Awesome! Really exciting! I've been following a few years, red flesh apples have always been a dream since I read about them. Your work is sincerely appreciated. I've spent about 6 yrs, over 300 varieties, and I'm very close to finding my favorite heirloom tomatoes and peppers lol. If I get an acreage in a couple yrs I'll be really hoping to grow your apple! Thanks again, it's great to see your progress!
Hope that they will hold up in my landscape once I start planting, I'm hoping to include a lot of your varieties in the future. Keep it up man I love seeing your videos
Very exciting. I first found your channel when I was researching red fleshed apples with the intent of breeding a more interesting one. I also had the thought of using darker apples, one of the first trees I got was an Arkansas black. I've now got seedlings from your orchard growing for the second year in a row and (hopefully) some grafted trees. Albert Etter's work goes on.
I think that synergy is probably legit. not nearly enough coherent data points, but suffrice to say, I'm continuing to pursue those types of crosses. Hard to beat King David. If you dont' have it, get it.
Great stuff. Can't wait to get scions for these new varieties in the future. I've had a lot of luck this year with the 40 or so apple seeds I ordered from you this year. About 60% germination rate so far, and I haven't had any die as of yet. I made three changes from last year: 1) Used sawdust instead of paper towels to prevent seed molding 2) I made a cage to protect them from small creatures which has worked well so far. Last year something ate all my seedlings. 3) I've been bottom watering to prevent damping
I have thought of building cages, in spite of being on top of trapping, I still lost quite a few to mice this year. I don't bottom water, but I try wait until the soil surface is pretty dry and then I still don't saturate them.
Its so exciting to see your work continue and flourish. You are so much further ahead than we are here in Montana, 4a. One of my apple trees in my (just turned 3 year old) orchard finally budded out it's first leaves. Once I have got some established trees, I will have to make some crosses and grafts with some of your varieties. Keep up the good work!
I was literally grafting your Pink Lady scions today, and I'm so glad I watched this. I was confused that they were labeled Cripps Pink on one side of the tape, and Pink Lady on the other side. Now, I get it. Thanks for the work you do!
When it's good, it's great. Mine are loaded this year. I do find it has a very short window of optimal quality and when they go over the hill, they can get pretty bad. Remarkable though really.
@@SkillCult no doubt, they are not a long term storage type of apple. They do well year after year up here, and seem to ripen a week or so earlier than our other big crop up here, Honeycrisp. S16 is vastly superior.
Thanks Frankenstein. love your videos. I started my seed project barely at the start of this year she's got a few leafs on her one day she'll be as beautiful as yours 💖 she's got a mutant pear seedling growing and keeping her company 😨
For a few years I thought the "Cosmic Crisp was my favorite apple. Last year I got to try a red-fleshed apple for the first time. I was immediately hooked and researching red-fleshed apples is how I found your channel. I believe the red-fleshed apple I had the chance to try was an Etter apple, because it was from Humboldt County (where Etter did his work). Someday I will get my own land and the first thing I want to do is plant apple trees and lots of other fruit trees.
I'm excited I have my first ever apples on my tree this year. I'm eventually going to follow in your footsteps and attempt breeding new varieties for the deep south. Hopefully my other few trees will produce next year too. Always cool to see your work!
I'm not sure what other variety crossed with my apple. Mine is a golden Dorsett. I have an Anna buy it didn't flower yet so cannot be that. Also have a seedling apple probably from a fuji, pink lady, or gala that flowered the last two years at only 3 or so years old surprisingly. However it didn't flower this year either so cannot be that either. There's an apple tree a mile or so from me so it must be from that tree. No idea what variety it is but assuming it was bought locally at a store its likely an Anna, fuji, golden Dorsett(guess it cannot cross or pollinate itself), gala, or granny smith(don't think it's that really though as they have color). That's what our local stores usually carry in spring. It's behind a gate in a cop's yard so hesitant to go ask lol...However wish I could find out. I'll grow the seeds I get regardless.
@@SkillCult there's 2 completely overgrown apple trees right out my back door that I really want to get some good fruit from, I found your channel and I've been watching, learning, or trying to learn, for the past couple days non-stop, I'm so interested in the pink parfait I think it is, in one video you said a prime example tasted of honey and berries and I can't stop thinking about that, I think I have a new major obsession in apples and you're a huge part of why 😂🖤
Really missing the primitive skills content. Any spring foraging, or leather work, or basket making videos in your queue you’ll be sending our way soon?
Not sure. I'm pretty slammed with horticulture projects through June usually. I'd really like to do some more varied content though. Hard to make any content these days. It's coming eventually though.
I hope these crosses produce the perfect red-fleshed variety you're looking for! I really love watching the process. I started a small home orchard a year ago, and I was limited to three trees each of pears, peaches, plums and apples. Two of my apples are King David and Sweet 16, so I'm excited to hear that you think they're really good. It always feels like a gamble when you buy based on a nursery's description. My last one is Api Etoile, which I couldn't pass up since it has such a neat star shape. I've been following your pruning recommendations, and look forward to lovely balanced trees loaded with fruit someday :)
Api Etiole is super neat looking. I have one seedling with a similar lobed look. I haven't found it to be particularly good,b ut if you don't like it, you can always graft other stuff on to the tree. remember, you are not at all commited to growing just those varieties. As those grow up you can add dozens of varieties easily. But KD and Sweet 16 are real winners.
look at the comments section. its nice to see others continuing the work from Steven. i have my couple scions. i look forward to reading about other peoples reviews.
OMG - 5-10yrs? LOL. I am so looking forward to when when you have stuff to share out. The bite me grafts from a while back are looking GREAT this year in Vermont. Just starting to leaf out, so about a week or two after pilot here in the NE. But the grafts are strong and they are actually starting to get a bit unruly. Some pruning in their future. LOL.
Hey Steven, I've been following this project for years and am currently having a go myself here in England, I have a variety of large, non-bitter, crab apple called Dr.Campbells or Roberts red depending who you ask. It is extremely juicey (it's primary use) and has deep purple red skin and flesh, If you can source it from Canada or the US it might be a very useful parent for future varieties.
@@SkillCult Thank you for getting me into this as a hobby it’s very interesting and rewarding, i can eat Roberts crab fresh off the tree in warm years so it’s very non astringent. I’m making my own landrace predatory chickens too for pest control. Breeding plants and animals is addictive.
@@JohnDoe-ib3hr Yep, that what's around the next corner thing gets ahold of you. I'm about to start sticking in on my cactus breeding project. It will take a long time to get enough of them to flowering size though. I can see the potential though and I'm hooked in.
I just planted my seeds after about 11 weeks stratifying. Have you noticed anything crossed with pink parfait is super eager to sprout? I'd say overall about 50% of the seeds showed activity already. Stratified in damp sand, which was effective but problematic. Wet sand is almost the same color as wet apple seeds! Solved it by emptying the bags into a sieve and rinsing in water, which also allowed applying some mychorhizzal powder mixed in the water.
I think PP as a seed parent might be pretty eager to grow, but I'm not sure I've paid enough attention to say. Good luck with those. I need to plant out another batch of sprouted seeds this weekend and see how they are doing.
just so cool that you can breed your own apples.. I don't have a lot of room but I would like grow some in containers. Do you know any nurseries that sell 3 year old trees? Alot of times i see " bare root " i guess those are just very small saplings?
No, but sometimes you can find them. they are not the best deal really. I like young tress I can train how I want. Most trees you buy in pots or bare root are two years old.
@@SkillCult Thanks for your reply. I'm interested to grow them in pots, can any apple tree be grown in a pot? I'm interested in these popular columnar apples people use in urban gardening, but I have no idea how you get them.. is columnar pruning or a variety of root stock? Do you sell anything thats suitable for pots?
@@Jonnie_Rich I have not grown apples in pots really. People do it, but I'm not the one to ask how. I actually have been breeding columnars a little bit, but nothing good so far. I don't know much about the varieties that are out there. They are pretty neat though. it's a genetic thing for sure. I may try to get some more columnar varieites to use in breeding at some point, but it's not really a high priority for me. the trait seems to pass on at least 50% of the time, but I have not counted yet.
Is it too late to get some scions this year? I'm interesting growing some of your beautiful red flesh apples. I would need to get organized and order some Antonovka rootstocks.
I'm hoping to get some black strawberry scions next year. I think it'll be great for my breeding project. I have a currently unknown apple (my favorite) and I want to breed it with a deep red flesh apple. I just want to make something unique for iowa and spread the wealth around.
Those scions are already way down in price and I should have a lot of them. It may take longer to get the apple you want than if using a more refined RF apple, such as rubaiyat, but black strawberry has some really interesting, unique traits. It is Grenadine x King David. The new great RF apple is Rubaiyat x King David (actually not sure of the direction of the cross on either of those, but those are the parents).
Thank you for your awesome work and great videos! I’ve caught the plant breeding bug from you! I have several of your scions grafted and 4 or 5 out of a dozen or so seeds coming up already! Side note: though you probably already have a name picked out, Rubiat x King David = Ruby King… just sayin’ 😏
Glad to hear that. Plant breeding is really fun. People think it's too hard or complicated, but it really doesn't have to be. I've got the name for this one already and lists of potential names for red fleshed apples.
Have you done any breeding on crabapples? Where I live, crabapples are the only type of apples that reliably produce. It's too hot & dry, with too few chill hours to be able to produce standard types of apples.
Wherever you are, you can probably grow some regular sized apples. There are large no chill apples. Check out the apples and oranges blog and kuffle creek nursery sites. He plants them in the tropics. I do use some crab genetics. they can be hybridized with larger regular apples.
Hi, will planting seeds from a red-fleshed apple yield red-fleshed apples too? Am planning to plant some from seeds of a red-fleshed apple. I live in the tropics. Thanks.
will you have any scions for red fleshed apples this winter? I have 5 acres in Mariposa County in the part of zone 9a and trying to start a food forest and my theme was going to be red fleshed fruits and want to start cross-breeding and grafting, I have rootstocks started and would love to experiment with these varieties!
I always have some. There are not that many worth growing yet, at least not that I know of. Or better put, if you want the best quality apples, I would not stick to all red flesh. Just for varieties sake too. but I'll have them and lots of other interesting varieties. I have a web page called apple variety descriptions or something like that, I have a lot things that are on that list usually.
Awesome! I Love your website btw! Yeah i’m looking for varieties to cross breed in the future, will they be on the skillcult site? Thank you so much for your time responding back sir! I Greatly Appreciate it! I Love Your Videos! Literally watch them all the time! I bought some seeds from you a while back they’re almost done stratifying and i’m gonna plant them up here in Bootjack, CA!
So excited to get a seed of this cross someday. By the way, two years ago you send me a scion of an unnamed William's Pride x Vixen cross. Is that Amberwine or a totally new apple? It's doing very well, very vigorous on G969. Tuning it in for modified central leader this year.
if it is amberwine, you'll be able to tell. It very likely is, but it could be the cone shaped august ripening one or one of the others.I'm still keeping a close eye on I think 3 more of them. they are all pretty good.
How long does the apple pollen stay viable for you? Do you use any special storage methods? I crossbreed beans (Vigna unguiculata, and mostly subsp. sesquipedalis) and my crosses so far have only been by directly placing the anthers on the female to be pollinated, so they dehist directly where needed. If I could effectively save pollen from prior years it would free up a lot of my limited garden space and let me make more crosses.
I think pollen varies a lot in it's durability. Apple pollen from what I can tell so far seems very durable. I should know a little more in a month or so if I can get some tests set up that I want to. Still, I think it is prudent to dessicate thoroughy and freeze in a tightly seald jar. I can't imagine there is not some info out there on storing bean pollen if you can do it. If not, just try it. Use dessicant packets from vitamins to dehydrate on the counter for a week in a sealed jar, after throughly drying and sealing.
I am just completely gutted that the pollen is all gone. I had such high hopes for using it in breeding this year. I had a mold issue with the seeds I purchased and am hoping some are still viable. If someone backs out on a red fleshed pollen blend, pick me!
I got sidetracked on cactus today, but weather permiting I'll be harvesting a little more pollen tomorrow and for the next couple of days it is the end of the season though and no more RF blend this year. I only made 6 or 7 packets of that this time around.
@SkillCult I just really want to see what I get out of my odd old zone 3a prairie hardy trees for crosses. I am happy with a pollen mix of williams pride, sweet sixteen, red flesh, etc. I am excited about skipping a couple of years on the grafting and pollinating on my own for seeds before I can grow them out! I wish more people were selling cool varieties of pollen. It is the best way to get fast results, in my opinion. I will be up early and checking the store. I will email you again re mailing, if I make it in before they are gone again. :)
In the future for sure. I'm all about spreading these genetics and quickly as possible so you guys are all starting with a let up. In service to apples, not myself.
so a little unrelated but.. Im getting into bark tanning. Ive got a young moose (the skin is about 6'x4', Starting off big, I know xD) and I neglected stirring while it was in the lime. theres now some greenish stains and a small dark yellowy brown spot. will this affect it once it goes into the tan? and is there any way to get it out? I've done a lot of research but cant seem to figure out what to do about it it doesnt seem to come out with scudding, and its most prevalent on the flesh side
I really couldnt' say what that is about. sometimes bloodstains are greenish, but I think the lime might bleach those out, not sure. If you can't scud it out and the hair came out fine and it seems ready, just pop it in there and see how it turns out. but next time don't flake out lol. I know, it's easy to say, harder to do. I have a pig hide in lime that I haven't touched in over a month. Maybe close to two. I just keep forgeting about it.
@@SkillCult haha, yep. Easier said than done. my first deer buckskin I stirred twice a day minimum... the moose however I 100% ditched. it's probably a blood stain, its the bloodiest thing Ive ever done by a mile. thanks for the insight anyway! and goodluck with that ancient piggy skin xD
So the flowers you don't pollinate don't produce fruit because it is not self-fertile? If it is a self-fertile tree you need to remove the flowers you don't pollinate so you know what seeds to keep?
Last year and again this year, I do test baggings as controls to determine any self pollination potential. So far only one variety set fruit and seeds on it's own. It;s one of my seedlings, Flaxen. It seems to be very uncommon.
Completely random yet apple related - I found a seed actually germinated with a root inside an apple I was eating the other day. It's in a pot now and pushing up so we'll see what the little creature turns out to be 😂
@@SkillCult This was a pink lady so that makes sense. I had been seeing quite a few seeds with the hull split and thought something was wrong with them. Apparently I need to be sticking them all in dirt for root stock, so that's what I'm doing now.
@@SkillCult No I got a well developed bare root tree and i can see the fruit bud developing into flower. I just wanted to let one apple grow on it just for the fun of it.
@@anthonydilay1427 Oh, i have not figured out a way yet. I use dwarfing rootstock which probably helps a little, but it still takes a long time. some say if you graft it to a tree that is fruiting already it will fruit faster, but I have not noticed that to be true yet. I think thee are sophisticated ways to trick the tree into thinking it is older than it actually is, but I don't know how they do it. Maybe periodic light control.
if you were to cut the top off of a seedling apple and graft it on to a mature tree would it produce first fruit more quickly? I'm not sure how the sexual maturity hormones work for fruit trees
I'll chime in because you haven't gotten a reply. I believe Steven has said this is probably true. In my experience I have grafted seedlings and they have flowered the next year, while the parent seedling on it own roots still hasn't fruited. This is on relatively young rootstock as well as older trees which already bear fruit. It doesn't seem like it's something easy to control and I imagine you'll have better results frameworking rather than topworking (although the young rootstock I mentioned is topworking) Food for thought
Not so far. I have a tree full of seedling grafts, I think 90! None have fruited in several years. My experience so far is that it makes little if any difference, but I'm still gathering experience.
@@Zezmezzie I'm sure it's all been tried. I know they have techniques to speed it up. I heard they use methods to trick the tree into thinking it's older than it is, probably light deprevation.
I have a redflesh apple tree I bought last year it produced dark red apples my child had one last week and it was all red pink red seeds in side I'm like what never seen this before ???? Anyone help??? and I have another apple tree that they are sour and big nobbly apples green and red ??????? And a collum apple tree that are nice green with tinge red apples small smooth ones what are nice apples to pick and eat 👍
I love when I see other level 20 Druids flexing the master craft orchards! 😂
My 10-yr old started growing apples from seed a few months ago. Your videos have been so helpful and encouraging. Thank you!
That is really great to hear. Best of luck! Maybe that will end in the next best apple ever!
Awesome! Really exciting! I've been following a few years, red flesh apples have always been a dream since I read about them. Your work is sincerely appreciated. I've spent about 6 yrs, over 300 varieties, and I'm very close to finding my favorite heirloom tomatoes and peppers lol. If I get an acreage in a couple yrs I'll be really hoping to grow your apple! Thanks again, it's great to see your progress!
i often find myself playing your videos in the background well i plant seeds and up pot plants like tomatoes for out in my garden
Hope that they will hold up in my landscape once I start planting, I'm hoping to include a lot of your varieties in the future. Keep it up man I love seeing your videos
We need all of you out there testing it all in varied places and conditions.
Very exciting. I first found your channel when I was researching red fleshed apples with the intent of breeding a more interesting one. I also had the thought of using darker apples, one of the first trees I got was an Arkansas black.
I've now got seedlings from your orchard growing for the second year in a row and (hopefully) some grafted trees. Albert Etter's work goes on.
I think that synergy is probably legit. not nearly enough coherent data points, but suffrice to say, I'm continuing to pursue those types of crosses. Hard to beat King David. If you dont' have it, get it.
Great stuff. Can't wait to get scions for these new varieties in the future. I've had a lot of luck this year with the 40 or so apple seeds I ordered from you this year. About 60% germination rate so far, and I haven't had any die as of yet.
I made three changes from last year:
1) Used sawdust instead of paper towels to prevent seed molding
2) I made a cage to protect them from small creatures which has worked well so far. Last year something ate all my seedlings.
3) I've been bottom watering to prevent damping
I have thought of building cages, in spite of being on top of trapping, I still lost quite a few to mice this year. I don't bottom water, but I try wait until the soil surface is pretty dry and then I still don't saturate them.
Its so exciting to see your work continue and flourish. You are so much further ahead than we are here in Montana, 4a. One of my apple trees in my (just turned 3 year old) orchard finally budded out it's first leaves. Once I have got some established trees, I will have to make some crosses and grafts with some of your varieties. Keep up the good work!
I was literally grafting your Pink Lady scions today, and I'm so glad I watched this. I was confused that they were labeled Cripps Pink on one side of the tape, and Pink Lady on the other side. Now, I get it. Thanks for the work you do!
sweet 16 is my favorite apple by far. I'm glad I'm not the only one that loves it, plus it does well up north here in zone 3.
When it's good, it's great. Mine are loaded this year. I do find it has a very short window of optimal quality and when they go over the hill, they can get pretty bad. Remarkable though really.
@@SkillCult no doubt, they are not a long term storage type of apple. They do well year after year up here, and seem to ripen a week or so earlier than our other big crop up here, Honeycrisp. S16 is vastly superior.
Thanks Frankenstein. love your videos. I started my seed project barely at the start of this year she's got a few leafs on her one day she'll be as beautiful as yours 💖 she's got a mutant pear seedling growing and keeping her company 😨
For a few years I thought the "Cosmic Crisp was my favorite apple. Last year I got to try a red-fleshed apple for the first time. I was immediately hooked and researching red-fleshed apples is how I found your channel. I believe the red-fleshed apple I had the chance to try was an Etter apple, because it was from Humboldt County (where Etter did his work). Someday I will get my own land and the first thing I want to do is plant apple trees and lots of other fruit trees.
Very cool! I want to get some of these into my orchard.
I'm excited I have my first ever apples on my tree this year. I'm eventually going to follow in your footsteps and attempt breeding new varieties for the deep south. Hopefully my other few trees will produce next year too. Always cool to see your work!
I'm not sure what other variety crossed with my apple. Mine is a golden Dorsett. I have an Anna buy it didn't flower yet so cannot be that. Also have a seedling apple probably from a fuji, pink lady, or gala that flowered the last two years at only 3 or so years old surprisingly. However it didn't flower this year either so cannot be that either. There's an apple tree a mile or so from me so it must be from that tree. No idea what variety it is but assuming it was bought locally at a store its likely an Anna, fuji, golden Dorsett(guess it cannot cross or pollinate itself), gala, or granny smith(don't think it's that really though as they have color). That's what our local stores usually carry in spring. It's behind a gate in a cop's yard so hesitant to go ask lol...However wish I could find out. I'll grow the seeds I get regardless.
@@derekclawson4236 It might be selfed. but bees cover a lot of ground, so who ,knows.
I love what you are doing
All I want in life is a skillcult Apple.
This is awesome!
I'm trying to learn about apples and I just found your channel, I'm in heaven.
yeah, it's apples, apples apples around here lol. Welcome.
@@SkillCult there's 2 completely overgrown apple trees right out my back door that I really want to get some good fruit from, I found your channel and I've been watching, learning, or trying to learn, for the past couple days non-stop, I'm so interested in the pink parfait I think it is, in one video you said a prime example tasted of honey and berries and I can't stop thinking about that, I think I have a new major obsession in apples and you're a huge part of why 😂🖤
Really missing the primitive skills content. Any spring foraging, or leather work, or basket making videos in your queue you’ll be sending our way soon?
Not sure. I'm pretty slammed with horticulture projects through June usually. I'd really like to do some more varied content though. Hard to make any content these days. It's coming eventually though.
Awesome stuff. Cant wait to see all this in future.
I just checked on thee seeds in the fridge - two are already sprouting! Apeloosa x Wickson yay!
Woohoo!
I hope these crosses produce the perfect red-fleshed variety you're looking for! I really love watching the process. I started a small home orchard a year ago, and I was limited to three trees each of pears, peaches, plums and apples. Two of my apples are King David and Sweet 16, so I'm excited to hear that you think they're really good. It always feels like a gamble when you buy based on a nursery's description. My last one is Api Etoile, which I couldn't pass up since it has such a neat star shape. I've been following your pruning recommendations, and look forward to lovely balanced trees loaded with fruit someday :)
Api Etiole is super neat looking. I have one seedling with a similar lobed look. I haven't found it to be particularly good,b ut if you don't like it, you can always graft other stuff on to the tree. remember, you are not at all commited to growing just those varieties. As those grow up you can add dozens of varieties easily. But KD and Sweet 16 are real winners.
look at the comments section. its nice to see others continuing the work from Steven. i have my couple scions. i look forward to reading about other peoples reviews.
Yes, it is! The real legacy of this project is other people branching this off and running with it.
OMG - 5-10yrs? LOL. I am so looking forward to when when you have stuff to share out. The bite me grafts from a while back are looking GREAT this year in Vermont. Just starting to leaf out, so about a week or two after pilot here in the NE. But the grafts are strong and they are actually starting to get a bit unruly. Some pruning in their future. LOL.
good way to cultivate patience lol.
Hey Steven, I've been following this project for years and am currently having a go myself here in England, I have a variety of large, non-bitter, crab apple called Dr.Campbells or Roberts red depending who you ask. It is extremely juicey (it's primary use) and has deep purple red skin and flesh, If you can source it from Canada or the US it might be a very useful parent for future varieties.
Thank you, I have gotten that and I think it may have flowered this year. I hear good things about it.
@@SkillCult Thank you for getting me into this as a hobby it’s very interesting and rewarding, i can eat Roberts crab fresh off the tree in warm years so it’s very non astringent. I’m making my own landrace predatory chickens too for pest control. Breeding plants and animals is addictive.
@@JohnDoe-ib3hr Yep, that what's around the next corner thing gets ahold of you. I'm about to start sticking in on my cactus breeding project. It will take a long time to get enough of them to flowering size though. I can see the potential though and I'm hooked in.
I just planted my seeds after about 11 weeks stratifying. Have you noticed anything crossed with pink parfait is super eager to sprout?
I'd say overall about 50% of the seeds showed activity already. Stratified in damp sand, which was effective but problematic. Wet sand is almost the same color as wet apple seeds! Solved it by emptying the bags into a sieve and rinsing in water, which also allowed applying some mychorhizzal powder mixed in the water.
I think PP as a seed parent might be pretty eager to grow, but I'm not sure I've paid enough attention to say. Good luck with those. I need to plant out another batch of sprouted seeds this weekend and see how they are doing.
most excellent and interesting
too hot and dry for apples here.
just so cool that you can breed your own apples.. I don't have a lot of room but I would like grow some in containers. Do you know any nurseries that sell 3 year old trees? Alot of times i see " bare root " i guess those are just very small saplings?
No, but sometimes you can find them. they are not the best deal really. I like young tress I can train how I want. Most trees you buy in pots or bare root are two years old.
@@SkillCult Thanks for your reply. I'm interested to grow them in pots, can any apple tree be grown in a pot? I'm interested in these popular columnar apples people use in urban gardening, but I have no idea how you get them.. is columnar pruning or a variety of root stock? Do you sell anything thats suitable for pots?
@@Jonnie_Rich I have not grown apples in pots really. People do it, but I'm not the one to ask how. I actually have been breeding columnars a little bit, but nothing good so far. I don't know much about the varieties that are out there. They are pretty neat though. it's a genetic thing for sure. I may try to get some more columnar varieites to use in breeding at some point, but it's not really a high priority for me. the trait seems to pass on at least 50% of the time, but I have not counted yet.
Is it too late to get some scions this year? I'm interesting growing some of your beautiful red flesh apples. I would need to get organized and order some Antonovka rootstocks.
sorry, not this year.
I'm hoping to get some black strawberry scions next year. I think it'll be great for my breeding project. I have a currently unknown apple (my favorite) and I want to breed it with a deep red flesh apple. I just want to make something unique for iowa and spread the wealth around.
Those scions are already way down in price and I should have a lot of them. It may take longer to get the apple you want than if using a more refined RF apple, such as rubaiyat, but black strawberry has some really interesting, unique traits. It is Grenadine x King David. The new great RF apple is Rubaiyat x King David (actually not sure of the direction of the cross on either of those, but those are the parents).
@@SkillCult I'll have to keep my eyes open for when your sale is going on again for some scions
@@Tinysorchard best ways to find out are patreon, subbing to my blog and instagram, in that order. it is usually late winter.
@@SkillCult thank you so much. Keep up the excellent work. I can't wait to see what new varieties you grow next
Thank you for your awesome work and great videos! I’ve caught the plant breeding bug from you! I have several of your scions grafted and 4 or 5 out of a dozen or so seeds coming up already! Side note: though you probably already have a name picked out, Rubiat x King David = Ruby King… just sayin’ 😏
Glad to hear that. Plant breeding is really fun. People think it's too hard or complicated, but it really doesn't have to be. I've got the name for this one already and lists of potential names for red fleshed apples.
Have you done any breeding on crabapples? Where I live, crabapples are the only type of apples that reliably produce. It's too hot & dry, with too few chill hours to be able to produce standard types of apples.
Wherever you are, you can probably grow some regular sized apples. There are large no chill apples. Check out the apples and oranges blog and kuffle creek nursery sites. He plants them in the tropics. I do use some crab genetics. they can be hybridized with larger regular apples.
Hi, will planting seeds from a red-fleshed apple yield red-fleshed apples too? Am planning to plant some from seeds of a red-fleshed apple. I live in the tropics. Thanks.
I'm finding that it usually does. You may have challenges in the tropics though getting much flesh color. it is triggered somehow by cooler temps.
will you have any scions for red fleshed apples this winter? I have 5 acres in Mariposa County in the part of zone 9a and trying to start a food forest and my theme was going to be red fleshed fruits and want to start cross-breeding and grafting, I have rootstocks started and would love to experiment with these varieties!
I always have some. There are not that many worth growing yet, at least not that I know of. Or better put, if you want the best quality apples, I would not stick to all red flesh. Just for varieties sake too. but I'll have them and lots of other interesting varieties. I have a web page called apple variety descriptions or something like that, I have a lot things that are on that list usually.
Awesome! I Love your website btw! Yeah i’m looking for varieties to cross breed in the future, will they be on the skillcult site? Thank you so much for your time responding back sir! I Greatly Appreciate it! I Love Your Videos! Literally watch them all the time! I bought some seeds from you a while back they’re almost done stratifying and i’m gonna plant them up here in Bootjack, CA!
@@MountainMistGenetics Most of the scions are on the website. Seedlings in very limited quantities go on figbid.
@@SkillCult Awesome! Thank You!
When pollenating the “mother” flower, do we need to castrate it, or just leave the pollen there?
You can leave it
@@jeromedumalin9954 Thank you :D
Castration is only necessary if you think that the flower may self-pollinate. Not common amongst apples but it does sometimes happen.
@@ahoomun4848 Thanks. Really appreciate the help.
So excited to get a seed of this cross someday. By the way, two years ago you send me a scion of an unnamed William's Pride x Vixen cross. Is that Amberwine or a totally new apple? It's doing very well, very vigorous on G969. Tuning it in for modified central leader this year.
I would need a number to know which that is. Most of those WP x Vixen crosses were worth a second take all of them actually.
No number, sorry. I'm sure it will be worth reporting on. Or a fine framework tree at any rate :)
if it is amberwine, you'll be able to tell. It very likely is, but it could be the cone shaped august ripening one or one of the others.I'm still keeping a close eye on I think 3 more of them. they are all pretty good.
How long does the apple pollen stay viable for you? Do you use any special storage methods? I crossbreed beans (Vigna unguiculata, and mostly subsp. sesquipedalis) and my crosses so far have only been by directly placing the anthers on the female to be pollinated, so they dehist directly where needed. If I could effectively save pollen from prior years it would free up a lot of my limited garden space and let me make more crosses.
I think pollen varies a lot in it's durability. Apple pollen from what I can tell so far seems very durable. I should know a little more in a month or so if I can get some tests set up that I want to. Still, I think it is prudent to dessicate thoroughy and freeze in a tightly seald jar. I can't imagine there is not some info out there on storing bean pollen if you can do it. If not, just try it. Use dessicant packets from vitamins to dehydrate on the counter for a week in a sealed jar, after throughly drying and sealing.
that's what I would do :)
I am just completely gutted that the pollen is all gone. I had such high hopes for using it in breeding this year. I had a mold issue with the seeds I purchased and am hoping some are still viable. If someone backs out on a red fleshed pollen blend, pick me!
I still have some sitting here. In the next couple of days, I should add a little more, keep checking!
Is this on figbid?
@@soronos8586 in the regular webstore skillcult.com/store
I got sidetracked on cactus today, but weather permiting I'll be harvesting a little more pollen tomorrow and for the next couple of days it is the end of the season though and no more RF blend this year. I only made 6 or 7 packets of that this time around.
@SkillCult I just really want to see what I get out of my odd old zone 3a prairie hardy trees for crosses. I am happy with a pollen mix of williams pride, sweet sixteen, red flesh, etc. I am excited about skipping a couple of years on the grafting and pollinating on my own for seeds before I can grow them out! I wish more people were selling cool varieties of pollen. It is the best way to get fast results, in my opinion. I will be up early and checking the store. I will email you again re mailing, if I make it in before they are gone again. :)
will you be selling seed from any of these in the future? love your work man ive been watching for years.
hard to say. That this point I could see planting every seed I get from this new RF parent. We'll see how many I actually get
In the future for sure. I'm all about spreading these genetics and quickly as possible so you guys are all starting with a let up. In service to apples, not myself.
@@SkillCult I feel it, hopefully you get more flowers next year
so a little unrelated but.. Im getting into bark tanning. Ive got a young moose (the skin is about 6'x4', Starting off big, I know xD) and I neglected stirring while it was in the lime. theres now some greenish stains and a small dark yellowy brown spot. will this affect it once it goes into the tan? and is there any way to get it out? I've done a lot of research but cant seem to figure out what to do about it
it doesnt seem to come out with scudding, and its most prevalent on the flesh side
I really couldnt' say what that is about. sometimes bloodstains are greenish, but I think the lime might bleach those out, not sure. If you can't scud it out and the hair came out fine and it seems ready, just pop it in there and see how it turns out. but next time don't flake out lol. I know, it's easy to say, harder to do. I have a pig hide in lime that I haven't touched in over a month. Maybe close to two. I just keep forgeting about it.
@@SkillCult haha, yep. Easier said than done. my first deer buckskin I stirred twice a day minimum... the moose however I 100% ditched.
it's probably a blood stain, its the bloodiest thing Ive ever done by a mile. thanks for the insight anyway! and goodluck with that ancient piggy skin xD
So the flowers you don't pollinate don't produce fruit because it is not self-fertile? If it is a self-fertile tree you need to remove the flowers you don't pollinate so you know what seeds to keep?
Last year and again this year, I do test baggings as controls to determine any self pollination potential. So far only one variety set fruit and seeds on it's own. It;s one of my seedlings, Flaxen. It seems to be very uncommon.
Completely random yet apple related - I found a seed actually germinated with a root inside an apple I was eating the other day. It's in a pot now and pushing up so we'll see what the little creature turns out to be 😂
I have seen that before, especially in lady williams and pink lady. I think they chill in the fruit
@@SkillCult This was a pink lady so that makes sense. I had been seeing quite a few seeds with the hull split and thought something was wrong with them. Apparently I need to be sticking them all in dirt for root stock, so that's what I'm doing now.
I know your website says you are out of apple pollen but might you have any at the moment or is it too late in the season?
I'm all out for this year. are you in the southern hemisphere?
@@SkillCult No I got a well developed bare root tree and i can see the fruit bud developing into flower. I just wanted to let one apple grow on it just for the fun of it.
Tell me please can pollen be stored in a fridge where water freezes?
I have stored it at room temperature and in a freezer. I think keeping it dry is important.
Good day Im just wondering how do you make your seedling fruit fast?🙂
I don't understand the question. What do you man by fast?
@@SkillCult you start from seed to make new varieties how do you make them fruit faster sir?🙂
How long it usually takes for the seedling to bare fruit?
@@anthonydilay1427 Oh, i have not figured out a way yet. I use dwarfing rootstock which probably helps a little, but it still takes a long time. some say if you graft it to a tree that is fruiting already it will fruit faster, but I have not noticed that to be true yet. I think thee are sophisticated ways to trick the tree into thinking it is older than it actually is, but I don't know how they do it. Maybe periodic light control.
@@SkillCult thanks:! more power to your channel🙂🙂🙂
if you were to cut the top off of a seedling apple and graft it on to a mature tree would it produce first fruit more quickly? I'm not sure how the sexual maturity hormones work for fruit trees
I'll chime in because you haven't gotten a reply. I believe Steven has said this is probably true. In my experience I have grafted seedlings and they have flowered the next year, while the parent seedling on it own roots still hasn't fruited. This is on relatively young rootstock as well as older trees which already bear fruit. It doesn't seem like it's something easy to control and I imagine you'll have better results frameworking rather than topworking (although the young rootstock I mentioned is topworking)
Food for thought
Not so far. I have a tree full of seedling grafts, I think 90! None have fruited in several years. My experience so far is that it makes little if any difference, but I'm still gathering experience.
@@SkillCult that makes sense to me, I wonder if there’s a way we could apply hormone treatments to speed maturity
@@Zezmezzie I'm sure it's all been tried. I know they have techniques to speed it up. I heard they use methods to trick the tree into thinking it's older than it is, probably light deprevation.
I have a redflesh apple tree I bought last year it produced dark red apples my child had one last week and it was all red pink red seeds in side I'm like what never seen this before ???? Anyone help??? and I have another apple tree that they are sour and big nobbly apples green and red ??????? And a collum apple tree that are nice green with tinge red apples small smooth ones what are nice apples to pick and eat 👍
Do you have anything redflesh that would finish in zone 5 upstate NY
I have no idea at all. My stuff all has to be tested everywhere. otherwise I wouldn't know either.
I just saw this reply. I just messaged u again on diff video. Sorry.