Red Dolgo Trial

sandbur

5 year old buck +
Ryan from Blue Hill sorted out some red stemmed dolgo (seedling) rootstock for me.
He said they ran about 1/250 rootstocks.

I planted twenty of them on my best soils. Also added some root gel and fenced and caged them.

I might end up with red splendor type crabs, maybe a dolgo sized crab with enhanced cherry/ berry flavor, or hopefully a pink to red fleshed larger apple crab for cider.

I had 16 cages ready and only had to double up 4 cages. There is lots of CAR and susceptible trees will be eliminated or topworked. I find a few dolgo seedlings are susceptible.
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Art, do you know of any named apple trees that have red leaves, red wood and red fleshed apples in the 1 1/2 inch size that drop apples thru winter that grow in zone 4 that may have been popular to plant in the 1950's era?
 
Very cool project!
I'm fascinated by the redflesh apples right now. Planted three Firecrackers, an Era Redlove, an Odysso Redlove, and a Red Cascade this spring. Have five other varieties on pre-order for next spring.
 
Art, do you know of any named apple trees that have red leaves, red wood and red fleshed apples in the 1 1/2 inch size that drop apples thru winter that grow in zone 4 that may have been popular to plant in the 1950's era?

I don’t have the answer. Have you seen a tree that fits this description?

If you are in any of the Facebook fruit growing groups, I would see if you can get Dan Bussey or Derek Mills to reply.

Here is a reference to Almata.
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I know Dr Hansen bred some red fleshed apples.

I do have Winter Red Flesh, with an apple in that size range, but I have picked all of the fruit for coloring cider and I don’t know how long it holds fruit.


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This spring, I had some scion with a very red stem called Red October from a forum member. I hope it takes this year. I would like to taste that crab.


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Thanks Sandbur. A google search brought up Derek Mills and his Hocking Hill apple and cabins website (https://www.fourseasonscabinrental.com/index.html) which lists many red apples. I'll send him a description once I see the apple color assuming it is red. There is a pair of such trees near me that have red wood, fair size apples, looks to be 75 years old or more, red leaves and so far red blossoms but we'll see as they open more as they are in their early opening stage at this date 5/08/21. Am just guessing on the fruit color being red because of the red wood(just a complete assumption on my part) but I don't know if that is an indicator. Will check the fruit this fall on that. There is no sign of fire blight and at the old age it's at and with its location near me I know it has been exposed to fire blight sometime and at least over the last five or so years. Will watch it for Cedar Apple rust over the summer. It has none so far though we have noticed two Rust spore releases already this spring. This red wooded tree catches my eye every winter but I have never cut open any of its apples.

Winter Red Flesh(WRF) looks like a possibility. Does anyone have experience with how long WRF holds it's fruit and how would you rate it's apple production, abundance wise? The only descriptions found so far don't list drop times especially on older apple varieties.

As a side note, it looks like a road trip to view the apples grown in Hocking Hills could be an interesting get away during apple season.
 
Thanks Sandbur. A google search brought up Derek Mills and his Hocking Hill apple and cabins website (https://www.fourseasonscabinrental.com/index.html) which lists many red apples. I'll send him a description once I see the apple color assuming it is red. There is a pair of such trees near me that have red wood, fair size apples, looks to be 75 years old or more, red leaves and so far red blossoms but we'll see as they open more as they are in their early opening stage at this date 5/08/21. Am just guessing on the fruit color being red because of the red wood(just a complete assumption on my part) but I don't know if that is an indicator. Will check the fruit this fall on that. There is no sign of fire blight and at the old age it's at and with its location near me I know it has been exposed to fire blight sometime and at least over the last five or so years. Will watch it for Cedar Apple rust over the summer. It has none so far though we have noticed two Rust spore releases already this spring. This red wooded tree catches my eye every winter but I have never cut open any of its apples.

Winter Red Flesh(WRF) looks like a possibility. Does anyone have experience with how long WRF holds it's fruit and how would you rate it's apple production, abundance wise? The only descriptions found so far don't list drop times especially on older apple varieties.

As a side note, it looks like a road trip to view the apples grown in Hocking Hills could be an interesting get away during apple season.

I have thought the same thing to visit HH. However, I am usually pretty busy with my own apples. Derek likes his red flesh and sells scion.


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I have thought the same thing to visit HH. However, I am usually pretty busy with my own apples. Derek likes his red flesh and sells scion.


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That's good to know. Was hoping he sold the scions.
 
I don’t have the answer. Have you seen a tree that fits this description?

If you are in any of the Facebook fruit growing groups, I would see if you can get Dan Bussey or Derek Mills to reply.

Here is a reference to Almata.
1e73da79da3945b92c6e622cb7074504.jpg

I know Dr Hansen bred some red fleshed apples.

I do have Winter Red Flesh, with an apple in that size range, but I have picked all of the fruit for coloring cider and I don’t know how long it holds fruit.


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We have grown and sold Almata for awhile now. We also have Geneva, Cranberry (which fruited for us last year as a 2 year old tree) and is absolutely loaded again this year. Definitely has the right characteristics for a small sized, cider apple, not bad eating either once it has fully matured. We are growing some trees from it this year. Otterson will bear fruit for us this year another red flesh variety, we will see if want to propagate it going forward.
 
We have grown and sold Almata for awhile now. We also have Geneva, Cranberry (which fruited for us last year as a 2 year old tree) and is absolutely loaded again this year. Definitely has the right characteristics for a small sized, cider apple, not bad eating either once it has fully matured. We are growing some trees from it this year. Otterson will bear fruit for us this year another red flesh variety, we will see if want to propagate it going forward.

I am waiting on Geneva. It has grown fast for me.


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I am waiting on Geneva. It has grown fast for me.


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We have found it to be a biannual producer, but maybe with proper thinning it wouldnt. We have fruit setting on it this year.
 
I noticed today that a couple of my dolgo seedlings are all red. My Redfield crab has its first apples this year so I might get to try my first red apple.
 
In 2015, I top worked a dolgo seedling to Big Dog. I see that seedling has bronze leaves. I need to try and get that limb to fruit or else pull some scion off of it.

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I finally went across the ditch and watered these trees. We are in a drought. All are alive. Some I had to thumb pinch off one of two leaders.
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A ditch than drains miles of cropland drains into this pond. The water is so low, that I had to dig a hole in the pond bottom to get/ reach one half bucket of water.

Yesterday, I did the same thing in another pond and the deer and coons were both using my little two square foot dug out area.
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