Hi, Mary! I can't really speak to the Mac cultivars as I live way south of you. I put in a Macoun and a Spartan last spring, and both look terrific, but you would be much better advised by the WV USDA testing station affiliated with the university. It is considered to be first rate.

Likewise, I'm having great luck with the G.16, but authoritative local sources are preferred. Misterbaby.

My McIntosh drops and it doesn't stop me from getting fruit. Long before I'd cut the tree down I'd bend over and pick the apples up.

I also love it for pies. A 50/50 McIntosh Newtown pie got my best raves.

My largest Cortlands are no larger than my largest McIntoshs. They're bordering on being too hard for pies to my tastes.

I suggest getting a spur type for espalier. My non-spur type got flakey after years of constant pruning.

If you like McIntosh type apples you might find out how Liberty does in your area. It's pretty happy here in Montana, as are Macs and Macouns. Those are my wife's three favorite apples, I believe.

"Liberties are not great keepers" is an understatement, but we're still enjoying very good ones six weeks after harvest.

I like them for pies and local cider makers are glad to have my culls; I'm glad to get a jug of cider back when the pressing is done.

Liberty is a vigorous, healthy, disease-resistant tree that demands heavy thinning and produces generously every year. They have a reputation for being less than well behaved- come pruning time they may ignore your instructions somewhat. Mine is pretty ugly.

:-)M

there is a good one called MacFree that supposedly retains most of the MacIntosh flavor. Most of the others like Spartan and Macoun do not taste near as rich. If you find a good one that comes close and is as disease resistant as Liberty, please tell me about it too.

Consider Paula Red also. The ones I've had have the delicious flavor of McIntosh with less acid and they ripen earlier. McIntosh keep for me until early spring, but I don't think the Paula Red will do as well.

Unless you are up pretty high, I think you may get too much heat to get peak Macintosh- it's really a New England apple as is Macoun. What doesn't keep with Macs is its famous and unique crunch. I think there is a corelation to this and the fact that it becomes so soft when cooked. Because of it's distinctive aromatics it is good cooked when added to apples that stay firm. Then you get flavor and texture.

Liberty is certainly a reliable and grower friendly apple that a lot of people like. It is harder than Mac, lacks its aromatics and distinctive crunch as grown here. I believe that it actually has more flavor in warmer climates than mine as it gets rave revues further south.

Spartan certainly would give you extra shelf life and less headaches controlling scab. I'm having more difficulty with consistant cropping with it than the reliable Mac or Liberty.

Thanks for all your help! I will look into the Liberty.

Here we have cool rainy summers and springs. Midsummer nights in the 50s°F and 60s°F, daytime highs anywhere from 70s to 80s. Rarely warmer than that. Is that too warm for McIntosh, Macoun, Spartan, Belmac, etc?

--Mary

That doesn't sound much different than my temps so you should be able to grow all of the above.

Macintosh flavor is not just related to summer heat, it's a function of overnight lows at ripening time. Here in Santa Cruz county in California, we have commercial Macintosh orchards because they are so early here. But despite our coll Summers (55-75F) our local macs can't rival the delicious macs from New England.

Macoun on the other hand is outstanding, but Shay is even better. I would recommend these two varieties for areas south of New England.