Katy is an easy-going early-season apple. The pretty appearance and juicy flavour mean it is popular with children, and it becomes available just in time for lunch-boxes for the new school term.
Katy originates from Sweden, where it is known as Katya, and as such is well-suited to growing in northern European climates. It was developed in 1947 as a cross between James Grieve and Worcester Pearmain and is very much a mixture of these two varieties. Worcester Pearmain is an English early-season variety from the 19th century, which used to be quite widely grown. Its most recognisable trait is a subtle strawberry flavour, and this is also present in Katy (although it is very variable). James Grieve is another early-season variety, and its most notable characteristic is lots and lots of acidic juice.
Katy is available for a few weeks in late August and early September. Like most early varieties it is very refreshing when straight from the tree, but goes soft after a while - best kept in a refrigerator and nice to eat when cool rather than at room temperature.
Katy is a medium-sized apple, the flesh is a pale cream colour, and on the firmer side of crunchy. Compared with most summer apples, which tend to be a light straw colour, Katy is a deep red on a yellow background. Warning: Katy is very juicy, and when fresh from the tree the juice goes everywhere as you bite into it. It has a fairly mild apple flavour, a bit of refreshing acidity, and in a good year a hint of strawberry. The flavour is perhaps not the greatest, but certainly very pleasant.
For an interesting tasting exercise, see if you can find Elton Beauty or Lord Lambourne - like Katy, these are both crosses between James Grieve and Worcester Pearmain.
The 2007 season: 2007 has been a strange season in north west Europe. A superb hot dry spring was followed by months of heavy rain in June and July. The effect has been to bring forward the season for early apples quite dramatically. Vista Bella, normally available at the end of July, was over a week earlier than usual, and we are getting reports of Katy being ripe and ready for eating in the first week of August - a good 3-4 weeks early.
In summary, Katy is a really excellent apple for gardeners in northern Europe. It is an attractive neat tree, very easy to grow, and highly productive.
The following fruit tree nurseries offer Katy apple trees for sale:
No fruit suppliers listed for this variety.
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