Hudson's Golden Gem Apple tree

Owner's comments

I bought this tree as a bench graft: one bud on a piece of MM111 rootstock. It grew up as a whip (no branches) the first year, then branched out and fruited the second year. The apples are of variable shape and size (from small to large) and are partially russeted, hard, juicy and very sweet. The first crop had juice with the aroma of pears; the second crop did not but was still wonderful. The tree opened almost all of the buds on the trunk in its second year of growth, which allowed me maximum flexibility in choosing which branches to keep. After its first crop this tree became my favorite sweet apple. The apples ripened in mid-September the first two years, but it may ripen earlier in 2014 due to a record-breaking warm winter. I've grafted it onto another M111 rootstock and have let it grow with minimal pruning so that in the future I will get shade for my kitchen windows as well as more of these wonderful fruit.