By Sharon Cohoon, Sunset senior garden writer
I loved Jim's recent post about Kevin and Marty Hauser's quest for better apples for mild climates, which lead to their backyard business, Kuffel Creek Apple Nursery. It is thrilling to know I may have more choices in my mild beach climate than `Anna' -- a reliable but pretty dull apple, I've always thought. Below are the three from Kuffel Creek I find most intriguing -- that's `Enterprise' on the left; `Williams Pride' in the middle; and `Terry Winter' on the right.
Anyone tried any of these yet in Sunset zone 24?
Surfing garden blogs, I see that many home gardeners are stretching the boundaries re apple varieties. Tom at Tall Clover Farm on Vashon Island in Washington, for instance, is growing `Espopus Spitzenberg', said to be Thomas Jefferson's favorite apple, and `Belle de Boshoop', which, as he says, is almost worth growing for the name alone.
And, if I'm not mistaken, the apples his bulldogs Boz and Gracie are eyeing in the photo below are `Bradley's Seedling.' Read Tom's post to see what he has to say about how all these varieties and more are doing in his climate.
What about you? Have you tried any varieties that weren't supposed to work in your climate that proved to be winners anyway? Or have you rediscovered a wonderful heirloom variety worth bringing back? Let us know.
