Bonkers
Breeder(s):  The apple breeding program at Cornell selected this variety from a 'Liberty' X 'Delicious' cross. 
Rootstocks used:  Geneva41.
Orchards grown in:  Pittsboro, NC orchard A.
Fruit quality:  Personally, I don't know yet.  We would have gotten our first fruit last year, but the critters got it first.  Reports from others who have grown the apple longer describe its flavor in glowing terms, one grower in Washington state calling it “a righteous apple”.  Supposedly has a wonderfully complex smooth acidity, but I've not encountered another grower in the South, yet.  All reports I've seen are describing northern-grown fruit and some cultivars don't hold up under our heat.  We'll see.
Fruit size:  Very-large.
Fruit appearance:  Attractive, dark red. 
Culinary characteristics:  No data yet.
Storage characteristics:  Unknown to me.
Harvest season:  I don't know yet here, since the critters took my only fruit before it ripened.  Cummins states that it ripens after 'Delicious' in mid-October in upstate New York, so I'm guessing that it will be ripe sometime in September here.
Bloom season:  I can't find those records at the moment.
Estimated chill requirement:  77 chill portions.
Diseases:  Resistant to most diseases.   So far, I've seen no sign of any disease on my trees.
Precocity:  Early indications in my orchard suggest that it is very precocious, one tree even started producing in its 2nd year (I only allowed the tree to keep one apple).  However, Cummins Nursery, who has much more experience with this cultivar, states that it is not as precocious as either of its parents.
Productivity:  productive
Growth habit:  Good branch angles.  Easy to manage, at least on dwarfing stock.
References:  In addition to personal observations:
Cummins Nursery: 
Linda Hoffman

Candycrisp
Breeder(s):  Originated as a chance seedling in a 'Delicious' orchard near Marlboro, New York.  Released about 2005. Also known as Greiner 1198 in a plant patent that has been applied for.
Rootstocks used:  M9 or M26.  Got my tree from Stark and they are not too helpful in labelling the rootstock.
Orchards grown in:  Pittsboro, NC orchard B.
Fruit quality:  Inedible as grown in my yard.  Like dry tasteless cotton.  Much to my surprise, I worked with a fellow who claimed that 'Candycrisp' grown in the mountain counties of North Carolina were his favorite apple.  Maybe they do better in cooler climates.  They must do better somewhere or this apple would never have made it onto the market (would it?).   
Fruit size:  Very large.
Fruit appearance:  Attractive green while ripening.  Once fully ripe, the skin turns yellow with a pink blush on the sunny side. 
Culinary characteristics:  I didn't even bother trying to cook these things.  Might as well add sugar and lemon juice to cotton balls and call that apple pie.  Again, maybe better somewhere.
Storage characteristics:  Probably poor as grown here because of its extreme susceptibility to fruit rots.  Stark says it stores “exceptionally” well, up to four months.
Harvest season:  Seems like it was September, but I don't find the record at the moment.  Stark says they ripen in early October, presumably in Missouri.
Bloom season:  Early; about a week ahead of 'Honeycrisp' in Pittsboro.
Diseases:  Very susceptible to fruit rots.   Some susceptibility to fireblight.
Precocity:  Precocious, first fruit in its 2nd or 3rd year.
Productivity:  productive
Growth habit:  Spreading, well-shaped tree.
Other notes:  Wild rabbits show a distinctive preference for this tree's wood.  I don't even let my tree flower anymore because I don't want its pollen to contaminate seedlings that I plant from other cultivars grown nearby.  However, I keep the tree because the rabbits like the prunings so much.
References:  In addition to personal observations:
Stark Brothers Nursery catalog.  2007.  Spring.  Page 8. Their glowing online description can be found here.

Calville Blanc d'Hiver
Breeder(s):  Probably originated in France or Germany as a chance seedling.  First recorded in 1598.
Rootstocks used:  M7, Geneva30 & Geneva11. 
Orchards grown in:  Cumming, GA; Apex, NC & Pittsboro, NC orchard B.
Fruit quality:  Varies widely from year to year.  Some years the fruit was so disease-ridden that it didn't ripen properly and was inedible.  In favorable years, it was delicious, though its texture is like a typical heirloom apple, not super crisp.  It is also famous for having a very high Vitamin C content, higher than oranges!
Fruit size:  Medium, about 200 g/fruit.  Bultitude says they are large (7.5 cm in diameter x 6.5 cm high).
Fruit appearance:  Not attractive, has notable lobes and a dull greenish-yellow skin.
Culinary characteristics:  I never had enough to cook with, but the Europeans love them.
Storage characteristics:  I never had enough to try storing them.  Reports say about a month in the fridge is its limit.  That probably presumes later harvest than happens here.
Harvest season:  Late August to mid-September in Pittsboro, NC.  Third week of October in England.
Bloom season:  Blooms with 'Goldrush' in Pittsboro; same time as 'Bramley's Seedling' in England.
Estimated chill requirement:  94 chill portions.
Diseases:  Reported as being resistant to scab.  In my Georgia orchard, Calville was susceptible to fireblight (killed the tree).  In North Carolina, I also had some blight as well as leaf and fruit fungal diseases.  Such an unhealthy tree that I rogued it after a few years, though some of the blame could have gone to the G11 rootstock, which I've found to be quite susceptible to crown rot.  I did save every seed, though because of the occasional high-quality fruit.
Precocity:  Precocious, first fruit in its 2nd or 3rd year.
Productivity:  shy bearer
Growth habit:  Spreading, but a little unruly tree.  On dwarfing stock, still easy to manage.
References:  In addition to personal observations:
http://www.appleman.ca/korchard/calville.htm
Bultitude, John. 1983. Apples A Guide to the Identification of International Varieties. ISBN 0-295-96041-8.  p. 110.

Cinnamon Spice
Breeder(s):  Originated as a chance seedling in Bolinas, California by Jesse Schwartz.  Web catalog of Trees of Antiquity implies that this is the same apple as 'Laxton's Fortune', but they don't state it explicitly and I can find no confirmation of this, so for the time being, I will maintain that these two cultivars are distinct.
Rootstocks used:  EMLA27
Orchards grown in:  Apex, NC; Pittsboro, NC orchard B
Scionwood was sourced from Foxwhelp Farms (now Trees of Antiquity).  Described by Stark Bros. Nursery as being especially well adapted for the South and heat-tolerant. 
Fruit quality:  Good.  Flavor is described in literature as being like cinnamon-laced apple pie, but this is not my experience.  Sweet, but only about as crisp as a Gala.
Fruit size:  Medium. 127 g/fruit
Fruit appearance:  Attractive, red skin overlaid with a dull waxy coating. 
Culinary characteristics:  Makes a good quality pie or sauce.  Bakes well, though in the summer, when it ripens in our part of North Carolina, there is little demand for baked apples.
Storage characteristics:  Stores for at least 2 weeks in common refrigeration.
Harvest season:  Late August to early September in Pittsboro, NC. (October according to the Stark Brothers catalog).
Bloom season:  Early April, about a week ahead of 'Honeycrisp' in Pittsboro.
Diseases:  moderately resistant to fireblight.  
Precocity:  Very precocious, bearing first fruit in the 2nd year after planting, if allowed.
Productivity:  productive
Growth habit:  Small tree with wide branch angles; minimal pruning required.
References:  In addition to personal observations, these sources of information are credited:
http://www.starkbros.com/products/fruit-trees/apple-trees/cinnamon-spice-apple
Trees of Antiquity

Co-op 41
Breeder(s):  PRI Cooperative among Purdue, Rutgers and Illinois. 
Rootstocks used:  Geneva30. 
Orchards grown in:  Pittsboro, NC orchards A & B.
Fruit quality:  Good.  Hard flesh, but without a distinctive snap, rather like 'Arkansas Black' in texture, but not as rock-hard.  Flavor is sweet, but not terribly complex.  It ripens during a season when there are many better apples.
Fruit size:  Medium-large, about 250 g/fruit.
Fruit appearance:  Attractive, waxy dull red over yellow. 
Culinary characteristics:  Makes excellent pies and sauce.  Flesh cooks to a pretty yellow.
Storage characteristics:  Stores pretty well, about 4 weeks in the refrigerator crisper before they start to get mealy.
Harvest season:  Late August to mid-September.
Bloom season:  With 'Honeycrisp'.
Diseases:  Scab-immune.  Susceptible to cedar-apple rust and somewhat susceptible to fireblight, though it appears to be controllable with pruning.
Precocity:  Average precocity for a modern cultivar.  On G30, you can expect it to begin bearing in its 3rd or 4th year.
Productivity:  Moderately productive.  Annual bearer.
Growth habit:  Kind of floppy and dense growth habit.  Requires more pruning than most.  Crotch angles are good, though.
Other notes:  .
References:  In addition to personal observations:
PRI's Co-op 41 page.

Co-op 44 (not)
Breeder(s):  PRI Cooperative among Purdue, Rutgers and Illinois. Derived from a cross made in 1972 at the University of Illinois, Pomology Research Farm, Urbana. First selected in 1980 by D.F. Dayton at the University of Illinois and tested as PAR26T4. 
Rootstocks used:  Geneva30.
Orchards grown in:  Pittsboro, NC orchards A & B.
Fruit quality:  Good. Sweet-tart. Not exceptional in any way. Lacks crisp texture.  It ripens during a season when there are many better apples.
Fruit size:  Medium, about 280 g/fruit.
Fruit appearance:  Described as a yellow apple with a red blush, but in our climate it is mostly dull red, or it was mislabelled.
Culinary characteristics:  Insufficient production to test cooking properties.
Storage characteristics:  Insufficient fruit to test storage. According to Purdue, “Retains crispness and quality for up to 7 months in refrigerated storage.”
Harvest season:  End of August.
Bloom season:  Mid-season according to Purdue.
Diseases:  Scab-immune. Practically immune to cedar-apple rust, but somewhat susceptible to fireblight, though it appears to be controllable with pruning. In our climate, Coop44 is just an unhappy tree. Two of the three trees that I planted, just languished and died in their first year in orchard A. Only the pampered tree in orchard B survived, though it has never thrived. There was no identifiable disease that occurred prior to the death of the others. I removed the last tree from orchard B this winter because of the burr-knots, the poor productivity, the mediocre fruit quality and the general malaise of the tree. It is described as being moderately resistant to mildew and as being susceptible to CAR.

Cripp's Pink (see 'Pink Lady')

Dayton
Breeder(s):  PRI (Cooperative effort of Purdue University, Rutgers University and University of Illinois).
History:  see reference below.
Rootstocks used:  Geneva 11 (Pittsboro); G.935 (SoCal)
Orchards grown in:  Pittsboro, NC orchard A & the Southern California desert.
Notes:  Fruit quality:  In the first year of production, fruit was inedible, due mainly to high astringency. The next and following fruiting years, the flavor was quite good, sweet, mildly sub-acid, but certainly enough complexity that the sweetness was pleasant and not cloying. Texture is firm, crisper than 'Enterprise', about like a good 'Gala' in crispness.  The astringency also appeared in the first years of my tree in the SoCal desert, but was less pronounced because the fruit was edible, though not good.  The fruit also tends to brown quickly, making it less desirable for salads.  Unlike the North Carolina fruit, the SoCal-grown fruit was also somewhat mealy the day it was picked, never achieving the firmness or crispness of 'Dayton' grown in North Carolina.
Fruit size:  Medium-large. 148 g/fruit in SoCal.
Fruit appearance:  Very attractive bright, shiny solid red without russet.  As grown in the SoCal desert, fruit can be a little paler with more yellow showing, as shown in the photo below.

Culinary characteristics:  No idea. I had only a single dwarf tree and because they ripened at a time of year when good fresh apples were scarce, we readily consumed them all as fresh fruit.
Storage characteristics:  Excellent.  Stores for at least 3 months in common refrigeration.  As grown in the the Southern California desert, the fruit don't keep at all, often having sun-induced bruising from day 1 of picking.  The desert-grown fruit wouldn't keep for a week.
Harvest season:  Early; about two weeks after 'William's Pride'; July in Pittsboro, NC.
Bloom season:  with 'Goldrush' and about a week ahead of 'Honeycrisp', though all three overlap
Estimated chill requirement:  70 chill portions.
Diseases:  Moderately resistant to CAR (rating of ***); resistant to fireblight. 
Precocity:  Precocious; first fruit set in 2nd year on G.935 rootstock].
Productivity:  productive, annual bearing.
Growth habit:  Lacks vigor after fruiting. I recommend putting this cultivar on one of the more vigorous dwarfing rootstocks and preventing them from bearing until the trees are near the desired size.  G.11 is too weak, but it grows pretty well on G.935.  Wide crotch angles make the tree very strong and manageable.
References other than my own experience:  https://hort.purdue.edu/newcrop/pri/coop21-3.html

Detroit Red
Breeder(s):  .
History:  The entry in The Apples of New York describes an apple with several discrepancies between it and what I and other Southern orchardists have observed. This is probably due to the fact that a different apple goes by 'Detroit Red'. Lee Calhoun said that the Southern apple that I grew is more properly called, 'Red Detroit'. My family called the Southern apple 'Detroit Red', so I'm sticking to it, but Lee's point is valid... there are two distinct apples with pretty much the same name. In addition, the difference in environment has a big influence of the different experiences. The big one is the northern description says it is an unreliable cropper, whereas Southern growers like it partially BECAUSE it is such a reliable cropper. Maybe it should have been called 'Atlanta Red'. ;)
Rootstocks used:  ?MM111
Orchards grown in:  Coal Mountain (Cumming), Georgia.
Notes:  
Fruit quality:  Flavor is tart until somewhat overripe, then becomes subacid. Texture is good, but not remarkably crisp for about a week after it is picked, but becomes mealy when it is overripe.
Fruit size:  Medium. xxx g/fruit
Fruit appearance:  Not particularly attractive, it is mostly green overspread with some light red blush; without russet.
Culinary characteristics:  Detroit Red was for many years, the first reliable apple for eating and cooking in North Georgia. It makes fine pies and sauces and decent, though brown, dried apple slices.
Storage characteristics:  Fair.  Stores for at least 2 weeks in common refrigeration.
Harvest season:  Early. After 'Lodi', but before 'Delicious'.
Bloom season:  'Detroit Red' is famous for withstanding late Spring frosts. It produces even in very challenging years. It blooms a few days xxx 'Goldrush' and about xxx 'Honeycrisp'
Diseases:  I don't remember seriouse disease problems with 'Detroit Red'.
Precocity:  average precocity; first fruit set in xxx year on rootstock.
Productivity:  productive, annual bearing.
Growth habit:  
References other than my own experience:  
C. Lee Calhoun, Jr.  2010.  Old Southern Apples.  Chelsea Green Publishing.  White River Junction, VT.

Enterprise
Breeder(s):  PRI (Cooperative effort of Purdue University, Rutgers University and University of Illinois). . 
Rootstocks used:  EM26 (Apex), M27 (Pittsboro B), Geneva 16 (Pittsboro A)
Orchards grown in:  Apex, NC; Pittsboro, NC orchards A & B.
Notes:  Fruit quality:  Flavor is quite good. Texture is firm, but not particularly crisp.
Fruit size:  Medium-large. 147 g/fruit
Fruit appearance:  Very attractive deep red without russet.
Culinary characteristics:  Enterprise makes fine pies and sauces and bakes well.
Storage characteristics:  Excellent.  Stores for at least 3 months in common refrigeration.
Harvest season:  September in Pittsboro, NC.
Bloom season:  mid-April; a few days before 'Goldrush' and about a week before 'Honeycrisp'
Diseases:  Essentially immune to CAR (rating of 10); resistant to fireblight.  I have had no disease problems with this cultivar, even with minimal spraying.  Of course, insects, such as Japanese beetles and codling moths still need to be controlled.
Precocity:  average precocity; first fruit set in 2nd year on M27 and 4th year on G16.
Productivity:  productive, annual bearing.
Growth habit:  Very vigorous.  Dwarfing rootstock is highly recommended if harvest of the apples is wanted (as opposed to planting to attract deer or for ornamental purposes, where a standard tree might have some advantages).  Wide crotch angles make the tree very strong and manageable.
For more information, visit PRI's Co-op 30 page.

Esopus Spitzenburg
Breeder(s):  .
History:  
Rootstocks used:  MM111? (Cumming, GA); EM26? (Apex, NC)
Orchards grown in:  Coal Mountain (Cumming), GA; Apex, NC.
Notes:  
Fruit quality:  Flavor is excellent; a spicy flavor, well-balanced between sweet and tart. Texture is crisp, though not extreme like 'Honeycrisp'.
Fruit size:  Small-medium. (Lee said "above-medium".) xxx g/fruit
Fruit appearance:  Red stripes over a yellowish background with little russet.
Culinary characteristics:  We never had enough to cook with.
Storage characteristics:  Supposedly good when grown up North, but we ate ours too quickly to test the limits of storage. Lee suggests that they will store well for at least a couple of months in common refrigeration.
Harvest season:  xxx in Cumming, GA and xxx in Apex, NC. Lee said they ripen in late September in Pittsboro, which is very close to Apex.
Bloom season:  xxx; a few days xxx 'Goldrush' and about xxx 'Honeycrisp'
Diseases:  Somewhat susceptible to fireblight.
Precocity:  Not very precocious; first fruit set in xxx year on rootstock.
Productivity:  Finicky bearer, has a tendency for biennial bearing. One should thin early to help it bear annually.
Growth habit:  Spreading, if my memory serves.
References other than my own experience:  
C. Lee Calhoun, Jr.  2010.  Old Southern Apples.  Chelsea Green Publishing.  White River Junction, VT.

Evercrisp®
Breeder(s):  Mitch Lynd for MAIA (Midwest Apple Improvement Association).
History:  Resulted from a Honeycrisp x Fuji cross and released to MAIA members for planting in 2015(?). I highly recommend reading the 'Evercrisp®' story at https://evercrispapple.com/about-evercrisp/
Rootstocks used:  Geneva 30
Orchards grown in:  Pittsboro, NC; orchards A & B
Notes:  
Fruit quality:  Unknown. Had to sell orchard just as first fruit was being produced.
Fruit size:  Looked like they were going to be large, but (see above)
Fruit appearance:  unknown
Culinary characteristics:  unknown.
Storage characteristics:  unknown first hand.  Purported to be a good keeper by MAIA.
Harvest season:  unknown in Pittsboro, NC.
Bloom season:  xxx (will have to check records); xxx days xxx 'Goldrush' and *** vs. 'Honeycrisp'
Diseases:  Some CAR damage (rating of **); susceptible enough to fireblight to remove it from consideration for commercial organic production in the Southeastern U.S.  With judicious attention, including prompt pruning of affected tissue, it should be OK for a backyard tree to be grown organically. Both of my trees that have bloomed had severe blight strikes in two different years and two different locations. The tree photographed had already had most of the fireblight removed with pruning before I thought to capture the rest of it in a photo.
Precocity:  average precocity; first fruit set in 2nd year on G30 on two of the five trees, the other three have not yet bloomed.
Productivity:  unknown.
Growth habit:  Vigorous.  Dwarfing rootstock is recommended.  Crotch angles are a mix of wide and narrow, but seem a little brittle. One needs to spread the narrow crotches with care.
References other than personal experience: https://evercrispapple.com/about-evercrisp/

Florina Querina
Breeder(s):  INRA Beaucouze, France.
History:  Resulted from a PRI 612-1 x Jonathan cross.
Rootstocks used:  standard
Orchards grown in:  Pittsboro, NC orchard A.
Notes:  
Fruit quality:  Flavor is subacid. Texture is moderately crisp.
Fruit size:  Medium. 256 g/fruit (median in 2014).
Fruit appearance:  Light pinkish-red over green background in our climate. Gets a deeper red in areas with cooler nights during ripening. Non-russet.
Culinary characteristics:  We never had enough to make a varietal pie, but we had several nice pies where it was a component.
Storage characteristics:  Average.  Stores for at least 3 weeks in common refrigeration.
Harvest season:  mid-late September in Pittsboro, NC.
Bloom season:  mid-April; about a week after 'Goldrush' and with 'Honeycrisp'
Diseases:  Bred for disease-resistance, but is moderately susceptible to Cedar Apple Rust and has had a few blight strikes. Scab-resistant. Overall, a healthy tree.
Precocity:  average precocity; first fruit set in 4th year on standard rootstock.
Productivity:  productive, annual bearing.
Growth habit:  Wide crotch angles in general, but sends up some "wild hair" branches that must be removed.
Bottom line:  It's an OK apple in our area, but there are so many better apples during its season that I can't recommend it for the South. References other than my own experience:  
Cummins Nursery

Freedom
Breeder(s):  Cornell University.
History:  Originated from a Macoun x Antonovka cross made in Geneva, New York, and released in 1983. 'Golden Delicious' and 'Rome Beauty' are also in its heritage.  It was the second disease-resistant apple released by the Geneva Station.
Rootstocks used:  MM111? (GA); Bud9 (SoCal).
Orchards grown in:  Cumming, GA & SoCal desert.
Notes:  Intolerant of extreme heat.  Died quickly in the desert.
Fruit quality:  Flavor is sprightly and subacid-sweet. Texture is crisp and juicy. The American Pomological Society described it as, "...firm, medium fine, tender and juicy." (FVJ)
Fruit size:  Medium-large. xxx g/fruit
Fruit appearance:  Very attractive deep red without russet. "...oblate in shape with 80 per cent bright red stripes on a yellow background. The flesh is cream colored..." (FVJ)
Culinary characteristics:  Great for fresh-eating, applesauce and cider (latter 2 uses according to Burford).
Storage characteristics:  Excellent up North, where they say it keeps till January in the refrigerator.  Ripens a bit earlier in the South, but still stores for at least a month in common refrigeration.
Harvest season:  Early September (?) in Cumming, Georgia. Fall in Virginia. Early October in Geneva, NY.
Bloom season:  mid-April; a few days xxx 'Goldrush' and about xxx 'Honeycrisp' May 15 in Geneva, NY.
Diseases:  Very healthy tree. Resistant to apple scab, powdery mildew, cedar apple rust, and fire blight.
Precocity:  xxx; first fruit set in xxx year on rootstock.
Productivity:  productive, annual bearing.
Growth habit:  Vigorous and spreading, but needs careful pruning to maintain fruit quality.
References other than my own experience:  
Stark Bro's Nursery
Cummins Nursery
Fruit Varieties Journal. 1984. "Disease Resistant Apple Released". p. 71.
Burford, Tom. 2013. Apples of North America. ISBN 978-1-60469-249-5.  p. 60.

Garden Delicious
Breeder(s):  Zaiger Genetics.
Rootstocks used:  apple seedling
Orchards grown in:  Pittsboro, NC orchard B.
Notes:  
Fruit quality:  Flavor is good, but tends to be sweet with notable astringency and lack of an acid balance.  Flavor improves after several weeks of storage in the crisper, perhaps due to the breakdown of the astringent compounds.
Fruit size:  Small. 108 g/fruit
Fruit appearance: Yellow over green, with an occasional pink blush on the sunny side.  Significant russeting in our climate may occur on the skin.
Culinary characteristics:  Garden Delicious makes a decent pie, if blended with tart apples.  It also bakes well.  I believe it would also make a very nice cider, if blended with tart and bittersharp apples,  though I have not yet tried.
Storage characteristics:  Very good, if the fruit is sound when put into storage.  Stores for at least  7 weeks in common refrigeration.
Harvest season:  Ripens over a long season:  early September-early October in Pittsboro, NC.
Bloom season:  flowers late, about a week after 'Pixie Crunch' and 'Goldrush'.
Diseases:  No significant disease damage.
Precocity:  oddly, for a genetic dwarf, my tree was not precocious
Productivity: productive, but must be heavily thinned to get any reasonable size.  If not thinned early and well, the apples are essentially large crabapples.
Growth habit:  Natural genetic dwarf.  Height is naturally manageable, even without heavy pruning and crotch angles are wide, thus little pruning is needed.

Golden Delicious
Breeder(s):  none. Chance seedling.
History:  Discovered as a chance seedling by Anderson H. Mullins in Clay County, West Virginia in 1890.  Introduced to the world by Paul Stark Sr. in 1914.
Rootstocks used:  ?? semi-dwarf
Orchards grown in:  Cumming, GA
Notes:  
Fruit quality:  Flavor is sweet and subacid. Texture is crisp.
Fruit size:  Medium-large. xxx g/fruit.  6.3 cm (2.5 in.) in diameter x 5.8 cm (2¼ in.) high.  Will be small and runty unless judiciously thinned early in fruit development.
Fruit appearance:  Attractive golden. Some strains are russetted, while others lack russet.  Some fruits may develop a pale blush on the sunny side.  No stripes.  Lenticels russet and fairly large.  Skin stays "dry" in storage (doesn't develop grease.)
Culinary characteristics:  Golden Delicious is a good apple for salads as it tends to be slow to brown. It also makes good dried apples and is good to blend with tart apples in making pies, cider and fried pies. (If you don't know what a fried pie is, then you ain't Southern... just know you are missin' out on some gooooood eatin'!) It makes a decent, but bland sauce and bakes well. Golden Delicious, and many of its relatives really excel in the making of fried apples. Fried apples are just sliced apples sautéed in a lot of butter until they are translucent- remember to flip them over so they don't burn! Many apples that are fantastic for fresh eating just don't handle this form of cooking, but Goldens turn out sweet, tender and delicious. Of course, you have to start with good quality Goldens and they only get better for frying when they are beyond their prime for fresh-eating and have shriveled a bit. (Note that fried apples are not an ingredient in fried pies. Fried pies are properly made with re-hydrated dried apples which are seasoned, mixed with a bit of butter, rolled in pastry crust that is crimped together, like a turnover. They are then baked. "Fried pies" are NOT fried! Just enjoy our cookin' and don't worry about what we call things.)
Storage characteristics:  Good.  Stores for at least a month in common refrigeration. Burford calls it only a fair keeper because it shrivels in storage. Fair enough (pun intended), if you planned on eating them fresh, then I agree, they aren't the best keeper, but Goldens aren't my favorite eating apple anyway and they are better for cooking once they've shriveled a bit.
Harvest season:  Fall, early September in Cumming, GA, if I remember correctly.
Bloom season:  mid-April; one day after 'Cox Orange' and at the same time as 'Spartan' (Bultitude); a few days xxx 'Goldrush' and about xxx 'Honeycrisp'
Estimated chill requirement:  50 chill portions (Erez).
Diseases:  Somewhat susceptible to fireblight and susceptible to cedar apple rust. Burford adds that it's susceptible to the other major diseases as well.
Precocity:  Precocious; first fruit set in xxx year on rootstock.
Productivity:  productive, annual bearing. Unusual for an apple in that it will self-pollinize. It is also a good pollinizer for other apples with an overlapping bloom time.
Growth habit:  Excellent, wide crotch angles.  A very well-behaved tree, especially the spur-type strains.
Bottom Line:  I'm glad I grew it and it produced well for a few years, but because of its disease susceptibility, I'd look for a better sweet frying & eating apple for its season. References other than my own experience:  
Stark Bros' Nursery
Cummins Nursery
Bultitude, John. 1983. Apples A Guide to the Identification of International Varieties. ISBN 0-295-96041-8.  p. 177.
Burford, Tom. 2013. Apples of North America. ISBN 978-1-60469-249-5. p. 66.
Erez, A. (2000). Bud dormancy; phenomenon, problems and solutions in the tropics and subtropics. Temperate fruit crops in warm climates. A. Erez. Dordrecht, The Netherlands, Kluwer Academic Publishers: 17-48.

Golden Russet
Breeder(s):  none. chance seedling.
History:  Antique variety, originates from New York, circa 1845.
Rootstocks used:  MM111???
Orchards grown in:  Cumming, GA.
Notes:  
Fruit quality:  Flavor is sweet, but with a more intense aroma and spicier flavor than 'Golden Delicious'. Texture is moderately crisp, but turns a bit leathery in storage.
Fruit size:  . xxx g/fruit
Fruit appearance:  Heavy brown russet over yellow background.
Culinary characteristics:  We didn't have enough to fiddle with, but folks say they are a great apple for blending in hard cider and make delicious baked goods and dried apples.
Storage characteristics:  Good.  Stores for at least 3 weeks in common refrigeration.
Harvest season:  Late fall in Virginia.
Bloom season:  mid-April; a few days xxx 'Goldrush' and about xxx 'Honeycrisp'
Diseases:  Susceptible to fireblight (that's what killed my tree) and cedar apple rust. Burford says it is resistant to scab and cedar apple rust and moderately resistant to the other diseases. I can abide by the "moderately resistant" to fireblight, because moderately resistant still means they are susceptible. However, I don't agree with him about the cedar apple rust. If you scout around the Web, you'll see some reliable sources (from up North), say that it's resistant, while other reliable sources say it isn't. I believe it is not as susceptible as some cultivars and probably especially up North, where cedar apple rust strains aren't as virulent as those in the South. Virginia, where Tom is, is in-between and his orchard has some decent elevation. All in all, I'll stand by saying it's susceptible in the Piedmont. I've seen another clear example from 'Jonafree' which is cedar apple rust resistant in the North and susceptible in the South.
Precocity:  average precocity; first fruit set in xxx year on rootstock.
Productivity:  productive, annual bearing.
Growth habit:  can't remember
References other than my own experience:  
Stark Bros Nursery
Burford, Tom. 2013. Apples of North America. ISBN 978-1-60469-249-5.  p. 68.

Golden Sweet
Breeder(s):  none. chance seedling.
History:  Another heirloom apple, this one from Connecticut. For more information, see the entry in The Apples of New York.
Rootstocks used:  apple seedling
Orchards grown in:  Cumming, Georgia.
Notes:  
Fruit quality:  Flavor is "shockingly" sweet. Texture is firm, but not crisp. I don't like them, but taste is subjective. They used to be very popular and some folks really love them.
Fruit size:  Medium-large. xxx g/fruit
Fruit appearance:  Greenish-yellow with a faint pink blush on the sunny side. Little to no russet.
Culinary characteristics:  Said to make good cider when blended with tart and bittersharps.
Storage characteristics:  Poor.  Turns mushy quickly.
Harvest season:  Early. June-July in the Piedmont region.
Bloom season:  mid-April; a few days xxx 'Goldrush' and about xxx 'Honeycrisp'
Diseases:  Susceptible to fireblight.
Precocity:  average precocity; first fruit set in xxx year on rootstock.
Productivity:  not sure... my fruit were borne on a branch of a top-worked seedling that also had a dozen other cultivars grafted in it, so I didn't get a good evaluation of productivity. Said to be an annual bearer.
Growth habit:  
References other than my own experience:  
Big Horse Creek Farm
C. Lee Calhoun, Jr.  2010.  Old Southern Apples.  Chelsea Green Publishing.  White River Junction, VT.

Goldrush
Breeder(s):  PRI (Cooperative effort of Purdue University, Rutgers University and University of Illinois). Tested as Co-op 38.
Rootstocks used:  Geneva30 and Geneva16 in North Carolina; G935 & Bud9 in SoCal.
Orchards grown in:  Apex, NC; Pittsboro, NC orchards A & B, SoCal desert.
Notes:  If you are willing to spray to combat CAR, 'Goldrush' is highly recommended for the North Carolina Piedmont and anywhere else that it can be grown.  It is crisp and has a fantastic sweet-tart balance that is very good just after harvest and only improves in storage.  Other than CAR and codling moth (the latter of which plagues every apple, pear and quince in the Southeast- except for trees that are isolated from other hosts), it requires little care.  Even in the brutal hot dryness of the Southwestern desert, where the fruits sometimes turn black on the sides of fruit exposed to the western sun, it remains a high-quality fruit.  It repeatedly won family taste-tests during its season.
Fruit quality:  Flavor is excellent, complexity increases in common storage. It ranks as one of top three favorite apples of my family.  Texture is crisp, maybe not quite as crisp as Pixie Crunch or Honeycrisp.
Fruit size:  Medium. 190 g/fruit was the median in 2014, but I'd say in general, the fruit run a bit larger.
Fruit appearance: Yellow over green, with an occasional pink blush on the sunny side.  Some light russet may occur on the skin.
Culinary characteristics:  We've yet to be disappointed in an apple product made with 'Goldrush'.  It makes fine pies and sauces and bakes well.  The apples are in such demand for fresh eating that only reason we've been able to cook with them is that I have several productive trees and fruit damaged by insects or birds cannot be stored, so we process those fruit immediately. Burford adds that it is a very good cider apple as well.
Storage characteristics:  Very good, if the fruit is sound when put into storage.  Stores for at least  9 weeks in common refrigeration.
Harvest season:  Mid-September-October in Pittsboro, NC.
Bloom season:  mid-season
Diseases:  Susceptible to cedar-apple rust, which can be a serious limitation if you have red cedars nearby.  Very resistant to other major diseases, including fireblight, powdery mildew and immune to scab.
Precocity:  Average.  On dwarfing stock with good care, you can expect to begin harvest in year 3 or 4.
Productivity: productive.
Growth habit:  Moderate vigor.  Height is easily controlled by use of dwarfing rootstock and crotch angles are wide, thus little pruning is needed.
Estimated chill requirement:  42 chill portions.
References other than my own experience:
Burford, Tom. 2013. Apples of North America. ISBN 978-1-60469-249-5.  p. 69.

Granny Smith
Breeder(s):  none. chance seedling.
History:  Originated in Australia, circa 1868. More-recently, strains have been found that have a more spurry fruiting habit and therefore are more productive.
Rootstocks used:  MM111? and standard (apple seedling)
Orchards grown in:  Cumming, GA.
Notes:  
Fruit quality:  Flavor is somewhat tart, though fully-ripened, Southern-grown Granny Smith apples are well-balanced with sweetness. In fact, the South grows the best Granny Smith apples in North America, in my opinion. Texture is firm, but not really crisp, despite what Stemlit says (see reference below).
Fruit size:  Medium. 6.8 cm in diameter x 6.4 cm high; xxx g/fruit
Fruit appearance:  Attractive grass green fading to yellow-green with a bright pink blush when properly ripened, something Washington State cannot do.
Culinary characteristics:  Good for pies and sauces. An OK baking apple.
Storage characteristics:  Very good.  Stores for at least 3 months in common refrigeration.
Harvest season:  Late. xxx in Cumming, GA.
Bloom season:  mid-April; One day before 'Cox Orange'; a few days xxx 'Goldrush' and about xxx 'Honeycrisp'
Diseases:  Susceptible to fireblight, but not so much that you can't manage it with just pruning, if you stay on top of things.
Precocity:  average precocity; first fruit set in xxx year on rootstock.
Productivity:  productive, annual bearing.
Growth habit:  The original Granny Smith is a tip-bearer. The spur-type strains are recommended if you want more apples.
Chill requirement:  400 hours (old method, Dave Wilson Nursery).  Approximately 42 chill portions.
References other than my own experience:  
  Bultitude, John. 1983. Apples A Guide to the Identification of International Varieties. ISBN 0-295-96041-8.  p. 180. Stark Bros Nursery
Dave Wilson Nursery. 2022-12-20

Hewes Virginia Crab
Breeder(s):  .
History:  
Rootstocks used:  ?? (Apex), apple seedling or MM111 (Pittsboro A)
Orchards grown in:  Apex, NC; Pittsboro, NC orchard A.
Notes:  
Fruit quality:  Flavor is a wonderful tart-sweet combination that makes them excellent just to eat out of hand, straight from the tree. Texture is firm and moderately crisp. I tend to like tart apples, which may explain why some folks have described it as only a cider apple, unfit to eat because it is too tart.
Fruit size:  Very small (Hey, it's a crabapple!...actually pretty large for a crabapple). xxx g/fruit
Fruit appearance:  Reddish-orange with slight, scattered russet.
Culinary characteristics:  'Hewes' crabapple has been prized for centuries in making a very good-tasting, albeit low alcohol hard cider. Thomas Jefferson used to blend his with an extinct apple called 'Golden Wilding' which Lee Calhoun describes as "brisk-subacid". Jefferson believed this combination made for a cider superior even to the Hewes varietal, which is high praise indeed. It might be worth some experimentation with apples available today to see if such an outstanding blend could be fashioned today.
I've never had enough to do anything with them other than eat. I baked a few overripe ones and was not impressed.
Storage characteristics:  dunno.
Harvest season:  August in Pittsboro, NC., but September at higher elevations and latitudes.
Bloom season:  mid-April; a few days xxx 'Goldrush' and about xxx 'Honeycrisp'
Estimated chill requirement:  77 chill portions.
Diseases:  Somewhat susceptible to cedar apple rust. Otherwise, a very healthy tree.
Precocity:  average precocity; first fruit set in xxx year on rootstock.
Productivity:  productive, annual bearing.
Growth habit:  Spreading. A natural semi-dwarf. Good, wide crotch angles. Easy to prune.
References other than my own experience:  Lee Calhoun. 2010. Old Southern Apples. 2nd ed.

Honey Cider
Breeder(s):  .
History:  An old heirloom Southern apple used to balance hard ciders made with sharp and bittersharp apples. Probably more-properly called 'Honey Sweet', but whatevs. Rediscovered in the Shennandoah Valley in the 1970's by an intrepid apple explorer.
Rootstocks used:  MM111
Orchards grown in:  Coal Mountain, Georgia.
Notes:  
Fruit quality:  Flavor is sweet to very sweet. Texture is (I don't remember).
Fruit size:  Medium. xxx g/fruit
Fruit appearance:  Light pink blush on the sunny side over yellow background.
Culinary characteristics:  Seems like we made some delicious dried apples from them, but I don't remember for sure.  It also got part of its name for the fact that it's a very good sweet apple to blend with more tart and astringent sorts to make delicious hard cider.
Storage characteristics:  Fair.
Harvest season:  August-September in Pittsboro, NC according to Lee Calhoun.
Bloom season:  mid-April; a few days xxx 'Goldrush' and about xxx 'Honeycrisp'
Diseases:  My tree eventually died from fireblight. I don't remember any other serious disease problems, but I doubt it is cedar apple rust resistant, because there are few yellow apples that are resistant to the southern strains of this disease.
Precocity:  average precocity; first fruit set in xxx year on rootstock.
Productivity:  productive, annual bearing.
Growth habit:  Spreading and low. Wide crotch angles. Easy to maintain.
References other than my own experience:  
C. Lee Calhoun, Jr.  2010.  Old Southern Apples.  Chelsea Green Publishing.  White River Junction, VT.
http://heirloomappletree.com/apple_listing.html#Honey%20Cider

Honeycrisp
Breeder(s):  University of Minnesota
Rootstocks used:  EMLA27, Geneva 11, Geneva 30, Mark.  Avoid using G.41 or G.935 (and probably should avoid 'Mark' as well- see below).
Orchards grown in:  Apex, NC; Pittsboro, NC orchards A & B
Total of 14 trees planted at the three North Carolina sites.  Originally thought to have originated from a cross made in 1960 of 'Macoun' X 'Honeygold', DNA testing revealed that neither of these cultivars are in its heritage.  These DNA tests showed that 'Keepsake', another heritage apple developed by the University of Minnesota is one of the parents.  The other parent has not yet been identified. 
One myth perpetuated about 'Honeycrisp' is that is not adapted to grow in the Southeastern U.S.  I have found this to be quite untrue, if the young fruits are provided foliar chelated calcium.  I've used calcium  acetate and calcium lactate, but calcium chloride sprays used to prevent blossom end rot in tomato might also work.  One should start just after fruit set and include the calcium in every spray afterwards until the fruit has reached full size.  The 'Honeycrisp's that I've grown here in North Carolina are the best I've ever eaten with greater flavor richness and complexity than those grown elsewhere.  I love Minnesota and California-grown 'Honeycrisp' as well, but even these cannot match what can be produced in North Carolina with the proper care.  The other key to excellent quality for 'Honeycrisp' is to make sure they have plenty of light exposure. My tree at my house in Pittsboro was on the very dwarfing EMLA27. When the orchard was young, the tree got plenty of light and bore fantastic fruit. When its more-vigorous neighbors started shading it, the fruit lost all flavor. Trees fruiting in the same years a few miles away in full sun, never lost flavor and sweetness.
Fruit quality:  Excellent.  The “explosive” crispness of this apple has helped to propel it to superstar status in the commercial apple world.  It is a sweet apple, but, if grown and harvested properly has a good flavor balance.  It is also very juicy.  Typically scores as one of my family's favorites.
Fruit size:  Large. 335 g/fruit
Fruit appearance:  Usually greenish, with red stripes, but in some years will be consistently red on the sunny side.  Western-grown 'Honeycrisp' tend to develop more of an even blush and less striping. 
Culinary characteristics:  So far, there have not been enough apples to meet my family's demand, so we have not cooked with it, but Burford says it's good for pies and cider as well as fresh-eating.
Storage characteristics:  Good keeper. Stores for at least 9 weeks in common refrigeration.  And that's in our part of North Carolina, where they are ripening in extreme summer heat.  Further North and at higher elevations, where they ripen later, storage can go even longer.
Harvest season:  Mid-August to early-September in Pittsboro, NC.
Bloom season:  Full bloom in mid-April in Pittsboro, about a week behind Goldrush.
Estimated chill requirement:  77 chill portions.
Diseases:  No disease problems so far.  Will get some fireblight strikes, but it has been possible thus far to control the disease just with light pruning of the affected twigs.
Precocity:  Very precocious, bearing first fruit in the 2nd or third year after planting, if allowed.  My tree on Geneva 30 seems to be a little slower, but it was planted in a particularly tough site, where Amallaria is known to infest the soil.
Growth habit:  Small tree with wide branch angles; minimal pruning required.  The trees actually look like they are virus-infected, but the mottled appearance of the leaves and the low vigor are likely partially caused by the poor calcium transport capabilities of this cultivar.  Requires staking on dwarfing rootstock.  My tree on Mark rootstock snapped neatly off at the graft union in a wind storm.  G11 is not crown rot resistant and it is such low vigor in orchards with grass understory that it is not recommended for the Piedmont of North Carolina and especially not for weaker cultivars, like 'Honeycrisp'. 
Bottom line:  Recommended, if you are willing to provide calcium throughout the growing season. References:  In addition to personal observations, these sources of information are credited:
Minnesota Harvest
Burford, Tom. 2013. Apples of North America. ISBN 978-1-60469-249-5.  p. 83.

Idared
Breeder(s):  Leif Verner, former head of the Department of Horticulture at the Idaho Agricultural Experiment Station in Moscow, Idaho.
History:  Originated as a cross of Jonathan X Wagener. It was selected in 1935 and released commercially in 1942.
Rootstocks used:  EM26
Orchards grown in:  Coal Mountain community, Cumming, Georgia
Notes:  Small to average-sized tree. Precocious and annual bearing with heavy yields.  Unusual in its characteristic of blooming early, but ripening late.
Fruit quality:  Flavor is wow! The reason I tried to grow this apple in the South, even though I figured it was very blight-susceptible was the flavor and texture of this apple, as it is grown up North. I tend to like apples with a bit of bite, and this one does have notable tartness, but it is so well-balanced with sweetness, that it appeals to folks with a sweet tooth as well. Texture is crisp and firm.  Bultitude says that in England it is crisp and juicy with an intense flavor at the time of ripening, but that fades in storage.
Fruit size:  Medi-yum. xxx g/fruit; 8.2 cm (3¼ in.) in diameter x 6.3 cm (2½ in.) high.
Fruit appearance:  Attractive deep red with little russet over a greenish background. The longer the fruit is allowed to hang on the tree, the redder they get.  Adequate potassium in the soil is also necessary for good coloration.
Culinary characteristics:  The references below suggest it is a good cooking and cider apple after it has been in storage a while, where it develops additional flavor complexity. Some of the uses Burford includes are apple butter, applesauce, pies, baking as well as dessert and cider.
Storage characteristics:  Good.  Stores for at least 2 months in common refrigeration, when they are grown up North. Kinda moot here in the Southeast, 'cause the trees die young.
Harvest season:  Late in New York. Late fall in Virginia.
Bloom season:  Early.  Four days before 'Cox Orange' and with 'Egremont Russet' and 'Saint Edmund's Pippin'.
Estimated chill requirement:  77 chill portions.
Diseases:  Very susceptible to fireblight! My trees both died of fireblight before they bloomed.  Also susceptible to powdery mildew.  Resistant to scab.
Precocity:  average precocity; first fruit set in xxx year on rootstock.
Productivity:  productive, annual bearing.
Growth habit:  
Bottom line:  Don't waste your time. It is a great-tasting apple, but fireblight will kill your tree and ruin your sex life. If you are visiting up North during Idared season, I highly recommend buying some fruit to try, but there are plenty of equally-excellent apples we can grow in the Southeast, so we can leave Idared to our fellow orchardists in the North. References other than my own experience:  
New England Orchards
Burford, Tom. 2013. Apples of North America. ISBN 978-1-60469-249-5.  p. 92.
References:  Bultitude, John. 1983. Apples A Guide to the Identification of International Varieties. ISBN 0-295-96041-8.  p. 199.

Jonafree
Breeder(s):  PRI (Cooperative effort of Purdue University, Rutgers University and University of Illinois).
History:  From the Purdue website:  "The original seedling tree was planted in 1965 in a breeding orchard of the Illinois Agricultural Experiment Station, Urbana, Illinois. The seedling resulted from crossing an earlier seedling selection 855-102 as seed parent with New Jersey 31 as pollen parent."

Rootstocks used:  EM26.
Orchards grown in:  Coal Mountain community, Cumming, Georgia
Notes:  
Fruit quality:  Flavor is similar to 'Jonathan', but slightly less tart. I like good 'Jonathan' apples and also think 'Jonafree' tastes quite good, but not quite as good as 'Jonathan'. If you are looking for an exact replica of 'Jonathan' you may be disappointed. It is different. Texture is firm and crisp.
Fruit size:  Medium. xxx g/fruit
Fruit appearance:  Very attractive deep red without russet.
Culinary characteristics:  I never had enough to surpass the demand for fresh-eating and Burford also says it is mainly for fresh-eating, so I guess we didn't miss much.
Storage characteristics:  Fair.  Stores for at least 3 weeks in common refrigeration.
Harvest season:  Early to mid-August in Coal Mountain, GA.
Bloom season:  mid-April; a few days xxx 'Goldrush' and about xxx 'Honeycrisp'
Diseases:  Susceptible to cedar apple rust, despite what you may read in some northern publications. This is not unusual, there are quite a few cultivars that are field-resistant up North and susceptible down South. Welcome to the (sub-)tropics! Mildly susceptible to fireblight, but easily controlled with pruning. Field-immune to scab.  Resistant to Jonathan spot.
Precocity:  average precocity; first fruit set in xxx year on rootstock.
Productivity:  productive, annual bearing.
Growth habit:  I don't remember clearly, but it seems that they were a bit more upright, with narrower crotch angles than many other apples I've grown. Described as a very spurry tree having a "moderately spreading" growth habit. I don't remember enough to say whether I agree or not.
Bottom line:  Worth a try, especially if you like 'Jonathan' or 'Idared'. References other than my own experience:  
Purdue University
HortScience 140:551-552. August 1979.
Burford, Tom. 2013. Apples of North America. ISBN 978-1-60469-249-5.  p. 96.

Junaluska
Breeder(s):  chance seedling.
History:  An old heirloom Southern apple that originated on Cherokee land. Rediscovered in Macon County, NC in 2001 by Tom Brown, an intrepid apple explorer from Clemmons, NC.
Rootstocks used:  Bud9
Orchards grown in:  Pittsboro, North Carolina.
Notes:  Tree had first fruit on it when we left. Therefore, the information provided is from the nursery that I got my tree from.
Fruit quality:  Flavor is sweet to very sweet.
Fruit size:  Medium-large. Lee says "medium", which is probably more accurate. My tree was young, which tends to provide naturally more thinning and thus larger fruit.
Fruit appearance:  Yellow, with patches of russet.
Culinary characteristics:  
Storage characteristics:  Excellent.
Harvest season:  October in the NC mountains.
Bloom season:  
Diseases:  
Precocity:  
Productivity:  
Growth habit:  Easy to maintain.
References other than my own experience:  
C. Lee Calhoun, Jr.  2010.  Old Southern Apples.  Chelsea Green Publishing.  White River Junction, VT.
Big Horse Creek Farm

June
Breeder(s):  unknown; likely a chance seedling
History:  Supposedly originated in North Carolina. The Striped form that I grew from a scion taken from my grandfather's orchard was described as identical to the original 'Red June', except for the skin color. For more historical information, see the entry in The Apples of New York.
Rootstocks used:  Wild seedling.
Orchards grown in:  Coal Mountain community, Cumming, Georgia.
Notes:  
Fruit quality:  Flavor is described accurately in The Apples of New York as "brisk, subacid". Texture is fine and tender.
Fruit size:  Small-medium. xxx g/fruit
Fruit appearance:  Carmine stripes longitudinally over greenish to yellowish background without russet.
Culinary characteristics:  Makes fine pies and sauces and bakes well, even after the fresh fruit has gotten a bit mealy, which it tends to do quickly after ripening.
Storage characteristics:  Poor.  Stores for about a week in common refrigeration. The Apples of New York is a bit generous in saying that it keeps until Winter... not down South it don't! [sic]
Harvest season:  Like the name suggests, it ripens in June in North Georgia. You might get a few apples in late May.
Bloom season:  mid-April; a few days xxx 'Goldrush' and about xxx 'Honeycrisp'
Diseases:  Moderately susceptible to fireblight, but easily controlled with pruning.
Precocity:  average precocity; first fruit set in xxx year on rootstock.
Productivity:  productive, annual bearing.
Growth habit:  Moderate vigor, wide crotch angles, but messy branching. Because of the moderate vigor, this is easily controlled with a combination of summer and winter pruning.
References other than my own experience:  
C. Lee Calhoun, Jr.  2010.  Old Southern Apples.  Chelsea Green Publishing.  White River Junction, VT.

Kerry Irish Pippin
Breeder(s):  unknown, likely a chance seedling.
History:  An old apple from Ireland.
Rootstocks used:  M27 ?
Orchards grown in:  Apex, NC.
Notes:  
I had just grafted these trees and grew them a single season when we moved, so I'll just quote the description from the Trees of Antiquity online catalog (2018-March-03): "Kerry Irish Pippin is a small, shiny yellow fruit sometimes striped red in the sun. The crisp, crunchy, hard flesh has an intriguing flavor which, after much discussion and tasting, we can only characterize as a hint of boysenberry. Delicious! Kerry Irish Pippin is a small tree with regular crops, making it a great choice for the small garden."

References other than my own experience:  
Trees of Antiquity

Kinnaird's Choice
Breeder(s):  unknown, but originated on the farm of Michael Kinnaird of Franklin, Tennessee in 1855.
History:  'Kinnaird's Choice' is thought to be a 'Winesap' X Limbertwig cross.
Rootstocks used:  Geneva 30 & MM111
Orchards grown in:  Pittsboro, NC orchards A & B and the SoCal desert.
Notes:  
Fruit quality:  Flavor is excellent. I had some of these at an apple display set up at Century Farm Orchards and was impressed with these flavorful, aromatic apples.  Texture is crisp and juicy.  The little runt of an apple I picked in the SoCal desert in 2022 had good flavor, but the skin was a bit astringent.
Fruit size:  Medium-large. Only 70 g/fruit in a historically hot & dry year in the SoCal desert.  That ain't what anyone would consider "medium-large", but it's likely to be much larger in more moderate climates.
Fruit appearance:  Attractive deep red without russet.
Culinary characteristics:  Said to be good for many culinary uses and favored for blending in cider.
Storage characteristics:  Excellent.  Stores for at least 3 months in common refrigeration.
Harvest season:  October in piedmont of NC.  159 days from full bloom.
Bloom season:  relatively late blooming
Estimated chill requirement:  64 chill portions.
Diseases:  Resistant to most common diseases.
Precocity:  Precocious, but not enough for me to get fruit from my young trees before we moved (MM111 tree was xx years old and the Geneva 30 trees were 1 or 2 years younger still.  The tree on Bud9 bore in its 3rd year after planting.
Productivity:  productive, annual bearing.
Growth habit:  Slow-growing.
References other than my own experience:  
C. Lee Calhoun, Jr.  2010.  Old Southern Apples.  Chelsea Green Publishing.  White River Junction, VT.
Century Farm Orchards
Big Horse Creek Farm
Cummins Nursery

Liberty
Breeder(s):  Cornell University.
History:  Released in 1978 as the first release of Cornell's disease-resistant apple breeding program.  Resulted from a cross of 'Macoun' and Perdue 54-12 made in 1955. Released in 1974.  Tested as NY 55140-19.
Rootstocks used:  A-2 (GA), (Apex?), G16 (Pittsboro orchards A & B).
Orchards grown in:  Coal Mountain (Cumming), GA; Apex, NC and both Pittsboro orchards.
Fruit quality:  Varies with season, but can be excellent in cooler summers. Just enough tartness to make the sweetness interesting. Juicy and delicious. Somewhat aromatic when fully ripe.
Fruit size:  Medium. Median size over years is about 200g.
Fruit appearance:  Attractive, bright red on a green background.
Culinary characteristics:  Fantastic for fresh-eating (the best of the McIntosh clan, in my opinion), pies and blending in applesauce and cider.
Storage characteristics:  Good.  Stores for at least 2 months in common refrigeration.  Burford only rates it's keeping ability as only fair.
Harvest season:  Late August to mid-September in Pittsboro, NC, a bit later in Cumming, GA. 
Bloom season:  I can't find those records at the moment.
Estimated chill requirement:  77 chill portions.
Diseases:  Resistant to most common apple diseases. I occasionally saw a weak fireblight strike on one tree. A friend of mine reported more serious damage at a nearby orchard, but I rarely saw any significant damage at any of the four orchards I grew it in with trees on differing rootstocks.
Precocity:  Precocious, if I recall correctly.
Productivity:  Heavy annual bearer.  Should be well-thinned to keep trees healthy and fruit size up.
Growth habit:  Spreading, well-shaped tree. open form with wide, strong crotch angles.
References:  In addition to personal observations:

'Liberty' apple trees on Geneva16 rootstock laden with ripe fruit in an orchard west of Pittsboro, NC.
References other than my own experience:

Limbertwig
Breeder(s):  unknown; likely a chance seedling.
History:  There are quite a few apples known as 'Limbertwig'. Some additional specific types are listed elsewhere on this page and lots more descriptions can be found in Lee's book (see references below). I've tabulated some basic information about different Limbertwigs on a different page on this site.
Rootstocks used:  MM111 probably
Orchards grown in:  Coal Mountain community, Cumming, Georgia.
Notes:  
Fruit quality:  Flavor is unique and impossible to describe accurately. Despite the name suggesting that young growth defines an apple of the Limbertwig group, it is actually the flavor. Texture is firm, but not crisp.
Fruit size:  . xxx g/fruit
Fruit appearance:  Greenish covered with light brown russet.
Culinary characteristics:  Limbertwigs are good for most any apple recipe. They are prized for pies, sauces, apple butter, hard cider and baking, but usually in a blend with other apples. Dried Limbertwigs are good, but not exceptional and brown pretty quickly, so they aren't the best for salads or for pretty dried apples.
Storage characteristics:  Excellent.  Stores for at least 3 months in common refrigeration.
Harvest season:  Late September in Cumming, GA.
Bloom season:  mid-April; a few days xxx 'Goldrush' and about xxx 'Honeycrisp'
Diseases:  
Precocity:  slow to come into bearing.
Productivity:  productive, annual bearing.
Growth habit:  
References other than my own experience:  
C. Lee Calhoun, Jr.  2010.  Old Southern Apples.  Chelsea Green Publishing.  White River Junction, VT.

The Unreleased MAIA apples

LYND 893/Bud9 (Not yet released to the public)
Breeder(s):  MAIA (Midwest Apple Improvement Association)
Two trees planted 2011-April-16 at orchard A. One tree lost to deer during first year.
Fruit quality:   Excellent-best. Remaining tree produces some of the finest tasting apples my family has eaten... ever! They are crisp (almost like 'Pixie Crunch') and have a flavor that was best described by my daughter when she took a bite of the first of the crop this year, “It tastes like roses!”. They do, indeed, have a distinctive flavor that is intensely pleasant. I have been growing apples for 35 years and come from a family that has grown apples since at least colonial times. I have tasted hundreds of different kinds of apples. This one is outstanding as far a flavor, truly in a class by itself, at least as grown in our location. Note:  I have been told that this is not the same apple as 'Rosalee®'/MAIA11 by the good folks at MAIA. Median Fruit size:   111g/fruit in a difficult sizing year; 324 g/fruit otherwise (about like Goldrush)
Fruit appearance:   deep attractive red (see photos)
Culinary characteristics:  unknown- we have yet to have more than we eat fresh
Storage characteristics:  unknown- they are eaten very quickly after harvest
Harvest season:   early-mid September (5-6 weeks after 'William's Pride' & about 3 weeks before 'Goldrush')
Bloom season:  mid-April, about 5 days ahead of 'Goldrush'
Diseases:   moderately susceptible to CAR (rating of 7; slightly less susceptible than 'Goldrush'); 1 blight strike in a heavy fireblight pressure year; score of 8 according to USDA fireblight scoring system. Some mildew damage.
Precocity:  1 year after planting (the most precocious of this set of MAIA selections)
Productivity:  low
Growth habit:   acceptable; minimal pruning required; decent vigor, the most vigorous of the MAIA trees at orchard A

LYND MEF-1Bud9 (Not yet released to the public)
Breeder(s):  MAIA (Midwest Apple Improvement Association)
Two trees planted 2011-April-16. One at orchard A and the second at orchard B.
Fruit quality:  very good; juicy, sweet
Median Fruit size: very large (559 g/fruit- on average, this cultivar produces the largest apple in my orchard of 30+ cultivars)
Fruit appearance:  red stripes over yellow background (see photos)
Culinary characteristics:  unknown- we have yet to have more than we eat fresh; decent for drying, but not exceptional
Storage characteristics:  unknown- they are usually eaten very quickly after harvest, however, appears to become somewhat mealy later in the season
Harvest season:   mid-September (6 weeks after 'William's Pride' & about 2 weeks before 'Goldrush')
Bloom season:   mid-late; starts around 18-April at orchard A and 06-April at orchard B (about 10 days later than 'Williams Pride' and about 1 week later than 'Goldrush')
Diseases:  highly resistant to CAR (rating of 10; about the same as 'Liberty' or 'William's Pride'); no fireblight damage to date
Precocity:  average; 4 years after planting at orchard B; has not fruited at orchard A (due to insufficient vigor, I have not allowed fruit development at orchard A)
Productivity: moderate; 5.1 kg in first year of fruiting
Growth habit:   acceptable; minimal pruning required; more vigorous than SH10-1 at orchard B; second-most vigorous of the MAIA trees at orchard A.

LYND SH10-1Bud9 (Not yet released to the public)
Breeder(s):  MAIA (Midwest Apple Improvement Association)
One tree planted at orchard B 2010-March-27 on Bud9 and 5 trees in the SoCal desert, 2 on G41, 2 on G30 & one on standard(?) with a 4 foot 'Anna' interstem.
Interesting note:  Folks more in the know of the inner workings of MAIA have said that this one was considered for the first cultivar release of the association, under the unofficial name, 'Trailblazer'. However, because of the little bit of russet, it's not the most visually-attractive apple, so 'Evercrisp' and others have been released first. The name designation also indicates that it's from a MAIA test plot in Greg Bachman's Sunny Hill orchard in Carroll, Ohio. Hopefully, they will still release it, as several MAIA members have noted its excellent and somewhat unusual fruit quality characteristics.
Fruit quality:  very good; crisp-coarse texture, good sweet-tart balance, has a hint of fennel.  The fennel notes and crispness don't survive the SoCal desert heat.  The appearance (if you don't like russet) improves greatly, but the eating quality is significantly diminished in desert conditions.  I'll give it a few more years, but if the flavor doesn't improve, I can't justify keeping it.
Median Fruit size:  107 g/apple in a difficult sizing year. 340 g/apple otherwise (about the same size as 'Goldrush').In the SoCal desert, it only got to 77 g/fruit, even with weekly waterings.
Fruit appearance:  russet over a yellow background with faint red stripes on the sunny side (see photos) as grown in the Southeast. Notably, in bone-dry Southern California, it is smooth-skinned, except for a light russet patch around the stem.
Culinary characteristics:  fantastic drying apple; dries a bright white without sulfuring and flavor of dried product is excellent. In addition, other growers farther north have reported that it makes a fantastic hard cider.  It's not good for applesauce, though.  The fruit remains very firm, even after cooking.  I put slices in with 'Bramley Seedling' that I'd bought at the farmer's market and while the legendary sauce and pie 'Bramley' cooked down completely, the 'Trailblazer' slices remained almost crunchy.  It might be a positive characteristic for baked apples, but I haven't tried yet.
Storage characteristics:  insufficient fruit to test the limits, but will keep in common refrigeration at least 2 weeks with no noticeable loss of texture or flavor.
Harvest season:  mid-August to early September (approximately 1 month after 'William's Pride' and 1 month before 'Goldrush'.  126 days after full bloom.
Bloom season:  starts around 07-April at orchard B (about 4 days later than 'Williams Pride', blooms with 'Goldrush')
Estimated chill requirement:  70 chill portions.
Diseases:  moderately susceptible to CAR (rating of 6 in a severe pressure year to 10 in a low pressure year, where 10 = no detectable defoliation; this is slightly less susceptible than 'Goldrush')
Precocity:  2 years to first fruiting
Productivity:  moderate; similar to 'Goldrush' or 'Enterprise', less productive than 'Liberty'
Growth habit:   acceptable; minimal pruning required; vigor similar to 'Goldrush' on the same rootstock.
References other than my own experience:
Bill Pitts, personal communication.

Trailblazer fruit as grown in the Southern California desert.

LYND MJE1313Bud9 (Not yet released to the public)
Breeder(s):  MAIA (Midwest Apple Improvement Association)
One tree planted at orchard A on 2011-April-16.
Fruit quality:  not applicable- no fruit yet
Fruit size:  not applicable- no fruit yet
Fruit appearance:   not applicable- no fruit yet
Culinary characteristics:  not applicable- no fruit yet
Storage characteristics:  not applicable- no fruit yet
Harvest season:  not applicable- no fruit yet
Bloom season:   starts around 13-April, full bloom about 1 week later; similar to 'Goldrush'
Diseases:   moderately susceptible to CAR (rating of 7; slightly less susceptible than 'Goldrush'); no fireblight damage to date
Precocity:  not applicable- no fruit yet
Productivity:  not applicable- no fruit yet
Growth habit:   acceptable; minimal pruning required; hasn't been allowed to fruit due to low vigor

NY75414-1 (not yet named, and may never be, but sold by a few nurseries like Raintree)
Breeder(s):  Cornell University
Rootstocks used:  Bud9
Orchards grown in:  Apex, NC; Pittsboro, NC orchard B
One tree planted at each of the two sites listed.
Fruit quality:  Very good.  Flavor has a nice sweet-tart balance.  Texture is reminiscent of a well-grown Macintosh, but it does breakdown and become mealy rather quickly in our North Carolina heat.  Specimens that were picked at just the right time score highly with my family.  This can be tricky in our heat.
Fruit size:  Medium. 201 g/fruit
Fruit appearance:  Looks like Macintosh, with smooth glossy greenish skin overlaid with red over 70-80% of the fruit. 
Culinary characteristics:  Makes good pies and sauce.
Storage characteristics:  Poor keeper, because of the difficulty in picking them at just the right time.  Therefore, most of the fruits should be used within 2-3 weeks of harvest, even if immediately stored in the crisper of the refrigerator.  Individual fruits that were picked at just the right time would probably fare better, but these choice specimens are eaten so quickly, that we've had no chance to experiment with the limits of storage.
Harvest season:  Late August to mid-September in Pittsboro, NC. (Early October in Washington State, according to the Raintree 2008 catalog).
Bloom season:  with 'Goldrush' and about a week before 'Honeycrisp', though they all overlap.
Diseases:  Resistant to fireblight and CAR.  Scab-immune.  I've had no significant disease problems with this cultivar.  Raintree also claims that it is also mildew resistant.
Precocity:  Very precocious, bearing first fruit in the 2nd or third year after planting, if allowed.  My tree on Geneva 30 seems to be a little slower, but it was planted in a particularly tough site, where Amallaria is known to infest the soil.
Productivity:  a shy bearer, but bears annually, if proper thinning is performed.
Growth habit:  Vigorous growth, but well-balanced with wide crotch angles.  Requires only moderate pruning on dwarfing rootstock.
References:  In addition to personal observations, these sources of information are credited:
Raintree Nursery catalog.  2008.   page 22.

Pettingill/MM111
Breeder(s):  unknown (chance seedling)
History:  Discovered near Long Beach, California. and introduced in 1949. Pettingill's claim to fame is its very low chilling requirement (300 hours*), making it one of the few apples adapted to the near-tropics of climates like Southern California, Florida etc. I wanted to try using it as a rootstock or interstem onto which I would graft better cultivars with high chilling requirements that would otherwise be a challenge to grow in North Carolina. However, I never actually tried out this idea.
One tree each planted in Apex, NC and Pittsboro orchard B.
Fruit quality:  Fair-Good. Tart with a bit of sweetness, but not a very rich flavor and lacks great crispness.
Fruit size:  medium-small
Fruit appearance:  red over yellow background, not an especially attractive apple
Culinary characteristics:  probably would make very good pies, but we never got enough fruit to make a varietal pie
Storage characteristics:  untested, but reported to be a good keeper
Harvest season:  mid-season; Late August in Pittsboro.
Bloom season:  Similar to 'Goldrush' and about a week before 'Honeycrisp', though they all overlap.
Estimated chill requirement:  33 chill portions (300 hours using the old, inaccurate, but widely-used method). Diseases:  moderately susceptible to fireblight, though not so severe that it can't be controlled with pruning alone. Precocity:  not very precocious, tree in Apex did not fruit before we moved. Tree in Pittsboro fruited in its xxx year.
Productivity:  not very productive. Lots of bare wood with few fruit spurs.
Growth habit:  vigorous, rangy, at least on MM111. Long stretches of unproductive wood. acceptable; minimal pruning required; References besides my own experience:  *Dave Wilson Nursery- http://www.davewilson.com/product-information/product/pettingill-apple

Pink Lady®
Breeder(s):  John Cripps, Department of Agriculture, Western Australia.
History:  'Pink Lady®' originated in 1973 resulting from a 'Golden Delicious' x 'Lady Williams' cross made by the researcher, John Cripps, who worked in Western Australia's Department of Agriculture station. "Pink Lady apples were released for commercial production in Australia in 1989 before finally making their way to the U.S. in the late 1990s." (https://www.stemilt.com/fruits/apples/pink-lady-apples/)
It is a trademarked variety, which means growers must obtain a license before they can use the Pink Lady® brand name. Some growers who don't want to pay the licensing fee sell them as 'Cripps Pink'. 'Cripps Pink' and 'Pink Lady' are therefore the same cultivar, the only difference is in the marketing.
Rootstocks used:  Geneva 16.  Avoid using G.41.
Orchards grown in:  Apex, NC
Sourced from Cummins Nursery.
Fruit Quality:  This is one apple that I can only evaluate from store- or orchard-bought fruit. Due to the tree's extreme fireblight sensitivity and my unwillingness to take extreme measures to protect it, I haven't fruited it. My tree was loaded with apples, but the tree died spectacularly before the fruit ripened. That said, it is one of my favorite apples when well-grown. It is sweet, but with a bit of tang. They are juicy and have a nice crunchy texture. Fruit size:  Large xxx g/fruit
Fruit appearance:  Attractive, shiny red streaked on greenish background. 
Culinary characteristics:  Nothing special. It is an apple for fresh-eating.
Storage characteristics:  Stores for at least 8 weeks in common refrigeration. 
Harvest season:  Late.
Bloom season:  ***
Estimated chill requirement:  37 chill portions.
Diseases:  Very susceptible to fireblight.   My tree died dramatically with reddish-black fireblight ooze coming from fruit, leaves and trunk as it died.
Precocity:  Moderately precocious on G.16, bearing first fruit in the 3rd year after planting.
Productivity:  productive, if you can keep the fireblight at bay
Growth habit:  Vigorous with wide branch angles; minimal pruning required.
References:  In addition to personal observations, these sources of information are credited: https://www.stemilt.com/fruits/apples/pink-lady-apples/

Pitmaston Pineapple
Breeder(s):  Raised by Mr. White, steward to Lord Foley of Witley, who sold it to a Williams of Pitmaston, Worcester, England. 'Pitmaston Pineapple' originated in about 1785.  Said to be from a seed of 'Golden Pippin'.
Rootstocks used:  EMLA27
Orchards grown in:  Apex, NC; Pittsboro, NC orchard B
Scionwood was sourced from Foxwhelp Farms (now Trees of Antiquity).   According to the Trees of Antiquity Web catalog this cultivar is, “An old, very distinctive dessert variety producing small golden apples that are honey sweet and nutty, yet also sharp and some say a distinct hint of pineapple. It might taste a bit like a pineapple if you close your eyes and believe, but most likely the name refers to it's warm yellow color and shape.”   
Fruit quality:  Fair.  Flavor is described in literature as tasting of pineapple and maybe I can detect some reminiscent notes.  It is sweet and pleasant in flavor, but has almost no crispness or crunch in its texture, so it not desired by modern palettes.  Was consistently passed over by my family when given a choice of fresh apples to eat.  This fact, its susceptibility to fireblight, and its need for more chilling than we sometimes get in the North Carolina Piedmont, caused me to removed the tree from the orchard in 2014.
Fruit size:  Small. 82 g/fruit in my orchard.  Bultitude also says they are small in England, 5.3 cm (2⅛ in.) in diameter x 4.9 cm (1⅞ in.) high.
Fruit appearance:  Attractive, for a russet apple.  Golden skin underneath a uniform light brown russet.  Flesh is yellow.
Culinary characteristics:  Makes a good quality pie or sauce.  Bakes well, though in the summer, when it ripens in our part of North Carolina, there is little demand for baked apples.  Trees of Antiquity says it makes great juice.
Storage characteristics:  Stores for at least 6 weeks in common refrigeration.  It was rubbery when first picked, but doesn't turn mealy in storage- it just stays rubbery.  A 6 week storage time is also reported by Bultitude in England.
Harvest season:  Mid-August in Pittsboro, NC. A month later in the NC mountains, according to Big Horse Creek Farm.  Mid September in England.
Bloom season:  mid-season to late. One day after Cox Orange and with George Carpenter and Mabbot's Pearmain (Bultitude).
Diseases:  Susceptible to fireblight.   Trees of Antiquity states that it is scab-resistant.
Precocity:  Very precocious on EMLA27, bearing first fruit in the 2nd year after planting, if allowed.
Productivity:  productive, but has a strong biennial bearing tendency
Growth habit:  Small tree with wide branch angles; minimal pruning required.
References:  In addition to personal observations, these sources of information are credited:
Bultitude, John. 1983. Apples A Guide to the Identification of International Varieties. ISBN 0-295-96041-8.  p. 269.
Trees of Antiquity
http://bighorsecreekfarm.com/pitmaston-pineapple/

Pixie Crunch™
Breeder(s):  PRI (Cooperative effort of Purdue University, Rutgers University and University of Illinois). From a cross made at Cream Ridge, NJ in 1971. Selected by E.B. Williams in 1978.  Ancestry.
Rootstocks used:  apple seedling, Bud9, Geneva30 (NC) and G935 (SoCal).
Orchards grown in:  Pittsboro, NC orchards A & B and SoCal desert
Fruit quality:  Excellent. Crisp and breaking flesh like 'Honeycrisp'. Sweet, but with notably pleasant flavor. Not bland.
Fruit size:  Small. 127g/fruit; only 54 g/fruit in the SoCal desert in 2022, a historically hot and dry year, yet they retained their crispness and delicious flavor.
Fruit appearance:   Beautiful, smooth bright red skin.
Culinary characteristics:  There have not yet been sufficient supply to meet demand for fresh eating. A lovely lady that I knew in Cary, NC told me that she took some of the 'Pixie Crunch' that I gave her and chopped them finely in peanut butter. She swore it was amazing. I certainly like peanut butter on apples, especially sweet ones, but I still prefer just eating this apple by itself.
Storage characteristics:  Stores for at least 3 weeks in common refrigeration.
Harvest season:  Late August to mid-September in Pittsboro, NC.  141 days after full bloom.  (Mid-September-October in Midwest).
Bloom season:  starts around 08-April, full bloom about 1 week later; about 1 week before 'Goldrush'. (In the Midwest, these cultivars flower together.)
Estimated chill requirement:  70 chill portions.
Diseases:  highly susceptible to CAR (rating of 5; slightly less susceptible than 'Goldrush'); moderately susceptible to fireblight. This combination caused the removal of the tree on apple seedling stock in orchard B. Fireblight has not yet been a problem for this cultivar in orchard A. Janick et al., describe Pixie Crunch as being scab immune, moderately resistant to fireblight and frogeye leafspot [Physalospora obtusa (Schw.) Cke.], susceptible to powdery mildew [Podospaaera leucotricha (Ell & Ev.) Salm.], and cedar-apple rust [Gymnosporaniium juniperi-virginianae (Schw.)]; slightly susceptible to apple maggot (Rhagoletis pomonella).
Precocity:  Very precocious, often bearing first fruit in the 2^nd year after planting, if allowed.
Productivity:   productive
Growth habit:  Small tree with relatively wide branch angles; minimal pruning required; hasn't been allowed to fruit due to low vigor. Managable even on seedling stock.
Bottom line:  Worth a try, despite the cedar apple rust and fireblight. It is a fantastic apple and healthier than many others. References:  In addition to personal observations, these sources of information are credited:
Janick et al., 2004. 'Co-op 33' (Pixie Crunch™) apple. Hortscience. 39(2):452–453.

Prima
Breeder(s):  PRI (Cooperative effort of Purdue University, Rutgers University and University of Illinois).
History:  From Purdue's Website:  "The original seedling was planted in 1958 in the breeding orchard of the Department of Horticulture at the Illinois Experiment Station, Urbana, Illinois. It was produced from crossing the seedling 14-510 as the seed parent and the selection, N.J. 123249, as the pollen parent in 1957. The complete pedigree is shown in Fig. 1. 'Prima' is heterozygous for a dominant genetic factor Vf inherited from Malus floribunda 821 which causes it to be highly resistant to the apple scab organism, Venturia inaequalis (Cke.) Wint., and will only rarely show any evidence of infection. The origin of the resistant clone, F-226829-2-2, dates from crosses made early in this century by Dr. C. S. Crandall at the University of Illinois". "The apple was formerly designated as Co-op 2 and by its breeding number 1225-100".
Rootstocks used:  EM26
Orchards grown in:  Coal Mountain community, Cumming, Georgia.
Notes:  
Fruit quality:  I can't remember how they tasted, but I remember I thought they were good. I managed the college orchards at Berea College in Berea, Kentucky for one year, before I transferred to a larger school, and first grew 'Prima' there. I was impressed by the quality of those apples and grew more in my own orchard in Georgia, where they also did well. Texture is crisp. By the way, Berea is a great college. I have many good memories from my two years there.
Fruit size:  Medium. xxx g/fruit
Fruit appearance:  Very attractive deep red without russet.
Culinary characteristics:  Good for pies, sauces and baking.
Storage characteristics:  Good.  Stores for at least a month in common refrigeration.
Harvest season:  Before 'Delicious'.
Bloom season:  mid-April; a few days xxx 'Goldrush' and about xxx 'Honeycrisp'
Diseases:  Resistant to fireblight and apple blotch. Used to be scab-immune, but some strains of scab can now overcome this type of resistance.
Precocity:  average precocity; first fruit set in xxx year on rootstock.
Productivity:  productive, annual bearing.
Growth habit:  Vigorous and spreading.
References other than my own experience:  
Purdue University

Priscilla
Breeder(s):  PRI (Cooperative effort of Purdue University, Rutgers University and University of Illinois).
History:  Resulted from a cross between the 'Starking Delicious' strain of 'Red Delicious' and seedling 610-2 (which has 'McIntosh' and 'Golden Delicious' in its heritage) made in 1961 in Door County, Wisconsin.   Tested as Co-op 4. To see more details of its pedigree, click here.
Rootstocks used:  EM26 (Georgia); MM111 & Bud9 in the SoCal desert.
Orchards grown in:  Coal Mountain community, Cumming, Georgia.
Notes:  
Fruit quality:  Flavor is mild subacid and sweet, very like the old-fashioned GOOD 'Red Delicious'. To me, it's a distinct improvement on 'Red Delicious'. Texture is crisp and juicy, but becomes mealy when overripe, like it's 'Red Delicious' parent. I first sampled these apples in Berea, Kentucky, where I was responsible for managing the Berea College orchards during my last year there. They had the foresight (probably Dr. Sugars' wise decision) to plant both 'Prima' and 'Priscilla'. I was impressed with both and determined to grow my own.
Fruit size:  Large, with proper thinning, but can run quite small if you don't thin well. xxx g/fruit
Fruit appearance:  Very attractive bright red without russet. Looks very like its 'Red Delicious' (Starking Delicious strain) parent.
Culinary characteristics:  Good for salads and good for applesauce if you blend it with tarter and more-flavorful apples. Not so great for baking, pies, cider or drying.
Storage characteristics:  Poor.  Stores for about 2 weeks in common refrigeration.  Burford says the 'Priscilla' he grows in Virginia are good keepers, lasting a few months in storage. That fits with the mantra that apples matured in cooler climates tend to store better.
Harvest season:  About 2 weeks before 'Delicious'.
Bloom season:  mid-April; a few days xxx 'Goldrush' and about xxx 'Honeycrisp'
Estimated chill requirement:  67 chill portions, though the response range was wide... this may be an underestimate.
Diseases:  Resistant to scab, fireblight, cedar apple rust and powdery mildew.
Precocity:  average precocity; first fruit set in xxx year on rootstock.
Productivity:  productive, annual bearing.
Growth habit:  Somewhat less upright than 'Red Delicious' and thus easier to maintain.
References other than my own experience:  
Purdue University
United States Plant Patent #3488
Burford, Tom. 2013. Apples of North America. ISBN 978-1-60469-249-5.  p. 142.

Pristine^TM
Breeder(s):  PRI (Cooperative effort of Purdue University, Rutgers University and University of Illinois).
History:  Resulted from a 'Camuzat' X Co-op 10 cross made in 1974.   Tested as Co-op 32 and PRI 2946-1. Introduced in 1994. U.S. Plant Patent No. 9,881. To see more details of its pedigree, click here.
Rootstocks used:  Geneva 30 (Pittsboro), Bud9 & G.11 (SoCal).
Orchards grown in:  Pittsboro Orchard B & the SoCal desert.
Notes:  
Fruit quality:  For fresh-eating, my family rates it as good, not great, a rung below Dayton among the early apples. It has a pleasant flavor, very mild, subacid, slightly sweet and non-mealy, but not crisp-textured flesh.  Tom Burford describes it quite differently, saying that if he had to pick only one summer apple, it would be this one and describes it as crisp, slightly breaking, yet melting with medium- fine-grained flesh with a "sweet, slightly acid, and spicy full flavor."  ...and upon checking the Purdue site, it looks like he borrowed some of that description from the originators.
Fruit size:  Medium-large, with proper thinning. Only 63 g/fruit in the SoCal desert in a historic drought on G.11 stock.  The next year (2023), we had more rain, but I failed to adequately thin, so the fruit were even smaller, with a median fruit size of only 38 g, which is clearly a small apple. Should be considerably larger if thinned well in more moderate climates with plentiful water.
Fruit appearance:  Round with smooth, glossy, deep yellow skin with an orangish blush on the sunny side.

Culinary characteristics:  Noted as a good applesauce apple by Burford, so when I got enough to try a batch, I gave it a test. I mixed 3.5 pounds Pristine apple slices (unpeeled, just cored and cut into eighths) with a shy 1/4 cup raw sugar (45 g to be exact), juice from one lemon and 1/2 cup water and cooked for several hours in a solar oven.  (It's frickin' hot out here in the SoCal desert! I didn't want to turn on the stove!).  The end product was delicious, but I'd call it cooked apples instead of applesauce because the slices held their shape. To me, a good applesauce apple breaks down completely, like 'Yellow Transparent', 'Early Harvest' (for varietals) or 'Arkansas Black' (in blends).  Next batch is going into a pie.  We'll see how that does.
Storage characteristics:  Good for a summer apple.  Stores for about 6 weeks in common refrigeration according to Burford & PRI.  Suffers some scald and bruising in storage.
Harvest season:  105 days after full bloom.  Late July-mid August in Lafayette, Indiana. That's pretty close to the 96 days from full bloom to mid-harvest in the SoCal desert. Summer in Virginia, shortly after 'Lodi'.
Bloom season:  PRI says "mid-late season". In a good chill year in the SoCal desert mine bloomed in late April; 0-5 days days after 'Goldrush'.
Estimated chill requirement:  51 chill portions.  This may be an underestimate or it could be that the remaining tree is about to die, so is leafing out more slowly for that reason in 2024.
Diseases:  "Field immune to scab, resistant to powdery mildew, slightly resistant to cedar-apple rust, moderately resistant to fire blight." (PRI) My tree in North Carolina was very young, a time when you can't tell much about disease resistance, but it was very healthy, for what that observation's worth.  We just don't have a lot of disease in the desert.
Precocity:  Very precocious; first fruit set in 2nd year on G.11 rootstock.
Productivity:  Very productive. It tends towards biennial bearing and branch breakage if you don't thin well.
Growth habit:  Vigorous and spreading with good crotch angles.
References other than my own experience:  
Janick et al.  1995.  HortScience 30(6):1312-1313. October.
Purdue University
Burford, Tom. 2013. Apples of North America. ISBN 978-1-60469-249-5.  p. 143.

Red Delicious
Breeder(s):  None.  Chance seedling.
History:  From Stemlit's website:  "The Red Delicious apple variety was discovered in 1875 as a chance seedling growing on Jesse Hiatt’s farm in Peru, Iowa. Thinking it was a nuisance, Hiatt tried to chop down the seedling, but the tree grew back repeatedly. On the third time, Hiatt allowed it to grow and produce apples.
In 1893, Hiatt took his apple, called 'Hawkeye', to a fruit show in Missouri. Following the show, Stark Brothers Nursery purchased the rights to market the apple and renamed it Red Delicious.
The old-fashioned 'Red Delicious' is not a bad apple, sweet and not very complex in flavor, but really quite OK. However, sports of the apple that color early encouraged pickers to pick them early and slowly the selection of the pretty, but poorer-tasting sports ruined this apple. I now avoid them unless I know the grower. I grew the 'Starkspur Compact Red Delicious' sold by Stark Bro's Nursery.
Rootstocks used:  apple seedling?
Orchards grown in:  Coal Mountain community, Cumming, Georgia.
Notes:  
Fruit quality:  Flavor is sweet with a touch of astringency. Texture is crisp, but quickly turns mealy.
Fruit size:  Medium, 6.9 cm in diameter x 6.8 cm high (Bultitude). This seems odd to me because most of the fruits of this cultivar that I've seen grown in the USA are taller than they are wide.  xxx g/fruit
Fruit appearance:  Very attractive shiny red without russet. "Sheepnose" at calyx end is a classic identifier.
Culinary characteristics:  Good for salads, but not really suitable for most cooking purposes due to its lack of acid and complexity. It will ruin cider if you use too many in the blend.
Storage characteristics:  Fair.  Stores for at least 3 weeks in common refrigeration.
Harvest season:  mid-season; mine died (fireblight?) before fruiting. In England, they ripen in mid-October.
Bloom season:  mid-April; Same time as 'Jonathan', Wealthy and 'Cox Orange' and a few days xxx 'Goldrush' and about xxx 'Honeycrisp'
Estimated chill requirement:  77-160 chill portions.
Diseases:  Resists cedar apple rust, but somewhat susceptible to fireblight.
Precocity:  average precocity.
Productivity:  productive, annual bearing.
Growth habit:  upright, narrow crotch angles
References other than my own experience:  
C. Lee Calhoun, Jr.  2010.  Old Southern Apples.  Chelsea Green Publishing.  White River Junction, VT.
Stark Bro's Nursery
Bultitude, John. 1983. Apples A Guide to the Identification of International Varieties. ISBN 0-295-96041-8.  p. 141.
Stemlit
The Atlantic Confuses breeding with selection, but otherwise a factual and interesting article.

Redfree
Breeder(s):  PRI (Cooperative effort of Purdue University, Rutgers University and University of Illinois).
History:  "The original seedling was planted in 1966 in a breeding orchard of the Indiana Experiment Station, Lafayette, Indiana. The seedling resulted from crossing an earlier scab immune seedling selection, PRI 1018-101, as pollen parent and 'Raritan' as seed parent." Introduced in 1981. For more about its pedigree, click here. Tested as Coop 13.
Rootstocks used:  EM26 (Georgia), Geneva ?? (Pittsboro A); Bud9 (SoCal).
Orchards grown in:  Coal Mountain community, Cumming, Georgia; Pittsboro, NC orchard A.; SoCal desert.
Notes:  
Fruit quality:  Flavor is a well-balanced mild subacid. Texture is firm and moderately crisp and juicy. Good-very good.  Was my favorite summer apple until 'Dayton' and 'Williams Pride' came along. I haven't yet fruited these three side-by-side, so until I do, I can't declare my current winner... and what will happen when I finally get to sample 'Pristine'?  Beautiful, but mealy in its first year in the SoCal desert.
Fruit size:  Medium. 71 g/fruit in 2022 in the SoCal desert... thus one can expect they would be considerably larger in most other years & locations.
Fruit appearance:  Attractive bright red without russet. In warmer climates, the yellow background shows through more.
Culinary characteristics:  Redfree is fine for cooking and salads, but at this time of year, there aren't many very good apples, so we ended up eating them so fast that there were few to cook.
Storage characteristics:  Pretty darn good for such an early apple.  Stores for at least six weeks in common refrigeration. In areas where the nights are cooler during ripening, such as where it originated, it will likely keep considerably longer.
Harvest season:  Early; July in Cumming, GA and yyy in Pittsboro, NC.  114 days after full bloom.  2-3 weeks before 'Prima' in Ohio and six weeks before 'Red Delicious'.  Ripens over several weeks, making it an even better choice for home growers.
Bloom season:  mid-April; a few days xxx 'Goldrush' and about xxx 'Honeycrisp'
Estimated chill requirement:  84 chill portions.
Diseases:  Resistant to some of the worst apple diseases, including cedar apple rust, fireblight and powdery mildew.
Precocity:  Precocious; first fruit set in xxx year on rootstock.
Productivity:  productive, annual bearing. Originators say, "thinning is not usually necessary" and I never thought about it before, but in fact, I don't remember having to do a lot of thinning on my 'Redfree' trees.
Growth habit:  Vigorous, somewhat upright, wide crotch angles, easily maintained.
References other than my own experience:  
Purdue University
Burford, Tom. 2013. Apples of North America. ISBN 978-1-60469-249-5.  p. 153.

Ribston Pippin
Breeder(s):  unknown.
History:  Grown for hundreds of years in England before it was imported to America in colonial times. For more information see the entry in The Apples of New York.
Rootstocks used:  Geneva 16
Orchards grown in:  Pittsboro, NC orchard B.
Notes:  
Fruit quality:  Flavor is a wonderful rich sweet balanced with sprightly and spicy notes. Texture is firm and moderately crisp.
Fruit size:  Medium to large. xxx g/fruit
Fruit appearance:  Heavy brown russet over red stripes.
Culinary characteristics:  I never had enough to cook with. The fresh apples did not last long!
Storage characteristics:  dunno. We ate them too fast.
Harvest season:  xxx in Pittsboro, NC.
Bloom season:  mid-April; with 'Goldrush' and about a week before 'Honeycrisp', though they all overlap
Diseases:  Susceptible to fireblight. I enjoyed several nice crops before the blight got to be too much and I tore the tree out to put it out of its misery.
Precocity:  average precocity; first fruit set in xxx year on rootstock.
Productivity:  not very productive, but annual bearing.
Growth habit:  Variable, but pretty easy to maintain.
References other than my own experience:  

Royal Limbertwig
Breeder(s):  unknown, likely a chance seedling
History:  There are a few different apples with "Royal Limbertwig" in their name and the true 'Royal Limbertwig' is also known as 'Carolina Baldwin', though it is unrelated to 'Baldwin'.
Rootstocks used:  MM111 and Geneva 30 (NC); Bud9 in the SoCal desert.
Orchards grown in:  Pittsboro, NC orchard A and SoCal desert.
Notes:  
Fruit quality:  Flavor is very good with good sweet-tart balance, aroma and a touch of that classic 'Limbertwig' flavor. Texture is firm and fine-grained, but not crisp.  The squirrels have a special affinity for the fruits off the SoCal tree, so I don't have much to say.
Fruit size:  Medium-large. 98 g/fruit in 2023 SoCal desert.  Typically larger in wetter climates.
Fruit appearance:  Greenish-to light greenish-yellow with some light red blush.
Culinary characteristics:  Excellent for cooking and cider. Said to be especially good for apple butter.
Storage characteristics:  Very good.  Stores for at least 2 months in common refrigeration.
Harvest season:  Probably early October in Pittsboro, NC, but my trees were too young to bear before we left.
Bloom season:  mid-April; a few days xxx 'Goldrush' and about xxx 'Honeycrisp'
Estimated chill requirement:  42-65 chill portions.
Diseases:  Said to be well-adapted to warmer areas. I didn't notice any disease problems on my trees, but they were young.
Precocity:  ??? precocity; first fruit set in xxx year on rootstock.
Productivity:  productive, annual bearing.
Growth habit:  
References other than my own experience:  
C. Lee Calhoun, Jr.  2010.  Old Southern Apples.  Chelsea Green Publishing.  White River Junction, VT.
Century Farm Orchards
Big Horse Creek Farm

Sir Prize
Breeder(s):  PRI (Cooperative effort of Purdue University, Rutgers University and University of Illinois).
History:  From Purdue's website:  "The original seedling was planted in 1955 in the breeding orchards of the Purdue University Agricultural Experiment Station, Lafayette, Indiana. It was produced by crossing the seedling 14-152 as the pollen parent and 'Doud's (2-4-4) Tetraploid Golden Delicious' as the seed parent. The complete pedigree is shown in Fig. 2. The seedling first fruited in 1961 and subsequently has been tested as [snip] Co-op 5."
Rootstocks used:  EM26 (Coal Mountain), Geneva 11 (Pittsboro A)
Orchards grown in:  Coal Mountain community, Cumming, Georgia; Pittsboro, NC orchard A.
Notes:  
Fruit quality:  Flavor is sweet, but balanced with a hint of tartness not found in its seed parent. Texture is very tender and juicy.
Fruit size:  Large, but variable. 462 g/fruit (median, 2014 harvest).
Fruit appearance:  Attractive golden with waxy, translucent thin, smooth skin with a faint pink blush on the sunny side.
Culinary characteristics:  Sir Prize is quite good for most culinary purposes, except drying, where it is just OK. I have no knowledge of how well it blends in ciders.
Storage characteristics:  Poor.  Because it bruises so easily, it must be packed with extreme care. If this is done, it will store for about 2 weeks in common refrigeration.
Harvest season:  Early to mid-August in Coal Mountain, GA; Early-mid September in Pittsboro, NC.
Bloom season:  late April; about a week after 'Goldrush' and with 'Honeycrisp'
Diseases:  Resistant to scab, fireblight, powdery mildew. It has also been reported to be moderately resistant to cedar apple rust, but if that is true, it is only true up North. In the South, it is susceptible to cedar apple rust.
Precocity:  average precocity; first fruit set in xxx year on rootstock.
Productivity:  productive, annual bearing.
Growth habit:  A little squirrelly. Crotch angles tend to be nice & wide, but branches sometimes appear in unwanted places. Still, relatively easy to maintain on dwarfing rootstock. It is a vigorous cultivar. 'Sir Prize' needs a pollenizer and will not pollenize other apples because it is a triploid. The large fruit size and large leaves exhibit its triploid nature.
References other than my own experience:  
Purdue University

Sops of Wine
Breeder(s):  unknown; likely a chance seedling
History:  Originated in England.
Rootstocks used:  MM111 ?
Orchards grown in:  Coal Mountain community, Cumming, Georgia.
Notes:  
Fruit quality:  I recall them as tasting tart-sweet, but Lee describes them as not very acid or very juicy. Texture is tender.
Fruit size:  Medium. xxx g/fruit
Fruit appearance:  Attractive deep red without russet.
Culinary characteristics:  dunno. Others say it's good for cooking and cider.
Storage characteristics:  poor
Harvest season:  Summer. Lee says late June into July in his Pittsboro, NC location.
Bloom season:  mid-April; a few days xxx 'Goldrush' and about xxx 'Honeycrisp'
Diseases:  
Precocity:  average precocity; first fruit set in xxx year on rootstock.
Productivity:  productive, annual bearing.
Growth habit:  
References other than my own experience:  
C. Lee Calhoun, Jr.  2010.  Old Southern Apples.  Chelsea Green Publishing.  White River Junction, VT.
Big Horse Creek Farm
Century Farm Orchards

Stayman Winesap
Breeder:  Dr. Joseph Stayman.
History:  From a seed of Winesap planted in Leavenworth, Kansas in 1866.  Bore its first fruit in 1875.
Rootstocks used:  Bud9
Orchards grown in:  Pittsboro, NC, orchard A
Fruit quality:  Very good. Tender and juicy flesh that is tart when just ripe, then gains sweetness if left on the tree a few more days. Skin tough, but not objectionable.
Fruit size:  Large.
Fruit appearance:  Dull green with indistinct red stripes.  Can become quite red when exposed to sun. There are also several full-red sports, but I've never grown them.
Culinary characteristics:  Great for pies, especially while fruit still retains some tartness.  Burford says that it's also good for apple butter, frying, applesauce and cider. I'll take his word on most of those, with the exception of frying. In my opinion, even frying a dead-ripe Stayman doesn't match fried 'Golden Delicious' or other similar apple.
Storage characteristics:  Stores for at least 3 weeks in common refrigeration.  Will become mealy when stored too long.
Harvest season:  Early to mid-September in Pittsboro, NC.
Bloom season:  mid-late April; roughly with 'Goldrush'.
Diseases:  resistant to CAR; moderately resistant to fireblight. Fireblight has not yet been a problem for this cultivar in orchard A, though some strikes have been observed. 
Precocity:  Moderate to slow, first fruit in the 4th year after planting on dwarfing Bud9 rootstock.
Productivity:   productive and annual bearer. Has sterile pollen because it's a triploid, so required a pollinizer.
Growth habit:  Spreading, with wide branch angles; minimal pruning required. Becomes quite large on seedling stock as I remember from my grandfather's orchard in Lumpkin County, Georgia.
References:  In addition to personal observations, these sources of information are credited:
The Apples of New York
C. Lee Calhoun, Jr.  2010.  Old Southern Apples.  Chelsea Green Publishing.  White River Junction, VT.
Burford, Tom. 2013. Apples of North America. ISBN 978-1-60469-249-5.  p. 172.

Sundance
Breeder(s):  PRI (Cooperative effort of Purdue University, Rutgers University and University of Illinois).
History:  Resulted from a 'Golden Delicious' X 1050-NJ-1 cross, as shown below.  Tested as Co-op 29 and PRI 2050-4.

Rootstocks used:  M9 & Geneva16
Orchards grown in:  Apex, NC; Pittsboro, NC orchard B.
Notes:
Fruit quality:  Flavor is good, but not particularly complex. It is generally one of the less-accepted apples of the season by my family.  Because of the high praises about its flavor and texture given by the Midwest nurseries that sell it, I expected a better apple.  Perhaps it just doesn't ripen to perfection in our climate.  This could be due to the fact that it ripens during the Summer in the Southeast, whereas nights are cooler during its ripening period in the Midwest, which usually has a favorable effect on fruit quality.  Texture is crisp, but not as crisp as Pixie Crunch or Honeycrisp.
Fruit size:  Medium-large. With proper thinning, 338 g/fruit.
Fruit appearance:  Yellow over green, with an occasional pink blush on the sunny side.  Some light russet may occur on the skin.
Culinary characteristics:  Sundance makes fine pies and sauces and bakes well.  Burford notes that the slices hold their shape when cooked.
Storage characteristics:  Stores for at least 4 weeks in common refrigeration.
Harvest season:  September in Pittsboro, NC.  About 18 days after 'Delicious'.
Bloom season:  mid-season; with 'Goldrush'
Diseases:  Somewhat susceptible to fireblight.  The tree in Pittsboro on G16 (resistant stock) has not been troubled, but the one in Apex on M9 rootstock (blight susceptible stock) was killed by fireblight during an epiphytotic.  Very susceptible to frogeye leafspot and fruit rot caused by Botryosphaeria obtusa.  Only 'Candycrisp' has shown more susceptibility to this disease in my experience with over 100 apple cultivars.  Immune to scab, resistant to cedar apple rust and moderately resistant to powdery mildew.
Precocity:  very precocious, if allowed, it will start bearing in its 2nd year.
Productivity:  productive, but must be heavily thinned to prevent biennial bearing.  'Sundance' has one of the strongest tendencies for biennial bearing of any cultivar I've grown, but by thinning early and heavily, I've brought the tree into an annual bearing habit.
Growth habit:  Moderate vigor.  Height is easily controlled by use of dwarfing rootstock and crotch angles are wide, thus little pruning is needed.
Not Recommended for the North Carolina Piedmont.
References other than my own experience:
Purdue University
Burford, Tom. 2013. Apples of North America. ISBN 978-1-60469-249-5.  p. 180.

Sweet Winesap
Breeder(s):  Unknown.  For the history of this cultivar see References below, including The Apples of New York.
History:  "Originated in Pennsylvania and grown commercially in New York around 1900 for shipment to southern markets as a high-quality, good keeping apple." (Calhoun).
Rootstocks used:  MM111
Orchards grown in:  Coal Mountain community, Cumming, Georgia.
Notes:  
Fruit quality:  Flavor is very sweet, but with a perfumed richness and complexity that makes for a very good eating apple. "Winesap" has become a meaningless term, because there are so many apples with this word as part of their name, yet many are not related to each other. For this reason, I decline to compare it to other winesaps. Texture is tender, fine-grained and old-fashioned crisp, which is not as crisp as 'Honeycrisp', but certainly not mushy or mealy.
Fruit size:  above-medium. xxx g/fruit
Fruit appearance:  Very attractive yellow with a generous number of carmine stripes. It's more red in cooler climates. Skin is without russet.
Culinary characteristics:  Good for baking.
Storage characteristics:  A good keeper (Calhoun), though Burford rates it only "fair".
Harvest season:  mid-August in Coal Mountain, GA. Lee's book says they ripen in September, but maybe he's talking about the mountains.
Bloom season:  mid-April; a few days xxx 'Goldrush' and about xxx 'Honeycrisp'
Diseases:  Susceptible to fireblight, which is what eventually killed my tree.  Moderately susceptible to the other major diseases (Burford).
Precocity:  slow to bear; first fruit set in 6th year on MM-111 rootstock.
Productivity:  productive, annual bearing.
Growth habit:  
References other than my own experience:  
C. Lee Calhoun, Jr.  2010.  Old Southern Apples.  Chelsea Green Publishing.  White River Junction, VT.
Burford, Tom. 2013. Apples of North America. ISBN 978-1-60469-249-5.  p. 184.

Sweet Zinger®  (actually MAIA-Z unless certain quality criteria are met)
Breeder(s):  MAIA (Midwest Apple Improvement Association). From a 'Goldrush' x 'Sweet 16' cross (The Ortet. Midwest Apple Improvement Association. Autumn 2018 newsletter. Vol. 4.). Tested as MJE 1238/ LYND MJE 1238/ MAIA-Z. Protected by plant patent PP30,059.
Rootstocks used:  Bud9 (NC) & G.11 (SoCal).
Orchard(s) grown in:  One tree planted at orchard A on 2011-April-16.  Three more planted in Southern California desert 2021-March-30.
Fruit quality:  decent flavor; not very juicy, slightly tart; not crisp.  Browns quickly.
Fruit size:  83 g/ fruit in 2022 (extremely hot and dry).
Fruit appearance:  Greenish-yellow with a faint pink blush.
Culinary characteristics:  not applicable- haven't had enough to cook with yet.
Storage characteristics:  Not enough fruit to store yet.
Harvest season:  128 days from full bloom.  MAIA says that it ripens 3 weeks after 'Golden Delicious' and a week before 'Evercrisp' in the Midwest.
Bloom season:  starts around 13-April in Pittsboro, full bloom about 1 week later, similar to 'Goldrush'
Estimated chill requirement:  81 chill portions.
Diseases:  moderately susceptible to CAR (rating of 7; slightly less susceptible than 'Goldrush'); no fireblight damage to date
Precocity:  Mixed results:  not precocious on Bud9 in NC- no fruit after 7 years. Of course, this was only a single tree in a grassy orchard.  On G.11 in Southern California, the trees fruited in their 2nd year (very precocious!).
Productivity:  Too early to say.
Growth habit:  acceptable; minimal pruning required; wasn't allowed to fruit in North Carolina due to low vigor.  Low vigor also in SoCal on G.11.  Probably best to use a vigorous rootstock for 'Sweet Zinger'.
More information at:  Fruit Grower's News
MAIA website

Swiss Limbertwig
Breeder(s):  unknown; likely a chance seedling which was either brought over by settlers from Switzerland or originated with them as a selected seedling in the Cumberland Mountains.
History:  Limbertwig apples are as Southern as grits. There were once zillions of local limbertwig cultivars, having in common either a unique flavor profile or willowy, limber twigs, depending on the lore you listen to. Because there were hundreds of limbertwig apple cultivars at one time and I've only eaten or grown a few of them, I can't vouch for either theory. They do all tend to ripen late and are good for cooking. Some are better for fresh-eating than others. Probably no other apple name has been applied to more distinct cultivars, with the possible exception of Pippin. Winesap is another label commonly applied to distinct cultivars, but I think Limbertwig has that one comfortably beat... you'd just have to grow up in the rural South to know it.
Rootstocks used:  MM111 and Geneva 30
Orchards grown in:  Pittsboro, NC orchard A.
Notes:  
Fruit quality:  Flavor is sweet and rich. Texture is crisp and juicy.
Fruit size:  Large (Burford says medium). xxx g/fruit
Fruit appearance:  Extraordinarily beautiful apple with deep purplish-red thick skin with prominent white lenticels. Many of the pictures online really don't do it justice. The specimens I've seen in person were truly impressive.
Culinary characteristics:  This apple makes fine pies, sauces, butters and bakes well. There is a famous old recipe for baked possum using 'Swiss Limbertwig' apples. Basically, you take 4-5 ripe 'Swiss Limbertwig' apples, core and slice them. Chill a half-gallon of 'Swiss Limbertwig'/'Hewes Virginia Crab' hard cider. Put the skinned, gutted possum in the oven and bake slowly at 350 degrees F for 1 hour. Ladle off the fat and return to the oven for another 2 hours, ladling off the fat every half hour. Remove the possum from the oven and allow to cool. Eat the sliced apples with some sharp cheese and drink the cider. Feed the possum to the dogs. <,)))~
Storage characteristics:  Excellent.  Stores for at least 3 months in common refrigeration.
Harvest season:  Late; likely October in Pittsboro, NC.
Bloom season:  mid-April; a few days xxx 'Goldrush' and about xxx 'Honeycrisp'
Estimated chill requirement:  67 chill portions.
Diseases:  I noticed no disease on my trees, but they were young (pre-bearing age).  Burford says it is moderately resistant to the major apple diseases.
Precocity:  ??? precocity; first fruit set in xxx year on rootstock.
Productivity:  Not very productive; annual bearing.
Growth habit:  Slight drooping, but not really willowy like many Limbertwigs.
References other than my own experience:  
C. Lee Calhoun, Jr.  2010.  Old Southern Apples.  Chelsea Green Publishing.  White River Junction, VT.
Big Horse Creek Farm
Century Farm Orchards
SFGate
Burford, Tom. 2013. Apples of North America. ISBN 978-1-60469-249-5.  p. 185.

Virginia Beauty
Breeder(s):  likely a chance seedling
History:  From Big Horse Creek Farm:  "Once a very well known and desirable apple rivaling Red Delicious for popularity, Virginia Beauty is now a rare apple. The apple originated from a seed planted in 1810 in the backyard of Zach Safewright in the Piper’s Gap community of Carroll Co., Virginia. The original tree stood until 1914."
Rootstocks used:  Bud 9
Orchards grown in:  Pittsboro, NC orchard A.
Notes:  
Fruit quality:  Flavor is astringent and awful. Texture is firm, not crisp. This apple must be beautiful in some environments because it tastes like shit. As Century Farms Orchard notes:  "In 1914, F. H. LaBaume, a Virginia farmer and fruit grower, wrote to the United States Department of Agriculture saying of the Va. Beauty; “It has a distinctive flavor all of its own that clings to the palate and lingers in the memory for a lifetime.” I can certainly attest that I will never forget the experience. Therapy is helping, though.
Fruit size:  Medium-large. 367 g/fruit (median, 2014 crop).
Fruit appearance:  attractive deep red with russet only at the stem end.
Culinary characteristics:  I don't know. This horrible substitute for an apple also didn't produce well, so I didn't get a chance to see if an acetylene torch would improve its flavor..
Storage characteristics:  I don't know. The apples were as tasteless as cotton, so I imagine that they could be stored for 80-90 years and no one would tell the difference.
Harvest season:  Early-mid September in Pittsboro, NC.
Bloom season:  mid-April; with 'Goldrush' and about a week before 'Honeycrisp'
Diseases:  Calhoun said it may be resistant to fireblight, but mine got pretty bad strikes and also were subject to some fungal disease (gray spots on the leaves) that didn't affect the other cultivars around it (Enterprise, Virginia Gold, Stayman).
Precocity:  These apples are horrible. They bear too young, because it would be better if they never bore fruit; first fruit set in 5th year on Bud 9 rootstock.
Productivity:  productive, annual bearing.
Growth habit:  Limbs grown at wide angles naturally.
References other than my own experience:  
C. Lee Calhoun, Jr.  2010.  Old Southern Apples.  Chelsea Green Publishing.  White River Junction, VT.
Big Horse Creek Farm
Century Farm Orchards

Virginia Gold
Breeder(s):  George Oberle at Virginia Tech (VPI) in Blacksburg, VA.
History:  Originated from a cross between Newtown Pippin and Golden Delicious in 1976.
Rootstocks used:  Bud 9
Orchards grown in:  Pittsboro, NC orchards A & B.
Notes:  
Fruit quality:  Flavor is sweet-subacid without much complexity. Texture is firm, but not crisp. I tore out my trees due to their mediocre taste. My experience differs from some others... "The flesh is firm and has both an acidic and mildly sweet flavor. It is good for eating as well as cooking."-Century Farm Orchards
Fruit size:  Medium. 200 g/fruit (2014 median).
Fruit appearance:  Attractive yellow over green without russet. "It is a beautiful yellow with a reddish-pink blush."- Century Farm Orchards
Culinary characteristics:  OK for cooking, but nothing special. Said to be a good addition to hard cider.
Storage characteristics:  Some say it stores well. It was an OK apple, but I didn't notice how well it stored because it was not of interest.
Harvest season:  September in Pittsboro, NC.
Bloom season:  mid-April; with 'Goldrush' and about a week before 'Honeycrisp'
Diseases:  Susceptible to cedar apple rust and somewhat susceptible to fireblight.
Precocity:  average precocity; first fruit set in 5th year on Bud 9 rootstock.
Productivity:  productive, annual bearing.
Growth habit:  
References other than my own experience:  
Century Farm Orchards
Albemarle Ciderworks

William's Pride
Breeder(s):  PRI (Cooperative effort of Purdue University, Rutgers University and University of Illinois).
History:  See reference below.
Rootstocks used:  *** (Apex), Geneva 16 (Pittsboro B)
Orchards grown in:  Apex, NC; Pittsboro, NC orchard B.
Notes:  
Fruit quality:  Like 'Dayton', the fruit on the tree in Apex was inedible, but beautiful visually in its first year of fruiting. Because we moved away from Apex before the second year of fruiting, I don't know if subsequent years were decent quality. The tree in Pittsboro did not follow this pattern. On the Pittsboro tree, the apples were well-flavored even in the first year. 'William's Pride' is often regarded as the best-quality early apple for fresh-eating. I certainly see how it got that reputation. It was the earliest apple to ripen in my Pittsboro orchards and yet was quite welcome by my entire family. Flavor is good, with a nice sweet-tart balance. Texture is not particularly crisp, but I don't know of any apples of its season that are. As the tree aged, a higher percentage of fruit were affected by CAR. Interestingly, the originator of this cultivar also classified it as CAR-resistant.
Also not surprising for a productive, early apple is that it has a strong tendency for watercore. While our ancestors prized water-cored apples, today's customers consider this clear, sweet, flesh near the center of the fruit and having a unique texture that is neither crisp nor mushy to be a negative characteristic.
Fruit size:  Medium. *** g/fruit
Fruit appearance:  Attractive purple-red blush over a green background without russet.
Culinary characteristics:  We have always eaten all of the apples fresh and had none leftover to cook with. After a long winter and Spring with only store-bought apples, good early apples are in demand.
Storage characteristics:  Does not store well, as is usually the case with early apples. However, it does store better than most other apples of its season, about 3 weeks in common refrigeration. Watercored apples tend to store very poorly, so a batch of 'Williams Pride' in the crisper needs to be checked often to remove those that begin to rot more quickly.
Harvest season:  Late June in Pittsboro, NC.
Bloom season:  early-mid; peaks a few days before 'Goldrush' and almost two weeks before 'Honeycrisp'
Diseases:  When my trees were young, I saw no cedar-apple rust (CAR) on 'William's Pride', so I told people that it was essentially immune. These observations were at odds with those of university evaluations, such as University of Arkansas and indeed, over subsequent years, I noticed increasing damage to 'William's Pride' leaves and fruit from CAR. I would now call it susceptible. It is quite resistant to fireblight.  I have seen only a few strikes and they were quickly contained by the trees.
Precocity:  average precocity; first fruit set in 2nd year on M27 and 4th year on G16.
Productivity:  productive, annual bearing.
Growth habit:  Vigorous.  Dwarfing rootstock is recommended for the typical backyard or commercial situation where deer and livestock are kept away from the trees.  Wide crotch angles make the tree very strong and manageable. References other than my own experience:  https://www.hort.purdue.edu/newcrop/pri/coop23-3.html

Winecrisp
Breeder(s):  L.F. Hough; PRI (Cooperative effort of Purdue University, Rutgers University and University of Illinois).
History:  Originated in 1969 as a cross between ‘Rock 41-112’ as the seed parent and ‘PRI 841-103’ as the pollen parent. The complete pedigree is shown here.
Rootstocks used:  Geneva ?? (Pittsboro, NC) and G.202 (SoCal)
Orchards grown in:  Pittsboro, NC orchard A.
Notes:  
Fruit quality:  Flavor is "full-flavored and subacid to mild". Texture is said to be crisp.
Fruit size:  Medium. xxx g/fruit
Fruit appearance:  Very attractive deep red with a small amount of light russet.
Culinary characteristics:  My trees were too young to produce.
Storage characteristics:  Excellent.  Stores for at least 9 months in common refrigeration, according to the originator.
Harvest season:  I don't know. Said to ripen two weeks after 'Delicious' in the Midwest.
Bloom season:  trees too young
Estimated chill requirement:  67 chill portions.
Diseases:  Resistant to scab, fireblight and powdery mildew. Susceptible to cedar apple rust.
Precocity:  Trees too young.
Productivity:  productive, annual bearing.
Growth habit:  Said to be spreading with good fruit spur distribution.
References other than my own experience:  
Hortscience

Winter Terry
Breeder(s):  Mr. Terry of Fulton County, Georgia.
History:  Originated before the Civil War and was prized for its late ripening, high quality and long keeping abilities. This was one apple that my grandfather did not grow, so I didn't get a chance to try it until I was an adult. It ripens about the same time as 'Yates', which was a favorite of mine as a child, but I think 'Winter Terry' is better. If you have room, of course, plant both. They have very different flavor and texture profiles and a little variety in one's wintertime munching is always good.  Calhoun says it should be called 'Terry Winter'. It'll take me some time to get used to it.
Rootstocks used:  MM111 (NC & CA) and Geneva 30 (NC).
Orchards grown in:  Pittsboro, NC orchard A. and the SoCal desert
Notes:  
Fruit quality:  Flavor is sprightly tart-sweet balanced, lip-smacking good eatin'. Texture is crisp and juicy.  Initial results from the desert are disappointing.  It apparently needs some real winter and a bit of humidity in the air to ripen well.
Fruit size:  Medium. xxx g/fruit.  Crabapple-sized in the desert (26 g).
Fruit appearance:  Attractive deep red to bright red without russet.
Culinary characteristics:  Makes fine pies and sauces and bakes well.
Storage characteristics:  Excellent.  Stores for at least 4 months in common refrigeration.
Harvest season:  October in Pittsboro, NC.  214 days from full bloom.
Bloom season:  late; xxx days xxx 'Goldrush' and about xxx 'Honeycrisp'
Estimated chill requirement:  76 chill portions.
Diseases:  My trees were young before we moved away, but they showed no disease problems.
Precocity:  Very precocious; often attempts to set fruit the year after planting, even on MM-111 rootstock (but don't let it- it's bad for the long-term health of the tree).
Productivity:  productive, annual bearing.
Growth habit:  
References other than my own experience:  
C. Lee Calhoun, Jr.  2010.  Old Southern Apples.  Chelsea Green Publishing.  White River Junction, VT.
Big Horse Creek Farm
Century Farm Orchards

Yates
Breeder(s):  None. Chance seedling found by Matthew Yates of Fayette County, Georgia.
History:  Yates originated around 1844 and is still grown commercially to a limited extent in some orchards in North Georgia. It was a favorite apple of many homegrowers as well. My grandfather had two giant trees, including one right by their driveway.  Yates was always available at the end of the apple season in the Ellijay apple-growing region. They weren't so much growing them as a main crop apple, but as a pollinizer for their main cultivars.
Rootstocks used:  unlabeled, but probably MM 111
Orchards grown in:  Coal Mountain community, Cumming, Georgia.
Notes:  
Fruit quality:  Flavor is uniquely floral. The skins have a strange barely-detectable bitterness or astringency, but it is not objectionable. Juicy. Texture is tender. Even when overripe, they are pretty good eating and excellent for baking. This was my favorite apple as a child. Now that I've eaten a lot more apples, it is just OK, but still a nostalgic favorite for me and many other Southerners. Because it ripens so late and because of its small size, it was a favorite to take on hunting trips. Just put some in your pockets and off you go. Something good to snack on while waiting in the deer stand. Deer also love them, so some hunters plant them as bait.
Fruit size:  Small. xxx g/fruit
Fruit appearance:  Uneven splashed bright red over green background without russet.
Culinary characteristics:  Makes fine pies, sauces and bakes well. Baked 'Yates' are a beautiful as well as delicious dessert. Also, very simple to make. Just cut them in half through the equator (cross-section)remove the core and season with cinnamon and nutmeg (optional- they are also delicious with nothing added) and bake until tender. When they come out and cool a bit, they will be surrounded by a translucent pink gel from the juices of the apple. 'Yates' is also a good addition to hard ciders and even makes a good varietal having all the elements of a good cider apple:  sweetness, acid, tannins and aroma.  To this list, Burford adds that they are useful for apple butter, drying and pickling.
Storage characteristics:  Excellent.  Stores for at least 4 months in common refrigeration.
Harvest season:  October in the Cumming, Georgia area.
Bloom season:  mid-April; a few days xxx 'Goldrush' and about xxx 'Honeycrisp'
Diseases:  Somewhat susceptible to fireblight. My tree eventually died of fireblight, but my grandfather's 'Yates' trees were more than 50 years old and were putting up with limited blight strikes.  Moderately resistant to the major apple diseases according to Burford, which lets me know that "moderate resistance" in the Virginia mountains can mean susceptible further south.
Precocity:  average precocity; first fruit set in xxx year on rootstock.
Productivity:  productive, annual bearing.
Growth habit:  
References other than my own experience:  
C. Lee Calhoun, Jr.  2010.  Old Southern Apples.  Chelsea Green Publishing.  White River Junction, VT.
Big Horse Creek Farm
Burford, Tom. 2013. Apples of North America. ISBN 978-1-60469-249-5.  p. 207.

Yellow Sheepnose
Breeder(s):  unknown; probably a chance seedling
History:  Also known as 'Yellow Bellflower', 'Lady Washington', 'Fall Bellflower', 'Belle Fleur', 'Bellflower', 'Warren Pippin', 'Sheepnose', 'Lincoln Pippin', 'Mrs. Barron', or 'Bishop Pippin', 'Baby Rattler', 'White Detroit', 'White Bellflower', 'Warren Pippin', it originated in the early 1800’s in Burlington, New Jersey. "Sheepnose" apples refer to a knobbed shape at the calyx end of the fruit. Among common apples you find in the store, 'Red Delicious' is the best known apple with this sheepnose shape. There is no correlation between apple shape and flavor, however. It doesn't look like a sheep's nose to me, but hey, this name was thought up hundreds of years ago, probably by some guy who had just downed way too much hard cider.
Rootstocks used:  MM111
Orchards grown in:  Coal Mountain community, Cumming, Georgia.
Notes:  
Fruit quality:  Flavor is somewhat tart at first, but this is less pronounced both as the apple ripens and in areas with hotter summers. My apples were mild and sweet with only a hint of tartness, but a nice aroma. Texture is firm, somewhat crisp, and juicy. Supposedly improves in storage.
Fruit size:  Medium. xxx g/fruit
Fruit appearance:  Pale yellow over green without russet.
Culinary characteristics:  Supposedly good for pies and sauces, but we didn't cook with it due to short supply from a single tree.  Burford says that it's especially good for cider because it has 13+% sugar, which will translate into a 6+% alcohol cider.
Storage characteristics:  Good.  Stores for about 3 weeks in common refrigeration.
Harvest season:  mid-August to early September in Cumming, GA.
Bloom season:  mid-April; a few days xxx 'Goldrush' and about xxx 'Honeycrisp'
Diseases:  Susceptible to fireblight, scab and cedar apple rust. My tree was eventually killed by fireblight.
Precocity:  average precocity; first fruit set in xxx year on rootstock.
Productivity:  productive, annual bearing.
Growth habit:  Spreading, wide crotch angles.
References other than my own experience:  
C. Lee Calhoun, Jr.  2010.  Old Southern Apples.  Chelsea Green Publishing.  White River Junction, VT.
Big Horse Creek Farm
Burford, Tom. 2013. Apples of North America. ISBN 978-1-60469-249-5.  p. 208.

Yellow Newtown Pippin
Breeder(s):  unknown; likely a chance seedling brought over from England, probably as a seed.
History:  Originated on Long Island, or Queens, New York around 1666. Like many heritage apples that gained popularity, it goes by many synonyms, including Albemarle Pippin, Newtown Pippin, Green Winter Pippin, New York Pippin, Virginia Pippin or just 'Pippin', though this latter name seems to be used mostly in California and is a confusing name because "pippin" just means "apple seedling", so it tells you nothing about the kind of apple it is. There are more apples with "pippin" in their name than any of the other meaningless additions folks have put in the names of apples.  Oh, and as long as we're on this rant, let's not forget ze French, who add the name "Reinette" to the end of about a zillion of their apples. It means "little queen"! WTF? (What?, The French?).
Yellow Newtown Pippin was the first very successful apple grown in the colonies. Two barrels of them were presented to Queen Victoria who was so taken by their quality that she abolished the tax on American apples. This tax-free status remained in place until WWI. Soon shiploads of these apples were being sent to Britain and sold for high prices in London markets. George Washington, Ben Franklin and Thomas Jefferson planted Yellow Newtown Pippins in their orchards and extolled its virtues.
We were so intrigued by the historical descriptions, that we planted more Yellow Newtown Pippin trees than any other when we first started out small orchard in Georgia. We either hadn't noticed or failed to heed the comments stating that the quality of this apple is very dependent on soil type. If you have a soil that Yellow Newtown likes, then it is a very good apple, but if you don't... well then you get apples like we grew, which tasted like cotton. I ended up top-working my tree to 'Granny Smith', 'Anna' and others, whereas my dad dutifully kept his trees, even though we rarely did anything with the fruit. Supposedly, this tree's fruit also gets better on older trees, like wine from old-vine grapes, but the last harvest from my dad's trees wasn't much better than the first, in my opinion.
Rootstocks used:  MM111
Orchards grown in:  Coal Mountain community, Cumming, Georgia.
Notes:  
Fruit quality:  Flavor is variable, depending on soil type and tree age. Ours produced tasteless fruit with a firm, but definitely not crisp texture.
Fruit size:  Large. xxx g/fruit
Fruit appearance:  Dull yellow over green with a rosy blush on the sunny side.
Culinary characteristics:  Supposedly good for cooking and cider, but fruit from our trees made terrible sauce and other products, despite several valiant efforts.  Fruit that we bought at a California farmer's market cooked up well- almost as well as the gold standard of cooking apples, 'Bramley Seedling' and made a fine applesauce.
Storage characteristics:  Supposedly good, but I don't remember them being remarkable in this regard. Maybe if we had paid more attention to storage, the fruit would have attained a higher quality. Many apples do improve in storage.
Harvest season:  mid-August to early September in Cumming, GA.
Bloom season:  mid-April; a few days xxx 'Goldrush' and about xxx 'Honeycrisp'
Diseases:  Our trees did get some fireblight from time-to-time, but were overall pretty healthy. They are also susceptible to cedar apple rust and scab, although scab isn't much of a problem in hotter regions of the South. Even so, in wet or relatively cool years, we would see scab on our Yellow Newtown's leading to cracking of the skin, even though almost no other trees were affected.
Precocity:  Precocious; first fruit set in xxx year on MM111 rootstock.
Productivity:  Very productive, annual bearing.
Growth habit:  Vigorous, wide crotch angles.
References other than my own experience:  
C. Lee Calhoun, Jr.  2010.  Old Southern Apples.  Chelsea Green Publishing.  White River Junction, VT.
Century Farm Orchards
Big Horse Creek Farm
Cummins Nursery

Chief Settendown (tested as A-1, not yet released to public)
Breeder(s):  wild seedling from an abandoned orchard in Coal Mountain, Georgia. 
Rootstocks used:  EMLA-27, Geneva 11, own (original tree)
Orchards grown in:  Apex, NC; Pittsboro, NC orchards A & B; Georgia orchard in Coal Mountain community near Cumming, GA.
History:  Scion taken from original tree was grafted onto Bud9 (?).  Original tree was found at the edge of an old abandoned orchard which was later maintained as pasture, where the pasture joined a wetland decidious forest.  The orchard was planted by my great-uncle, Marvin Wallis.  Unfortunately, no records of what was planted could be found.   Family members vaguely recalled several cultivars, but they are not recounted here so as not to mislead one in tracing this cultivar's heritage.  (DIGRESSION:  Although I will say that another seedling found in this orchard bore late-ripening, tangy-sweet, crisp apples that looked just like 'Tolman'.  At first, I thought this tree was worthless until I found that I was just picking them too soon.  Unfortunately, a severe drought and apple borers killed that tree before I grafted scions of it.  It remains among the best apples I've ever eaten. Point being:Taste fruit from seedling apples over several years.  They just might be something worth saving!  And graft a bit of the tree onto new rootstock quickly to preserve it in case it dies!  END DIGRESSION. -ASC]  Original tree was not getting a full day's sun and was growing tall and leggy with few fruit.  Scions grafted onto dwarfing rootstock and grown in full sun are consistently small, probably due to the precociousness of this cultivar.
Fruit quality:  Flavor is very good. Texture is not crisp, but also not mushy. Sweet, with a flavor reminiscent of old-timey Southern apples of yore.
Named after one of the last Cherokee chiefs in our part of Georgia before the Trail of Tears. He was named after the creek that runs through our family farm.
Fruit size:  Medium. 127g/fruit
Fruit appearance: Oblate, wider than tall, smooth dull green skin that may develop a yellow blush on the sunny side, especially if left to hang on the tree.
Culinary characteristics:  There has not yet been a sufficient supply to meet demand for fresh eating.
Storage characteristics:  Stores for at least 3 weeks in common refrigeration.
Harvest season:   Late August to mid-September in Pittsboro, NC.
Bloom season:   starts around 08-April, full bloom about 1 week later; a few days before 'Goldrush'. (In the Midwest, these cultivars flower together.)
Diseases:  highly resistant to cedar-apple rust [Gymnosporaniium juniperi-virginianae (Schw.)] (rating of ***); resistant, but not immune to fireblight.
Precocity:  Very precocious, often bearing first fruit in the 2^nd year after planting, if allowed.
Productivity:  productive; with even minimal thinning bears annually
Growth habit:  The original tree on its own roots was tall and spindly, probably mostly due to the fact that it was near forest trees, which shaded it on one side. When propagated on dwarfing rootstock, it becomes a small tree with relatively wide branch angles; minimal pruning required; hasn't been allowed to fruit due to low vigor. Manageable even on seedling stock.

Apple Rootstocks:
General:  If you are planting apples for wildlife or deer hunting, use a vigorous stock (seedling, Antonovka or MM111 at a minimum). If you are planting for production, or your yard and don't want to climb, use one of the Geneva stocks.  Geneva stock names are often just called "G." (the "." isn't pronounced).  For example, "Geneva 30" is shortened to "G.30".  All the Geneva rootstocks were developed by Dr. Jim Cummins at Cornell.
Budagovsky 9 (aka Bud9):  Dwarfing to about 25% of unpruned standard (easily maintained at 7 feet tall by pruning), susceptible to fireblight.
EMLA26:  Dwarfing to about 30% of unpruned standard (easily maintained at 8 feet tall by pruning), susceptible to fireblight.
Geneva 11:  Dwarfing to about 25% of unpruned standard (easily maintained at 7 feet tall by pruning), resistant to fireblight; susceptible to collar rot, despite what you may see in the literature. It may be resistant to collar rot in some places, but was uniformly devastated by it in Pittsboro orchard A.
Geneva 16:  Dwarfing to about 30% of unpruned standard (easily maintained at 8 feet tall by pruning), resistant to fireblight.
Geneva 30:  Dwarfing to about 50% of unpruned standard (easily maintained at 10 feet tall by pruning), resistant to fireblight. My favorite stock for soils of lower fertility or sod presence.
Geneva 41:  Introduced in December 2004.  Dwarfing to about 30-40% of unpruned standard (easily maintained at 8 feet tall by pruning).  Highly resistant to crown rot, fireblight and woolly apple aphid; has had problems with union breakage in the nursery.  Needs life-long support.  Induces early-bearing and high productivity.  Particular weakness of scions of 'Pink Lady', 'Scilate'/Envy®, and 'Honeycrisp' have been noted.
Geneva 202:  Dwarfing to about 45-55% of unpruned standard (easily maintained at 8 feet tall by pruning).  
Geneva 890:  Dwarfing to about 60-70% of unpruned standard (easily maintained at 12 feet tall by pruning).  Originated from a cross of Ottawa 3 and Robusta 5.  Produces well-anchored, precocious trees whose roots are very resistant to woolly apple aphids, fireblight and replant disease and resistant to burr knots, suckering, and crown rot.
Geneva 935:  Dwarfing to about 50-60% of unpruned standard (easily maintained at 10 feet tall by pruning).  Very resistant to fireblight.  Resistant to crown rot and replant disease.  Susceptible to woolly apple aphids.  Doesn't sucker or develop burr knots.  Do not use for 'Honeycrisp' or 'Pazazz'® as it has been shown to result in early tree death.  To be on the safe side, it probably should be avoided for all offspring of 'Honeycrisp' unless specific testing proves that a particular offspring is compatible.
Malling 7:  Dwarfing to about 50% of unpruned standard (easily maintained at 10 feet tall by pruning), susceptible to fireblight.
Malling 106:  Semi-dwarf; reduces tree height to about 70% of standard and can be maintained at around 12 feet tall with pruning. Susceptible to fireblight.
MM111:  Semi-dwarf; reduces tree height to about 80% of standard and can be maintained at around 15 feet tall with pruning. Mildly susceptible to fireblight, but widely adaptable to soil types and generally the best semi-dwarf stock for the Southeast.  ("MM" = "Merton-Malling" in reference to the British research stations that developed this series of stocks.)
M27:  Dwarfing to about 20% of unpruned standard (easily maintained at 5 feet tall by pruning), susceptible to fireblight.
M9:  Dwarfing to about 25% of unpruned standard (easily maintained at 7 feet tall by pruning), susceptible to fireblight.
Mark:  similar to M9 in size; supposedly somewhat fireblight resistant; forms especially brittle unions with 'Honeycrisp'.
Seedling:  non-dwarfing; also often called "standard", even though most commercial apples don't use this stock any more. Can be maintained at 20-30 feet tall with heavy pruning.
Antonovka:  size similar to or slightly larger than a typical seedling.
Rootstock references:
Paul Domoto, Dept. of Horticulture. (Nov. 2004). Iowa State University. University Extension.
Robinson, T., L. Anderson, A. Azarenko, B. Barritt, G. Brown, J. Cline, R. Crassweller, P. Domoto, C. Embree, A. Fennell, D. Ferree, E. Garcia, A. Gaus, G. Greene, C. Hampson, P. Hirst, E. Hoover, S. Johnson, M. Kushad, R. Marini, R. Moran, C. Mullins, M. Parker, R. Perry, J.P. Prive, G. Reighard, C. Rom, T. Roper, J Schupp and M. Warmund. 2002. Performance of Cornell-Geneva rootstocks in North America NC-140 rootstock trials. Compact Fruit Tree 35(4):99-102.
(Cornell) Apple Rootstock Fact Sheets
NC-140 Regional Rootstock Research Project
Cummins Nursery