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

Spigold apple

Spigold
Large golden yellow fruit 75% covered with bright red stripes. Tender skin. Fine grained firm crisp yellow flesh, sprightly and sweet. Stores well.

Spigold apple identification images

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  • Spigold
  • Spigold

USDA identification images for Spigold

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.

    Parents and other ancestors of this variety


    Visitor reviews

    • 07 Feb 2018  WASHINGTON, United States
      BIG, juicy, late, aromatic for a late. Dual purpose. In W. Washington I think the flavor doesn't quite develop. Shy bearing here on b9.
    • 25 Oct 2017  BRITISH COLUMBIA, Canada
      Juicy, like all triploids. Late maturing. In a year with lots of late sun, the flavour is round, with tangerine and mandarin notes on a background of wildflower honey. The flavour is sun dependent. In a cooler year, the apples are more watery, and distinguishable more by texture. A very narrow picking window, but exquisite red colour. Far superior to Jonagold, with dense flesh despite the large cell size. Its juiciness distinguishes it from the superior Maigold.
    • 02 Feb 2015  CA, HUMBOLDT, United States
      I just registered under Pink Lady. Spigold is a wonderful apple. When perfectly grown as in Northern California, the huge apples, yellow and red, exhibit free juice when cut and the crisp flesh breaks in your mouth and instantly melts into lusciousness. Allegedly a pollen-sterile tri-ploid, the trees want to get big. Like its Northern Spy parent, it blooms late. The crisp but juicy and melting flesh is a worthy breeding goal as with Cripp's Pink. Yet it holds up in cooking. Just a medium keeper in my experience. Top quality is ephemeral.
    • 15 Sep 2013  United States
      John jfkaar@alum.mit.edu Cape Cod (but apple experience in SW Ohio) This is an outstanding cultivar. Large, firm fleshed fruits with more floral complex flavor (sometimes a banana note) than Northern Spy. Similar to Northern Spy in keeping its structure in baking, so you get an apple pie, not an applesauce pie. Fruits develop a natural wax coating which helps it keep well.

    Tree register

    United States

    Canada

    Spring blossom records for this variety

    2020 season

    • 27th April  2020  - tree owned by Jerry in Point Reyes Station, United States

    2019 season

    • 24th April  2019  - tree owned by Jerry in Point Reyes Station, United States

    2018 season

    • 28th April  2018  - tree owned by Jerry in Point Reyes Station, United States

    2012 season

    • 14th May  2012  - tree owned by Florian in Brush Prairie, United States

    2011 season

    • 19th May  2011  - tree owned by Kris in Holden, United States

    2010 season

    • 19th May  2010  - tree owned by Kris in Holden, United States

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


    Harvest records for this variety

    2020 season

    • 2nd week October  2020  - tree owned by Jerry in Point Reyes Station, United States

    2019 season

    • 2nd week October  2019  - tree owned by Jerry in Point Reyes Station, United States

    2018 season

    • 2nd week October  2018  - tree owned by Jerry in Point Reyes Station, United States

    2013 season

    • 1st week October  2013  - tree owned by Florian in Brush Prairie, United States

    2010 season

    • 3rd week October  2010  - tree owned by Kris in Holden, United States

    Origins

    • Species: Malus domestica - Apple
    • Parentage: Golden Delicious x Red Spy.
    • Originates from: United States
    • Introduced: 1962
    • Developed by: New York State Agricultural Experiment Station, NY
    • UK National Fruit Collection accession: 1979-187

    Identification

    • Country of origin: United States
    • Period of origin: 1950 - 1999
    • Annual cycle: Deciduous
    • Fruit size: Large
    • Fruit shape: Conical

    Using

    • Picking season: Late
    • Keeping (of fruit): 3 months or more
    • Flavour quality: Very good
    • Flavour style (apples): Sweet/Sharp
    • Juice style: Sweeter
    • Food uses: Eating fresh
    • Food uses: Juice
    • Picking month: October
    • Picking period: late October
    • Wildlife: RHS Plants for Pollinators

    Growing

    • Gardening skill: Average
    • Flowering group: 4
    • Pollinating others: Poor
    • Ploidy: Triploid
    • Vigour: Slightly large
    • Bearing regularity: Biennial tendency
    • Growth habit: Upright
    • Self-fertility: Not self-fertile

    Climate

    • Climate suitability: Temperate climates
    • Climate suitability: Mild damp climates
    • Cold-hardiness: Cold-hardy
    • Summer average maximum temperatures: Cool ( 20-24C / 68-75F)
    • Summer average maximum temperatures: Warm (25-30C / 76-85F)

    Other qualities

    • Fire blight: Some resistance

    Where to buy trees

    The following tree nurseries offer Spigold apple trees for sale:


    Where to buy fresh fruit

    The following orchards grow Spigold:

    United States




    References

    • Cedar-Apple Rust  
      Author: Stephen Vann, University of Arkansas, Division of Agriculture (FSA7538)
      Rated as highly susceptible - control always needed where CAR is prevalent.
    • Apples for the 21st Century
      Author: Manhart

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