I will be ordering most of them custom budded, and I need to get next spring's order for sleeping eyes in by the end of June, and I have many open slots in my picking schedule. I highly doubt if i will get close to all 20 hectares planted next year, however I would like to get a significant start.

I am planning which cultivars to plant, and I would be interested in suggestions to fill the empty slots. I am interested not only in new cultivars, but older cultivars as well, so any suggestions would be appreciated. Older cultivars will just take a couple more years to grow out enough buds to graft. No big deal. Suggestions for fireblight and scab resistant cultivars would be a huge plus. I am especially looking for summer apples.

However, I am specifically looking for sweet, aromatic, and preferably juicy, heavily producing, yellow apples. Sweet yellow apples fetch a premium price here, but suggestions for other types are welcome. Preferably spur or semi-spur types, as I personally do not want to deal with training a lot of tip-bearers, unless there's nothing better. But what I have so far is subject to change. For example, I intend to plant a couple hectares of a juicy spur-type Red Delicious for cider to be picked with a mechanical tree shaker, but don't know when that specific cultivar (whatever I choose) ripens.

Maybe someone has a suggestion on which Red Delicious to choose? It needs to be a spur bearer with heavy production. I will not be thinning it. The fruit can be small and does not need to be great quality, but does need to be juicy. I don't care if it goes biennial, as one block could have an on year while another has an off year.

Also, there are over 70 sports of Jonagold. Is there a golden one?

And does anyone know when these get picked?

Griffith (Stark Blushing Golden)

Greensleeves

Silken

Chehalis

Aurora Golden Gala

Goldstar

Nova Easy Gro

Brandywine Crab

Redfield

Green Sweet

Pink Pearl

Tolman Sweet

Also, does anyone know where to get the un-named numbered Morden apples in the US? I would like to trial some, but I personally don't like dealing with customs and phyto certificates.

Thanks for any suggestions.

My list so far:

-7 Pristine

-7 Geneva Early (NY 444)

-6 ½

-6

-5 ½

-5

-4 ½

-4

-3 ½ McLaughlin (Blondee)

-3

-2 ½ Golden Supreme

-2

-1 ½ Grimes Golden

-1 ½ Honeygold

-1

-½

0 Starkspur Golden Delicious

+½ Gibson Golden

+1 Mullins Golden Delicious

+1 ½ Goldensheen #2 (Stark Ultragold)

+2 Suncrisp (NJ 55)

+2 Shizuka

+2 ½ Mutsu (Crispin)

+2 ½ Griener 1198 (Candycrisp)

+3

+3½

+4 Goldrush (Co-op 38)