Out of over 100 cultivars growing in my yard, Rome Beauty is one of the first trees blossoming right now; the others are Terry Winter and Ashmead's Kernel (Anna and Dorsett Golden blossomed back in January). This Rome Beauty tree was grafted from cuttings taken from a 1912 orchard in the mountains that won't blossom until several weeks from now.

I find this curious because it was quite popular with settlers because it blossomed so late for them, avoiding most of the killing frosts. Yet down here in the warm valley you would almost call it low-chill, as it blossoms relatively early with a pretty compact period. Some others like Pitmaston Pineapple and Golden Russet will not blossom until June. Others like Hawaii will stagger along and blossom for months.

Rome Beauty is popular in the tropics because it responds well to leaf-stripping, where the tree basically skips dormancy and starts its life-cycle again almost immediately. This poses a bit of a quandry for me as I attempt to find more cultivars that will do well in the tropics. Nothing about Rome Beauty's performance in colder climates would give a hint that it would do so well in hot climates. I'd like to be able to identify traits of cultivars that would allow me to narrow in on ones to field-test and avoid having to try out so many (with many failures).

Any ideas? By the way, click on to see Rome Beauty featured in the Apple Fiesta held in the jungle at Ba' Kelalan, Borneo, Malaysia. The harvest is in March and they eat their apple pie off banana leaves.

Applenut