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All about apples, pears, plums, and cherries - and orchards where they are grown

Chehalis apple

Flavor goes from tart to sweeter in a vary short timeframe, which makes this apple hard to judge its true ripeness.

USDA identification images for Chehalis

The identification paintings in the USDA Pomological Watercolor Collection span the years 1886 to 1942.

    Citation: U.S. Department of Agriculture Pomological Watercolor Collection. Rare and Special Collections, National Agricultural Library, Beltsville, MD 20705.

    Visitor reviews

    • 08 Oct 2019  WA, United States
      We have a Chehalis apple tree on property purchased in 2016. The tree is at least that old and still has a tag on it. It produced a couple of small apples in 2017 and 2018 until this year, when it produced 4 large apples. I just ate the first one. It tasted like a ripe Bartlett pear - sweet with just a bit of tartness. It was softer than I prefer, so I have rated it very good rather than excellent.
    • 12 Sep 2019  WA, United States
      This apple is always reliable in my orchard. Yes it can be a tart apple if you pull or twist them off the tree. However here we are in September and I go out and just lift my apples, if they pop in you hand their pretty much ready. Just a simple lift of the apple seems to do the trick. They can be sweet when caught at the right time. Pretty much a meal of an apple when ready. I grafted this tree form scion wood from Raintree nursery to semi dwarf crab apple rootstock.
    • 28 Sep 2017  BRITISH COLUMBIA, Canada
      Not tart at all. In fact crisp and slightly sweet, don't recall a better tasting apple. Perhaps due to being very fresh: just picked it off my young tree thinking I had left it too late (late Sept). But apparently not for southern Vancouver island and a partial sun location.
    • 10 May 2017  WASHINGTON, United States
      I would like to know what varieties are the pollinator for Chehalis apple.
    • 05 Mar 2013  WASHINGTON, United States
      In 1995 we bought some property that was and old Dairy.On this propertyit had 13 trees ,there is 2 Chehalis Apple trees. We have had alot of apples every.They do make great pies and great for eating. These trees are at least 60 years old.We do have clay soil. We do our one pruning and care. We were hoping to find some where to get some new young trees.these are so old that they do have hollow spots. Are there any new trees available? Thank you.
    • 17 Sep 2012  WASHINGTON, United States
      My Chehalis apple tree is about ten years old. It slowly gave a few more apples every year, and this year I had a great crop of big, juicy apples. I am still trying to figure out when to pick, but I think I got it right this year. The fruit has a nice tartness the first few days after picking, and develops more sweetness, but after 5 days the flesh starts to get soft. Great for pies when fresh, and later for applesauce, no sugar needed. I used some fruit tree fertilizer spikes in the spring, but don't do anything else to the tree except water it. Almost all 40 or so pounds were clean & pretty. I live in a low lying area near a lake, ground is quite wet in winter. I love my Chehalis apple tree.
    • 05 Sep 2012  WASHINGTON, United States
      The following link had interesting reading on the Chehalis. It mentions that there is no blushing ...but mine is blushing ...growing a young tree with only one apple on it this year. The link mentions it is slow to fruit ..but being the second year, I removed a lot of starts after the bloom. It's the 5th of Sept, 2012 ..haven't picked my lone apple yet ...trying to figure out the best time ..which looks to be soon. http://ir.library.oregonstate.edu/xmlui/bitstream/handle/1957/14209/ec1334.pdf?sequence=1 They mention picking BEFORE the fruit turns completely yellow.
    • 29 Aug 2011  WA., United States
      I like the chehalis, it can be tart if you pick too soon. I tried one today, 8 28 2011. very good, but 2 more weeks and they will be sweet. great apple pie stuff.
    • 23 Jul 2011  WA, United States
      I would agree with Cris's assessment - while I have not personally tasted the Chehalis apple, I have a first hand report and have read many other reports that it is rather tart. Apparently, nurseries are advertising it as "sweet," while at the same time using a cut and paste to get and print their description of the apple - thus perpetuating what has become a myth. Two other misnomers are that the Chehalis apple was discovered as a chance seedling in 1957, while the best information I have is that it was discovered as a chance seedling in 1937, and that the variety is highly resistant to scab, which I believe to be a sales exaggeration. There are two write-ups on the Chehalis apple - one in the Journal of the American Pomological Society: Volume 21 Number 1 Article 7 Year 1967 Month 1 Title: The Chehalis Apple Author: C.D. Schwartze to which I have no access, and another in Apple Cultivars of South Sound, Robert A. Norton and Jacqueline King, (http://whatcom.wsu.edu/mgtemp/classes/home_orchards/eb1436.pdf) Which describes the Chehalis apple as "mild subacid," and agreeing with Chris that it doesn't last long on the tree. Incidentally, Norton and King's publication contains an excellent section on terms for properly describing an apple. Chris, thank you very much for your comments and advice on handling mildew in your area.
    • 21 Jul 2011  WA, United States
      Chehalis is sweet? I have made apple pie and cider with this apple. On a good year, one apple can be a meal. But sweet? I have found it to be quite tart. Maybe it's my soil, but I have some doubts about that. This apple was grown in an area about sixty miles north from my location. They entire orchard was chopped down five years later due to mildew problems. I spent twenty years trying to solve this problem with my tree and I have finally had success. I would recommend this tree for an area that is not too damp and wet. But it can be grown in a wetter climate such as mine as long as you treat the tree with a mildew preventative just after the blossoms have set. If you want the tree to remain organic, try using the formula in "The Apple Grower." I think they use hydrogen peroxide. Personally, I have had success with "Immunox." I have a good crop almost every single year since I have started using this product. Harvest quickly! This apple does not stick around very long.

    Tree register

    United States

    United Kingdom

    Spring blossom records for this variety

    2022 season

    • 10th May  2022  - tree owned by Jim in Hallstead, United States

    2021 season

    • 4th May  2021  - tree owned by Jim in Hallstead, United States

    2020 season

    • 18th May  2020  - tree owned by Jim in Hallstead, United States

    2019 season

    • 6th May  2019  - tree owned by Jim in Hallstead, United States

    2018 season

    • 15th May  2018  - tree owned by Jim in Hallstead, United States

    2017 season

    • 3rd May  2017  - tree owned by Jim in Hallstead, United States

    2015 season

    • 10th May  2015  - tree owned by Jim in Hallstead, United States

    2014 season

    • 15th May  2014  - tree owned by Jim in Hallstead, United States

    2013 season

    • 30th April  2013  - tree owned by Florian in Brush Prairie, United States
    • 25th April  2013  - tree owned by Cody in Rochester, United States

    2012 season

    • 9th May  2012  - tree owned by James in Estacada, United States
    • 7th May  2012  - tree owned by Florian in Brush Prairie, United States

    Record your blossom dates in our Fruit Tree Register - more >>.


    Harvest records for this variety

    2022 season

    • 4th week September  2022  - tree owned by Jim in Hallstead, United States

    2021 season

    • 4th week September  2021  - tree owned by Jim in Hallstead, United States

    2019 season

    • 4th week September  2019  - tree owned by Jim in Hallstead, United States
    • 2nd week August  2019  - tree owned by Jon in Shaw Island, United States

    2018 season

    • 4th week September  2018  - tree owned by Jim in Hallstead, United States
    • 4th week July  2018  - tree owned by Jon in Shaw Island, United States

    2017 season

    • 4th week September  2017  - tree owned by Jim in Hallstead, United States
    • 1st week August  2017  - tree owned by Jon in Shaw Island, United States

    2016 season

    • 4th week July  2016  - tree owned by Jon in Shaw Island, United States

    2015 season

    • 4th week September  2015  - tree owned by Jim in Hallstead, United States
    • 3rd week August  2015  - tree owned by Andrew in London, United Kingdom
    • 1st week August  2015  - tree owned by Jon in Shaw Island, United States

    2014 season

    • 1st week August  2014  - tree owned by Jon in Shaw Island, United States

    2013 season

    • 3rd week September  2013  - tree owned by Eric in Seabeck, United States
    • 2nd week September  2013  - tree owned by Cody in Rochester, United States
    • 4th week July  2013  - tree owned by Jon in Shaw Island, United States

    2012 season

    • 2nd week October  2012  - tree owned by Robert in Oak Harbor, United States
    • 1st week October  2012  - tree owned by James in Estacada, United States
    • 3rd week August  2012  - tree owned by Jon in Shaw Island, United States

    Origins

    • Species: Malus domestica - Apple
    • Parentage: Probably a Golden Delicious Seedling
    • Originates from: Near the Chehalis river, Oakville, WA, United States
    • Introduced: 1955
    • UK National Fruit Collection accession: 1974-051

    Identification

    • Country of origin: United States
    • Period of origin: 1900 - 1949
    • Fruit colour: Yellow
    • Flower colour: White
    • Leaf colour: Green
    • Flowering duration: Average (2-3 weeks)
    • Fruit size: Average
    • Fruit size: Large
    • Fruit shape: Conical

    Using

    • Picking season: Mid
    • Flavour quality: Good
    • Flavour style (apples): Sweeter
    • Cropping: Good
    • Food uses: Eating fresh
    • Food uses: Culinary
    • Food uses: Juice
    • Food uses: Drying
    • Flavour style (apples): Honeyed

    Growing

    • Gardening skill: Beginner
    • Flowering group: 3
    • Pollinating others: Average
    • Ploidy: Diploid
    • Vigour: Average vigour
    • Bearing regularity: Regular
    • Fruit bearing: Spur-bearer
    • Self-fertility: Self-fertile

    Other qualities

    • Disease resistance: Good
    • Scab (Apple and Pear): Some resistance
    • Powdery mildew: Some resistance

    Where to buy fresh fruit

    The following orchards grow Chehalis:

    United States


    Canada




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