Interesting,..would love to try this one,..wood anyone?
Might not be hardy for me.

I planted one last spring (2013), but it died this summer (not sure- why I don't see any borer damage). I'll need to graft another after seeing that wonderful description.

It really has a lot of Honeycrisp quality, similar crunch and juiciness but maybe not quite so sweet. I haven't really tried growing it for fruit yet- I'm just picking fruit from nursery trees.

I can't grow Honeycrisp here on vigrous rootstocks without calcium sprays, apparently. CT seems real easy.

My 3rd year Honeycrisp is on M27 rootstock and is growing glacially slowly. At this rate, it will be in year #5 before it is big enough to have 2-3 apples.

Starting at planting, I've tried to incorporate egg shells before each wood-chip application on the theory that more calcium in the soil may help. I'm not sure if it does though. I've seen plenty of bitter pit (the disorder HC needs the calcium sprays for) on the few Ashmead's Kernels that I've gotten.

Earlier this fall (end of Sept or start of Oct), I was talking with a co-worker who went apple picking in NY. When she mentioned that one of the types they got was Snapdragon, I was excited enough that she brought one in for me. It is a pretty, all red apple and has a very good crunch. While it isn't bland, it has a sweeter flavor than HC (one of its parents). I didn't record it at the time, but I believe it was around 16 brix. A very good apple which we won't be able to plant for a while, as it has just been released to large NY growers.

Yes, I think I read it's a club variety- that is the trend so I don't even want to taste those apples if I can't grow them. They think they will be able to make more money that way, but so far no club varieties have taken off in the U.S. and I hope they all fail.

Boycott the club varieties!

I bet one of those orchards could do ok with a PYO operation in February.
PYO scion wood that is.

I emailed Susan Brown who oversees the Cornell breeding program about obtaining scion wood or if it would in any way be available for sale.
I never received a response which didn't surprise me.
I'd love to try Snapdragon and I should be able to imo since my tax dollars helped fund it's creation.

Harvestman, I'm guessing it's (Crimson Topaz) CAR resistance isn't anything to write home about. Surely if it were even somewhat resistant it would be included in descriptions because it's a huge selling point. I notice this with a lot of DR apples. Seems to me CAR resistance should always be included along with FB and Scab resistance or lack thereof.

Like you, I can find nothing noting resistance to Cedar Apple Rust. Hard to believe that nobody who has grown it has ever bothered to review it fully. Every description is a cut and paste job from each other. I get tired of this too.
It has looks resembling Royal Gala to me.

This past weekend I made a trip to a NY farmers market (Pleasentville) which had a couple big orchards.

The Crimson Topaz got rave reviews at a family tasting, even beating out Goldrush according to some. Both apples were very good, and while I didn't agree that CT was better than GR, I thought it was very close. The GR had slightly higher brix (16-18 vs 15-16 for CT), but CT was very juicy and crunchy (one of my parents compared it to Honeycrisp).

I also got a few Snapdragons at the FM, though they cost more ($3 vs $1.75). Unlike the SD my co-worker brought in more than a month ago, this one didn't have much flavor. I would describe it as mildly sweet, with 14-15 brix. It still had great crunch and texture, but was pretty bland after the other two apples.

The nice thing about CT as compared to GR its earlier ripening. They are both extremely easy trees to grow that almost prune themselves.

I had some for the first time from our local farmers market 3 or 4 weeks back and thought they were great. I'm eating GR from the same vendor now and although I love them, the CT seemed a bit more balanced flavor to me. The guy from the orchard (not the owner) described them as Honey Crisp, but with a big bold flavor.

I'm putting in a few trees and would consider it if anybody can tell me they're fairly resistant to CAR. But nobody seems to know... or else nobody will tell.

Zendog...if they are as good as everyone here is saying maybe CT is worth a go no matter it's CAR resistance. Lots of us grow Goldrush and we already know it's susceptible.

It's been a while since I read up on CT...don't remember if it kept real well or not. Anybody know?

Harvestman can you provide any evidence to support your theory that reds are less susceptible to CAR? I've never heard or read anything like that before. It's not that I don't believe you, because it seems to me reds might be also be a bit less susceptible to SB, but I'm basing that on some very thin anecdotal evidence and nothing more.
I'm also a bit skeptical about the ease of controlling CAR as you mention, but I'll yield to your experience. I hope your right and I'll know for certain early this coming summer. I got the myclo ready...lots of it.
I do know it cannot be easily controlled once manifested. Myclo doesn't seem to have the ability to rid a plant of CAR and if anything does, it could only be a more pricey sterol inhibitor. Myclo does seem to keep it in check though. I never had the slightest bit of fruit damage but I like my trees to be attractive lawn specimens too though and CAR looks awful.

For me Goldrush really shines in keeping qualities (the main reason I chose it) and it seems (basing this on one and only one small crop) that it has inherent insect resistance to boot. I got my little bounty in the (now cold) basement like you recommended...I'm hoping they sweeten a bit and I think they will. They may already have...haven't tried them yet.
I'd like to try CT and I probably will at some point, but if it was any serious contender to Goldrush I think I'd have heard (read) more about it.
H'man...have you tried storing any to get an idea of it's storability?
H'man...I want to talk with you more on a different variety tomorrow that you will probably laugh at me for even bringing up...but I'm gonna do it anyway. You probably have it growing as it's apparently a popular NY commercial apple. Bought some from NY last week that was some of the best apples I've ever eaten...including my own Honeycrisp. You won't believe me.

My comment about CAR is mostly anecdotal, but I don't know of any yellow DR's (apples specifically bred for disease resistance) with a resistance to CAR. In the years I've been growing apples, most trees are well protected from CAR, so I wouldn't put much weight on my observation.

As far as Goldrush having good keeping qualities, yesterday a client I gave one to exclaimed that it was the best apple she'd ever eaten- good for business that I'd just planted one in her yard. Last March I gave another client a bag of them and she also said they were the best apples she'd ever eaten and her daughter and friends agreed. Any apple that can be so pleasing to people during that span is pretty amazing.

When I read Scott"s apple tasting ratings I get a little annoyed (without real justification, mind you) because they are based on his own unusual way of experiencing apples. He takes notes about his experience, picking apples off the tree and rating them on his observations during harvest season.

When I'm picking apples off the tree so many of them taste wonderful and the difference in terms of what is best just doesn't mean much to me. It is simply nice at that time to have a wide range of tastes and textures. What's more, this is only occurring for maybe six weeks as I'm paying much more attention to other fruit until Oct.
Now we are in mid Nov and already most of my apple varieties are not good this year after just a few weeks in storage. I guess I need to add calcium to my spray schedule because this seems to be a banner year for storage disorders. But my Goldrush are firm and sound, and I expect I'll be eating excellent ones come March.

As you mention, they do resist insects, but they also are not a favorite of squirrels unless it is a year without acorns and they've already removed all the other apples in the orchard.