A Long Keeping Apple with Highest Recommendations From Fruit Enthusiasts, Gold Rush

[@oxbowfarm5803]

Another very fine quality is frost tolerant/resistant bloom. I've heard this independently from two commercial apple growing friends here, even in the freak frosts of 2016 we had here which destroyed all the stone fruit and severely reduced crops on many varieties, Goldrush produced a normal crop for everyone growing it.

[@SkillCult]

Dang, I forgot you had told me that before. Hard to believe it could score any more points. I had horrid scab this year. Trees adjacent were pretty much a total loss, but not sure I've seen a spot on these guys.

[@oxbowfarm5803]

My friend Alex the apple grower also told me that he loves how well behaved the plant is structurally, from a branch angle and growth standpoint. He grows them in a dwarf trellis system and says he hardly has to prune them compared to his other varieties. I asked him why its never in the grocery stores if its so great and he said it is too small of an apple for the trade.

[@SkillCult]

My tree seems structurally nice. Seems to bear pretty well too.

[@Guillermo-d7c]

I would love to try a Gold Rush apple.. My favourite apple is Opal..

[@SkillCult]

Opal is one of the better apples in the stores imo. Gold rush is sharper and more flavorful, but only after storage.

[@swannoir7949]

Opal is a good apple. Lemonade apple is good, too

[@adobedirtblues1321]

I could not agree more. I have 14 carefully chosen varieties growing in my Sonoma County orchard. Lots of famous cultivars but when it comes time to give away apples all my friends only want one. Gold rush. What an intense flavor. Almost effervescent with a crazy Yin yang acid/sugar buzz on your tongue. Extremely firm, you can really feel the resistance to the knife. They make a fabulous crisp for this reason, but it seems wasteful to use them that way when fresh eating is such a delight. They keep longer than any other apple, and, a huge plus here in the fog, show absolutely no scab. When gala, Fuji, golden delicious, and Gravenstein are covered with brown and black spots, not a speck of it on the gold rush tree. The habit of the tree is also naturally vase shaped and open. Hardly any pruning is necessary. I took a few by a cider place in Sebastopol, and let them taste test them, and they freaked out. They think the sharp intensity will really make a Signature cider. My advice, plant too, not just one.

[@SkillCult]

I hear they make great cider. I could give you a short list of other apples to try there. DIfferent seasons and different qualities. It's hard to beat gold rush as a home orchard tree, but it is very late eating and there are lots of other amazing apples. You can grow late hanging apple there like pink parfait, allens everlasting, pink lady, pomo sanel and something I have labelled as Katherine, but which might be something else. Im eating top notch apples off the tree now and pomo sanel and Lady williams aren't ripe yet. Also some good early apples, William's Pride and Chestnut are the best in August, but I have a new Wickson seedling that might prove to be a good early apple. And there is a bunch of stuff in between those seasons obviously.

[@bradycabral6612]

Hey! Long time since my last comment. Just checking in on. Your breeding program. Love the videos. I find myself watching your videos twice when you upload. Once for bed. Then once again in the morning to see what I've missed. LOVE your Apple videos.

[@SkillCult]

Cool, you might be a super fan dude! Breeding is limping along really. I wasn't able to keep up with stuff this year and the few fruits I got were almost all eaten by animals. Maybe next year.

[@bradycabral6612]

SkillCult sorry to hear it. As long as you poromise me none of your Apple seeds end up in compost or trash then I'm happy. You have too good a chance that even random pollinations are strong crosses because of what you keep around your orchard. Seeds or no seeds I'm watching history in the making and I'm glad you share so much with us!

[@SkillCult]

Since I'm testing a lot, there are plenty of mediocre and bad apples that coudl pollinate them too. Near that gold rush are lots of good apples, sweet 16, kerry pippin and newtown pippin (now there is a cross to make...) are right there, but there just as close is a row with tons of random apples, some good, some bad, mostly unremarkable.

[@peachtrees27]

Excited to grow this. I went to an apple/cider tasting in November. We tried 12 single-variety ciders (Albemarle Ciderworks). I don't particularly like cider so was just there for the apple tasting part. The historic-variety ciders (Harrison, Yellow Bellflower, Black Twig, Esopus Spitzenburg with Hewes Crab, etc) were ho-hum. Then came the Gold Rush cider - WHOA. It was an eye opener!

[@caseroj6020]

Awesome! I just ordered two Goldrush apple trees from Trees of Antiquity, along with two Liberty apple trees. They are going to replace a Pink Lady and Gala apple tree I have in my home orchard which are not doing so well. Pink Lady and Gala are awesome unless you have a scab problem in your orchard. In which case they are a nightmare because they are so susceptible to diseases.

[@kingdavidapple]

In fall I sweep all leaves into the grass, mow the lawn, and sweep the chopped leaves/clippings back under the drip line of trees for mulch. Broken up that way, they break down faster and harbor far less of the scab spores that attack your fruit trees. BTW, I did not do this once under a Liberty apple, and found scab strikes on leaves and fruit of lower branches the following season.

[@kingdavidapple]

I grafted GoldRush last year and re-planted it this year and buried the graft union. Now it will grow roots that will supersede the Geneva 30 root on which it began life, becoming a standard in the fullness of time. Being a natural semi-dwarf, it will not grow large in my sandy and dry situation. The house will protect it from sun after about 2 pm, so splitting should not occur. Its structure is admirable and grew to at least four feet in one season. Am happy to hear from Oxbow Farm that GoldRush has frost tolerant bloom. This sounds like the best modern apple to be bred in my lifetime, on several counts: disease resistance, frost tough flowers, flesh that will not brown, big flavor and long keeping. It will take some years before any fruit develop on mine, and I will try to save a sample until May the first time around to learn how it does. Frost tolerant blooms are a real help here, where a late frost seems to hit every four or five years. I don't know of many: Howgate Wonder is the only name that arises in this context without researching it again.

[@SkillCult]

If the Geneva 30 is dwarfing, i wouldnt' be surprised if you find that it still induces precocity. I made a lot of goldrush crosses this year. It seems like a great set of genes to work with. It has never been popular commercially for some reason.

[@kingdavidapple]

Inducing precocity works for me. As to its relationship to the commercial folks, the current wisdom is that apples must be enormous and smooth. GoldRush is neither. More fools them!

[@kingdavidapple]

You know, one of Goldrush's forebears is Winesap (open pollinated, no less!) Makes me think other varieties NEED to be used in breeding trials. Consider how Duchess of Oldenburg figures so highly in the making of Honeycrisp. I'm thinking I've got to find a way to breed with Hunt Russet, and Bardsey.

[@SkillCult]

I never looked at it's lineage.I should, I keep using it for breeding. I was in the trial rows the other day and spotted a super healthy looking seedling with a bunch of apples on it. The leaves are dark green with very few blemishes. Turns out it's a gold rush cross. I get a lot of scabby leaves in those rows. The average seedling looks bad compared to this one. Hopefully I got some of guld rush's disease resistance in that one.

[@SkillCult]

actually, apparently Idid, it's the beginning of the video :)

[@DGBDylan]

I just bought some. These are so good, I put em in the freezer for a day and it’s cold and really juicy

[@dsstroyer]

Love your garden vids, keep em coming

[@SkillCult]

Thanks. I'm trying to mix it up and not become the axe channel haha.

[@onetwocue]

i just bought one in a 7 gallon pot on clearance for 50 bucks. planted, its 7' tall. its supposed to be on a semi dwarf root stock.

[@chumprock]

Simple and not too expensive, the Johnson Controls A19AAT-2C Temp controller does a good job of regulating a freezer at refrigerator temperatures. There are digital models and home-made diagrams if you're into the electronics bit. I use one for storing/aging homebrewed beer.

[@SkillCult]

Thanks, someone else recommended something like that.

[@ProfKSE]

I have a Goldrush. I've never liked them fresh off the tree. To hard. I've never stored them even though I had heard they were best after a few months in storage. Something to try, I guess. I planted it because it was supposed to hang long... and I was planting long-hanging apples near my hunting cabin.

[@SkillCult]

I really like the long hangers for personal use, the ones that retain quality. Some you might try that are better for that are pink parfait, pink lady, Whitwick pippin and the queen Lady Williams. Depends on your lows too probably though. It's pretty mild here. I have a video on tasting late hanging apples at christmas that's linked at the end of this one.

[@gerryheynes5082]

Hi, never heard of these, so not sure we can get them in the UK, but I’m looking for a replacement for one that died on my allotment so I’ll be looking for Goldrush. Great that it keeps well, as I prefer ones I can enjoy when they are more expensive in the shops. Regards, Gerry

[@SkillCult]

By all accounts, it's amazing for that. Maybe I can report back this spring...

[@gerryheynes5082]

SkillCult That would be very useful. If I can find one here it would be some time before it came into fruit, so I’d have the heads up on its keeping potential. Cheers, Gerry

[@kingdavidapple]

I just looked up orangepippin.com to see if they have Goldrush, or Hunt Russet, another long-keeping American apple. N to both. since you are in the UK, look into Margil and Rosemary Russet. They are both to be found and may help you meet your goals.

[@trollforge]

I added this to my Crops to Try play list based on your closing remarks. I would normally shun anything with "Delicious" in its genetics...

[@SkillCult]

Golden delicious bears no relation to red delicious. It is not a great storing apple and can have issues with texture just like red delicious, though not as bad, but well ripened and grown, it can really be a good apple, with a nice spicy note. This definitely has some of the same character in flavor, but quite different for storing and texture. Improving golden delicious was for a long time a goal of breeders. It is not the apple I would ever have most picked to breed with, but it does have it's virtues. The other thing to remember is that, like red delicious, sports were chosen over time that looked better than the original GD, but quality probably suffered along the way. My friends have an old orchard with a lot of golden delicious trees and they are quite good.

[@floringhimisliu3323]

excelent, acestea sunt merele mele preferate, putin acrisoare, dar nu pot spune ca sunt acre, putin dulce, dar nu pot spune ca sunt dulci si au parfum placut. prefer sa le consum direct din pom.

[@kingdavidapple]

Consider picking Goldrush earlier this next season. Apples will keep longer if picked before coming fully ripe. (I know, it takes practice to know when that moment comes around...)

[@SkillCult]

thanks. I know I have the timing wrong. At first I always let them hang to see how they would hang, but they never did well on the tree. Hopefully this year I'll get some in early.l

[@kingdavidapple]

...and I just made the Goldrush graft last year on Bud118. (I'm way north of you, in Spokane, WA.) It grew well its first season, but it will be a couple more years until I get a sample fruit. BTW, I am getting a single debut sample this season of Claygate Pearmain and Edelborsdorfer. Scary when there is only one first time around. No chance to let 'em hang...

[@kingdavidapple]

@@SkillCult In Spokane, I have picked GoldRush October 16 two years running. It tops out at 16 Brix, keeping in fine shape through May (& one year into June). In the weird spring of '22 Goldrush was the only tree I had which bore a crop. I leave them in storage until January & dole them out sparingly. Natural scaffolding on tree, tough wood handles crop load or snow well, mid-season bloom. My only caveat - a small matter - it hangs onto leaves into winter.

[@elkhound25]

buying and planting more trees. i will be trying to do a smaller version of your frankentree .i have access to a very old crabapple tree for grafting that has yellow/red apples about the size of golf balls or slightly larger.the worlds a better place with every fruit tree planted !

[@SkillCult]

Sounds like a good candidate. A tree like that is a canvas of possibilities.

[@mcgeebag1]

Love the apple videos. Do you have any of your own new apple varieties to taste this year?

[@SkillCult]

Unfortunately not. I got to taste a couple earlier, but barely, one was no good and the other was fine, but not very exciting. The animals got the rest and there weren't very many to start with. Hopefully this next year.

[@daveyjoweaver5183]

Great vid Steven! I had missed this one and thought it was new. I'm thinking, Apple already in July and how did he grow his dreads back already? I'd fallen asleep, felt wide awake and watch a video or two until I pass out again. Thus I realized at past 3am, Dah, 2017. An enlightening experience I recon. But ever Apple video and seeing you chomp down makes me want one. At these times I have no apples it seems. So Many Thanks as usual. And I'm planning to dig some sassafras root very soon. A live tree that came down have more roots, the same tree as where your sample came from. Happy Apple! DaveyJO

[@mikesblender]

good stuff! Love all your apple vids.

[@SkillCult]

Noted!

[@PermacultureHomestead]

great vid, all the cool kids come here

[@SkillCult]

yeap, we cool. Next vid is on red fleshed apples. Very cool.

[@bradycabral6612]

Have you given any thought into an apple seed grab bag?

[@SkillCult]

A little actually. I thought of making simple pollinations, but mixing varieties of pollen together and just quickly pollinating and tagging stuff, then mixing all the seeds together. That would be cool. I made extra pollinations this year, but it was one of the worst years ever and almost everything that did take was eaten by birds. I think someone else should do it :) But, yeah, also thought of just mixing together seeds of good apples. I probably won't, but then again, I do have a pile of cracked gold rush in the kitchen....

[@michaeldavidson9939]

This is an excellent apple; long keeping and very favorable even in late February and early March. Unfortunately here at my place it seems to be a magnet for CAR. However I keep it anyway because I like it so much.

[@SkillCult]

What is CAR? Cedar rust? Thanks for contributing. Like I said I've not really stored it that long yet. It can be quite good even now if you happen to get an early ripener, but I'm sure I've not had it at it's best.

[@michaeldavidson9939]

Yes, CAR is cedar apple rust. I live in central western Arkansas and am surrounded by cedar trees, so I tend to eliminate varieties that show high susceptibility, but Goldrush I keep anyway. It is most definitely worth the extra work.

[@SkillCult]

We don't have that here fortunately.

[@Cadwaladr]

I don't have any apple trees but now I want one. I would love to have all kinds of fruit trees, but apple seems the most likely for me here in Minnesota.

[@SkillCult]

wait till you see the next apple video...

[@demagmusic]

We have a similar climate in NH (not quite as cold, but similar season length). Some varieties of peaches do extremely well. Might be worth investigating? Mine are going in the ground this fall ;)

[@SkillCult]

Yeah, that's good apple country if you get the right varieties.

[@trollforge]

Demag I'm a few hours north, but I would be interested in what Peaches do well in your area.

[@demagmusic]

Our local university UNH developed the Reliance Peach and Merricrest Nectarine that do exceptionally well here. Hopefully they're hardy enough for your zone!

[@caseroj6020]

Hi Steven. I actually bought one of these apple trees last year from Trees of Antiquity and they rate it as a low chill apple. Have you noticed that the tree blooms well in years when there are very few chill hours? I also got a Liberty apple to go with it just because it is so resistance to scab and fireblight. Thanks.

[@SkillCult]

We have plenty of chill, so I can't say. Look at the apples and oranges blog for info on low chill apples.

[@Jay-tk7ib]

That looks like Grimes Golden, which is believed to be a parent of Golden Delicious. Grimes Golden has the same properties mentioned in the video.

[@SkillCult]

I looked it up and was pretty sure it is not Grimes, but I can't remember now the reasons, possibly ripening date. This is not even close to ready to eat in the fall. I do however wonder if it's related to either or both. The appearance is similar to that group, including the late keeping gold rush. Maybe it's a grimes or GD seedling.

[@Jay-tk7ib]

I'd say Grimes is in the lineage.

[@Grimm-14]

Might have to try these out, have a honeycrisp and a fuji in our yard, the honeycrisp is growing in overabundance. We've had to prop up every branch til pickin, don't know if we have to trim or what?

[@SkillCult]

It's generally best not to let them bear so much. It will often cause the tree to go into alternate year bearing. That is less likely if you keep a yearly balance between shoot growth and fruit growth. Thin once when the apples are the size of nickle to quarter, then again as needed. A handspan or 6 to 8 inches between apples on the branches is a good rule of thumb to start with usually, but of course how many you really leave depends on lots of factors. thinned fruit will be larger. If it consistently overbears and has tons of fruiting spurs, you can remove some of them to shift the tree back to growing a little more. Learn to graft. Then you can add varieties to your trees to try out and have more variety and a longer season. I have lots of grafting videos. With frameworking, you can keep the whole main structure and just add new varieties here and there. It's not traumatic to the tree like when some people lop off big branches to graft into.

[@SkillCult]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/mGjSXo2NnJd9gck

[@Grimm-14]

I'll have to watch some of your vids on this stuff. Just found out that you had more than axe/tool vids, which is how I found your channel. Never knew that ya could have so many types on one tree. We did have to cut down a bing/pie? cherry tree cause of a bad freeze. I always thought they were grown together for pollination. Harvested some good wood from it though, some of it was harder to split than elm! - tool handle time! THX, take care...

[@manatoa1]

I can't find the video you used to have on Centennial and Trailman. Is it the private video in the orchard playlist?

[@SkillCult]

I deleted it because Im pretty sure the name on one is wrong. I think the other is not centenial. I just don't want to misinform people. That would mean that i don't actually have centenial. I really want to get it though.

[@manatoa1]

Thanks for the Trailman recommendation. I researched it hoping it would be hardy in my climate, and it turns out it was bred less than an hour's drive from me! Score. I've always been a bit skeptical of our local hardy apples, assuming they were compromises we accepted because it's too cold here to grow most well known apples. I guess I was wrong about that.

[@jessicamd8232]

Hi! I wish I had a bite of that yellow-orange bird damage Goldrush. Did you actually cross Goldrush and Golden Russet? What a delicious apple that could make. I tasted an earlier apple that I loved last year: PrimGold. Not disease resistant. So to me, PrimGold X Goldrush could be the perfect match (earlier apple for my colder zone, disease resistance, complexity ! ).

[@SkillCult]

I can't remember if I ever did make that cross or not, or if I did it may not have taken. I feel like I remember something about golden russet being hardy, but I'm not sure.

[@jessicamd8232]

It is zone 4-5... so I can grow it. But just like my Goldrush, it might not ripen in time every year.

[@RdBTuinieren]

Dit u test/compare Goldrush with his half brothers : Opal and Mutsu?

[@SkillCult]

i don't have either of those. Ive seen opal int he store, but never tried it.

[@rubygray7749]

Well, I finally just ate my first FENOUILLET GRIS apple. Sadly, just the one, as the cockatoos or possums must have beaten me to its only other fruit on this miserable-looking specimen of a tree. A very old French variety, claimed to be "blocky" of shape, to have very yellow flesh and to taste of anise. Mine had white flesh, was very round, not a hint of anise. However, it did have the requisite sandpapery russeted skin, mustard-coloured, which was very thin and even pleasant. The flavour was full and sweet, delicious, and the texture was of a quality I've never found in an apple before. It was a juicy explosion of flavour, and the word which best describes it is "effervescent". I am going to pamper the heck out of this sad tree in the effort to have it produce bushels of fruit next time. Any particular suggestions for encouraging a reluctant tree into bountiful vigour like my wonderful Gravenstein? If the Fenouillet Gris had more than a couple of sorry twigs sprouting from its unimpresssive trunk, I could graft it onto a vigorous rootstock in hopes of getting a better result. Would bud grafting be the go here, do you think?

[@SkillCult]

Sometimes apples will only develop certain flavors under some conditions. I have that apple, and I think it fruited once, but I don't remember much about it. I think I tasted it in a video actually. You could try feeding it and pruning it a little to stimulate new growth. if the tree is very overgrown, it will share out it's limited resources to all the growing points. By taking some of them out, the tree is stimulated to grow. and it will make better grafting wood. you don't need much though. If the tree grows 2 inches, or even less, that might be enough. You can also sometimes graft two year old wood. You could try grafting a few pieces onto another apple tree and just see if they take. Can't hurt to try.

[@rubygray7749]

This tree was planted 6 years ago, but has scarcely grown in that time, although the Devonshire Quarenden I bought at the same time as a minuscule little weedy thing, has flourished amazingly well about 20 feet away with the same treatment. I've given it good organic compost & mulch in the past. As it is still so small, only about 7 straggly feet high with literally a couple of spindly branches, would it be feasible to move it this winter? Maybe it just doesn't like the view where it is. There's not much to prune off, but that will provide some grafting material anyway, so somehow, I should be able to salvage something from it, using a few different options.

[@SkillCult]

You might as well try to move it if you think it might help. Cut it back to balance the root size and tree size a little bit.

[@N8urecure]

Awesome. How many varieties do you grow?

[@SkillCult]

I'm sure I've grafted over 250, but I don't have all that I've grafted anymore, so I really don't know. I also have a lot of seedlings I've planted, all of which are gentically unique, though most will be rejected eventually. Also, no all have fruited, or fruited well enough to assess them.

[@N8urecure]

SkillCult So cool. Do you have any vids with or can you say what might be your top five or so recommendations, esp for beginners?

[@SkillCult]

That's pretty hard to do because there are so many variables not to mention taste. Climate is a major issue, but so also is intended use. Apples that perform well here might not perform everywhere, but I'm partial to Wickson, King David, Pink Parfait, Cherry Cox, Katherine (or what I have labeled as Katherine) Lady Williams, Pink Lady, Golden Russet (stricktly for flavor, performs terrible), Chestnut Crab, William's Pride. I do have other reviews. Here is the playlist. kzbin.info/www/bejne/aHuZo5ScnNV2q6M

[@N8urecure]

Thanks!

[@nonyobussiness3440]

Do you gas your apples.

[@SkillCult]

No. There are inhibitory gasses they use for storage. I thought about if drenching in CO2 would keep them longer. It would probably be easy to make a high co2 environment in a chest freezer, since it is heavy.

[@mynameisnotcory]

i can get these at my grocery store!

[@SkillCult]

Wow, that's great.

[@mynameisnotcory]

as an apple fiend in barren texas...it is!

[@Ruger41mag]

Does youtube have smell-o-vision? That would be cool ...... smell the apples ..... haha

[@SkillCult]

Not yet, it's probably coming though.

[@MrChickadee]

binging....

[@SkillCult]

go josh go!

[@nonyobussiness3440]

The Ethylene ripens them

[@boxybrown33]

Hard to pick a better apple if you’re looking for a “main crop” variety

[@SkillCult]

yeah, a lot of people will say that.

[@mgtowp.l.7756]

To Me The Gold Rush Apples Look Like Opal Apples..

[@SkillCult]

Don't think I've had those.

[@gileschapman1961]

OK the Bee counts

[@SkillCult]

Giles Chapman, chicken cop! :)

[@prattsgreenhousefarm9473]

Do you use the European method of pruning any of your trees yet. I hear it's the berries allows 1500 trees per acre. Plus seems to be an idiot proof way of pruning.

[@SkillCult]

Not sure what you mean, but probably just restricted forms of various kinds. There are lots of restricted form styles. the only one I've used much is the oblique cordon, aka diagonal cordon. It's pretty great for maintenance and fitting a large number of varieties in a small area. The fruit quality, color and size are often good too, though mine are very neglected lately.

[@prattsgreenhousefarm9473]

SkillCult I've been told by growers that you start with a very young tree 2nd year. Just remove the 2 biggest limbs each year. On dwarf trees it allows you to plant trees 2 1/2 ft. apart for people with little space it will create more apple per acre. From what I hear it is a popular way of pruning in Italy.

[@AndreRMeyer]

are you refering to the (swiss) Oeschberg Pruning Method or Training and pruning systems in Europe that tend toward obtaining a tree suitable for the high-density orchard?

[@AndreRMeyer]

Training and pruning systems in Europe tend toward obtaining a tree suitable for the high-density orchard. www.actahort.org/books/322/322_3.htm

[@AndreRMeyer]

as a [swiss] trained nurseryman > Fruit Tree Forms "Do you use the European method of pruning any of your trees yet. " - Pratts Greenhouse Fruit Tree Forms www.thegardeningbible.com/fruit-tree-forms