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

William's Pride Apple tree

Owner: Dave

Location:  Santa Barbara, CALIFORNIA, United States

Age:Planted in about 2010
Age of this tree:14 years
Soil:heavy clay 
Climate at this location:warm spring, summer and fall, light winter frost
Pruning:mostly summer pruning for size control
Tree form:Central leader (widest at bottom)
Height:Between 6ft / 2m and 15ft / 4m
Cropping:Heavy crops
Growth:This tree grows easily here
Herbicides:Manual treatment (hoeing and weeding)
Pesticides:Un-treated

Owner's comments

I bought this tree as a bench graft (one bud on a piece of rootstock) in March, 2010. It grew four feet tall that year, grew 4 apples each of the next two years and 10 apples in 2013. It is quite tart and juicy, and the apples are dark red with a bloom that makes them appear purple when ripe. The quality of these apples was not as good as for Ashmead's Kernel or Spitzenburg, but it was a good early summer tart apple, ripening over about three weeks from late June to mid-August. This variety is prone to "bitter pit" (small dark areas on the skin). It does not affect the flavor. 2014: ripened earlier than usual (late June to mid-July) probably due to a very short and warm winter and early growing season. The apples are variable is size from large to very small ones. Texture and juiciness are good but the flavor is milder than in the past--subacid at best.

Season records for this tree

  • 2014

    Size: 2.5m / 8.3ft high   2.0m / 6.7ft wide
    Canker: Not present
    Scab: Not present
    Mildew: Not present
    Fireblight: Not present
    Cedar-apple rust: Not present
    Woolly aphid: Not present
    Codling moth: Not present
    This tree ripened earlier this year, probably due to a warm and very short winter. The first fruit ripened in late June and are continued past mid-July.
  • 2013

    Size: 2.5m / 8.3ft high   2.0m / 6.7ft wide
    Canker: Not present
    Scab: Not present
    Mildew: Not present
    Fireblight: Not present
    Cedar-apple rust: Not present
    Woolly aphid: Not present
    Codling moth: Not present
    This crop was much larger than the first two (which produced 4 apples each) and I thinned the tree down to 20 apples. In spite of the large crop on a small tree the apples grew much larger on average than before.