North American Fruit Explorers mailing list at ibiblio

["Christopher Mauchline" <mauch1@aol.com>]

>  I replaced it
>with a Braeburn, which I am also unhappy with, but for different
>reasons.
 
Don, 
    May I ask why you are unhappy with Braeburn?

As to the ignorance part, I can identify.  When I first started 
grafting, I grafted a bunch of interesting sounding, "antique" apples 
that sounded good based on catalog descriptions.  Of 16 varieties I 
grafted on one tree only 3 were worth bothering with.

It did get me pretty good at whip & tongue grafting (although I've 
kind of stalled out there in terms of grafting technique (a whine for 
another time)

Chris Mauchline
SE PA, zone 6

--- In nafex@y..., Don Yellman <dyellman@e...> wrote:
> Gianni:
> 
>     I had an Irish Peach tree obtained from the old Grootendorst 
Nursery
> (the forerunner of Southmeadow, I believe) in 1979.  It started to 
bear
> in about '84, but was not very productive and the apples were 
extremely
> buggy and misshapen.  I would describe the apples it produced as 
just
> plain sour (or should I say, acidic), and I would not have 
classified
> them as "dessert" apples at all.  In addition, as noted by Claude, 
it is
> a tip bearer, blossom shy, and I am not in love with those although 
I
> seem to have quite a few of them.  (This spring I have discovered 
one
> that is NOT a tip bearer --- Shamrock --- which has blooms all over 
the
> laterals in year four, but that's another story).
>     Anyway, when I planted the Irish Peach, I knew nothing about the
> apple, (this was in the early days, when I was really, really 
ignorant
> about apple growing, as opposed to now when I am only really 
ignorant)
> but when I found that it ripened shortly after Yellow Transparent 
(our
> principal applesauce producer), and was not, in my view, as good as 
Y.T.
> in most respects, I decided to take it out.  It also had extremely
> twiggy growth, and was a major pruning job every year.  I replaced 
it
> with a Braeburn, which I am also unhappy with, but for different
> reasons.
>     As we all know, apple varieties respond in quite different ways 
to
> different climatic conditions.  And there can be quite a degree of
> variability in performance of different trees even of the same 
variety
> and rootstock.  So it may be the Irish Peach would do much better 
for
> you up there in N.H.than it did here in N. Virginia.  Personally, I
> would not bother with it, since there are so many early varieties 
that
> fill the bill for sauce and pies, such as Yellow Transparent, Summer
> Rambo,  and even Astrachan or Early Cortland.  It might be good for
> cider blending, except it comes way to early for the cidermaking
> operation, and as Claude observed, it only keeps for a few weeks.
>    So I can't supply any scions of Irish Peach, but you might be 
able to
> talk me out of a few of Shamrock next spring, and I think those 
would
> make you very happy if you like lots of blossoms.
>     Finally, I have to confess, the only reason I planted Irish 
Peach is
> because my wife is of the Irish persuasion.  It was not a good 
enough
> reason.   BTW Gianni, did you know that the Irish invented pizza?
> Best Rgds, Don Yellman, Great Falls, VA


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