The World's Greatest Apple

Why I think King David is the world's greatest apple variety, its background, appearance, flavor, growth habit, and all the people who agree with me.
Order apple trees at www.kuffelcreek.com
Music: New City by Josh Leake, licensed by artlist.io
Watercolor illustrations: U.S. Department of Agriculture Pomological Watercolor Collection. Rare and Special Collections, National Agricultural Library, Beltsville, MD 20705

[@SkillCult]

Steven here from Turkeysong homestead. Thanks for the mention. I am a big fan of KD and so are other growers I know in this area. I'd say it's top 10 here for a combination of flavor, productivity and usefulness. It does make excellent hard cider and really outstanding juice. If you grind the skins up well, they also turn the juice pink. I have had the trees suffer heavy drought, to the point where the leaves were turning crisp in a heat wave and the fruit still hung on and finished ripening after the tree was watered. I actually think the trees themselves might be susceptible to drought, but the fruit is apparently not. It is also outstanding when farmed dry or with low water inputs. It is bursting with flavor and has a great sugar acid balance, rich, but refreshing. It sometimes has spicy notes, but overall it's just everything that an American style red apple should be, without any of the perfumed flavors or other negative traits I often associate with some red apples. And then take all those good flavors and concentrate them. Downsides are scab susceptibility and I find that it tends to bear very heavily then go into a strong alternate bearing pattern. Am often guilty of allowing them to over fruit though. It should be grown more and also used more in breeding. I'm using it to breed with, and already have seedling couple of crosses between KD and red fleshed apples that have fruited, and more flowered this year, here is one of them. kzbin.info/www/bejne/ppPEnJ-kjb2WpaM . I think breeding in some disease resistance would be great and maybe eventually quell the tendency to alternate bearing a little bit if possible.

[@xaviercruz4763]

Planting millet around the orchard or in clusters in a place close by would deter birds as they are fed what they like in that grain. Matt Powers in permaculture student video reminds us how he did that in california.

[@deanlie]

I've ordered some rootstock & scionwood from Fedco in Maine, hoping to learn grafting this spring; I was pleased to see that King David was one of the varieties of scionwood I had selected from their catalog

[@starrtraveler29]

I'm a beginner at grafting as well with only a few successful grafts. How did yours go?

[@TXVETJEB]

After years of taking care of King David trees here in Texas, I'm about to give up on them. They are fire blight magnets and even when spraying antibiotic during bloom, they still get shoot blight. I have one tree that is half gone due to blight. It's so much worse in years with a wet spring like this year. I'm about 90% sure, I'm pulling King David and replacing them with Sundance. Hate to do it because I love the apple, but it's just impossible to grow in areas plagued with blight.

[@paulfredrickjohnson1]

I wonder if you plant a KD on a rootstock that is resistant to fireblight?

[@TXVETJEB]

@@paulfredrickjohnson1 Yes. One tree on G41 and two others on G11, but the fireblight spreads quickly and after cutting 8-10 inches below the last sign of infection, it's deformed the trees so bad, they would take several yearsf blight free growth to look anywhere near normal. And Id still be fighting it year after year.

[@tymz-r-achangin]

Nicely presented video. I wish me and my husband had come across this video last week. We had been looking to replace the apple trees which his grandparents planted nearly 35 years prior and were starting to die off. After much calling around our local nurseries and watching some youtube videos, we ended up settling on 2 McIntosh and 1 Golden Delicious apple tree

[@mdjordjevic08]

What a beautiful apple, tastes good too!

[@haydenblanchard2006]

we had king david apple trees along the side of my house when i was a child

[@aabidshameem5263]

I want a scion wood .... Can you post it for me...

[@fredrick-colesimeon3917]

Can it grow in Nigeria. ....I would love grow some and how long does it take to maturity

[@TheRealHonestInquiry]

Looks awesome! Just found out about you on recommendation from David The Good :D

[@rescuemay]

You sold me. Dang

[@brianpalmer967]

Hello sir, i watched this video a few years ago. Based on this video, I bought some scions, and grafted them 1.5 years ago. This season, we have some apples growing, and I can't wait to taste them! For a cool climate (70F highs during the summer), and some late season warmth (80F in September and October), what color would be considered "ripe"?

[@josemarquez8413]

Thank you kevin!

[@David-kd5mf]

Great video, I have some almost 2 year old king david trees that I grafted on recommendation from skillcults youtube channel. Only thing that bore this year was my summer banana and it was good.

[@rebeccaberg6677]

Do you still sell the King David tree? Would it do well in Southern Tennessee?

[@saheedadio]

Hi Kevin, Please, when will you be able to export tropical apples to Nigeria? I am a really big fan and would love that this is possible. Many thanks.

[@kuffelcreek]

Sorry, we're unable still to comply with Nigerian Import Permit Additional Declaration requirements.

[@ajkuria3806]

Hey Kevin. Thanks ever for the updates. Can we get these in Kampala.

[@kuffelcreek]

Yes, our Uganda nursery carries them, contact John Baptist Lwanga [phone]

[@ajkuria3806]

@@kuffelcreek thank you.

[@agro-valleyfarm7217]

@@kuffelcreek Can this variety of apple be exported from your nursery in Uganda to the caribbean

[@chaparra71]

Oh, if I could only grow that variety here! But, alas, our season is WAY too short for that.

[@BenzoneKennedyFSepe]

Hello im Benzone from the Philippines and i grow apples here.

[@citic101]

WOW Grow apples in the philapines ! what verities do you grow , thought it would be to hot and no cold days !

[@honradmaller4594]

@@citic101 he was the first person in the Philippines to make Apple bear fruit grown from seed in just less than 5 years. Looks like his Apple is self fertile , disease & heat resistant.

[@JerichoWinchester-mq9jd]

lomomolcolimomolemomonomlomomuinlolpolomonhlomlomomo is my favorite type of apple

[@Friedrich-Wilhelm-1980]

hows a buy get one of these king davids in say Iowa?

[@travellerseko]

Does it grow in Scotland weather conditions? I live in Glasgow

[@CCunha-dl9jq]

Hi Kevin. Can i get it in Portugal? Thanks

[@sandsmoker]

Kevin, whats your favorite aple?

[@citic101]

south of france Nice here can i buy them here ??

[@inhalefarts]

I am new to this cultivar, do you know if dwarf varieties exist?

[@karlahpeace8254]

Would I be able to purchase this year? I am in so cal (Upland,Ca)

[@WFranklinW]

Hi. What parts of Rwanda can King David be grown, as far as temperature and elevation? I am interested if King David can be grown in Uganda and Kenya.

[@kuffelcreek]

We graft it all over Uganda. Ignore temperature and elevation.

[@fredrick-colesimeon3917]

How do I get this apple in Africa. ...

[@808paks]

Aloha do you ship this variety to Hawaii? Would it grow hood in a tropical environment? Thanks

[@kuffelcreek]

Yes, it does fine in Hawaii, we have lots of clients there.

[@danielmadera1144]

How can I buy a tree? I live in corona California

[@wildflowerandmanymore64]

I want apple tree for tropical area ?? .Respect from India.

[@jatinsinghchauhanx5383]

Sir i want its nursery or cuttings

[@jatinsinghchauhanx5383]

Sir i am from India can i get these apples

[@ccdogpark]

I'm 70 yo and I have never heard of this variety or seen it in a grocery store. It seems like an apple developed in 1911 would have had enough time to make it's way into the public consciousness by now if it was that good. I live in Delaware County PA which is the suburbs of Philadelphia. Where is this "great" apple sold on a large scale ?

[@kuffelcreek]

I find it is hit and miss in Farmer's markets across the Northeast. But for the most part, even at 70 years old you're too young to remember its heyday. We're doing what we can to bring it back.

[@matthewlarue1883]

Red delicious is a terrible apple and yet its sold in every grocery store in America and sucks. A lot of apple varieties are way better than common store apples. One of my favorites is opal apples and you can just start finding them every now and again in big box stores. I have some grown from seed I am trying to grow out to see if any are close as finding a cut of opal is next to impossible at the moment.

[@olddave4833]

will it grow in the northern states

[@kuffelcreek]

Yes, John Bunker loves it up in Maine, and it's popular in Canada.

[@syedrehman9911]

Vairety name

[@jc-d6179]

Mmm. Try Cox's Orange Pippin before you name best in the world apple....

[@kuffelcreek]

Far be it from me to criticize the venerable Cox, but it has a limited range of where it can be grown. If an apple is to be considered the greatest in the world, it is only fair that most of the world should be able to grow it, which is where King David has a edge.

[@sandsmoker]

Kevin, whats your favorite aple?