First do more research on Braeburn to determine if it is a good choice for you. It may not be. The Sunset WESTERN GARDEN BOOK (2007, Sunset Publishing Company, Menlo Park) does not include our area in the list of Sunset Climate Zones indicated for Braeburn. Manhart, APPLES FOR THE 21ST CENTURY (1995, North American Tree Company, Portland) says

Braeburn probably will not ripen properly north of those areas which cannot ripen other late cultivars such as Stayman, Granny Smith, Sturmer, or Tydeman's Late Orange...Braeburn is highly recommended for commercial or home use in climates with long growing seasons. Only certain areas have outstanding results with Braeburn...The Willamette Valley of Oregon seems an absolutely perfect place for low cullage Braeburns

Darn it. I picked Braeburn because multiple sources identified it as a good apple for our area. Back to the drawing board. It frustrating coming up with two apples that we know we like that will cross pollinate. I'm not really up for experimenting with an unknown apple and finding out two years later that we don't like it.

Try Red Gravenstein (sp?). My dad has grown that since I was a kid and I still think it's the best apple other than a Pink Lady.

WSU has grown Braeburn for a number of years at their trial fields in Mt. Vernon. They indicate it is a good producer although late to ripen (late October/November). They suggest an earlier ripening clone, Hillwell. I have never seen this selection available for sale in this area but have never looked for it online.

You might want to check through the archives on this forum, as this topic has been discussed at length previously. Some of the top performers for this area - and great tasting apples as well - are Liberty, Akane, Chehalis, Melrose, Spartan and Gala. Honeycrisp is becoming very popular as well. Gravenstein is a wonderful apple and in my book, one of the best tasting and most versatile in use, but it will not work as pollenizer for other apple varieties, has some disease issues and an extremely short shelf life. (it is also the only apple I grow - very small garden - because I DO enjoy it so much and it is impossible to find in stores except for a couple of weeks in early September and then mostly at fruit stands or farmer's markets)

You just missed the "apple-looza festival" at the University District Farmer's Market this past weekend. They had apple tastings of locally grown fruit so you could make some taste bud-informed choices :-) There is a similar event coming up in Portland this weekend at the Portland Nursery on Stark.....might make a nice weekend jaunt.

It is important to understand that many of the better commercial apples - those you find in the grocery store and at fruit stands - are not well suited to home orchards in this area. Most of these are grown in eastern WA with very different growing conditions than we can manage here on the west side. Local varieties tend not have great commercial qualities, primarily the ability to be held in cold storage indefinitely. Honeycrisp and Gala seem to be the exceptions.

When my Yellow transparent tree died about 5 years ago, I needed to purchase two trees to pollinate my yard. I bought a Liberty and an Akane. They pollinate each other and my two other trees (a King and a Gravenstein) as well. The Akane is ripe the end of August. My tree is a dwarf (I thought it was going to be a semi-dwarf) but it is an great producer and the apples are delicious. The Akane is later and is only a fair producer for me but the apples are very tasty.
Bonnie

>Local varieties tend not have great commercial qualities, primarily the ability to be held in cold storage indefinitely. Honeycrisp and Gala seem to be the exceptions'Melrose' has been noted for sometimes keeping in ordinary cold storage until January.

I ended up getting a Liberty and Keepsake from Hartman's Nursery in Puyallap. GREAT experience - try him out if you want apples, pears, cherries or Asian pears.

The Old variety Winter Banana is a great pollenator for all but very early blooming apples. It has a long and heavy bloom, and , unlike flowering crabs, the fruit is not bad either-- keeps well and has good aroma.
Best to graft it onto the South Side or West side of the tree or plant it in a sunny place to assure the bloom comes on early.
Best way is to have one grafted onto a dwarf rootstock and thin most of the fruit off after bloom.