Red or Green

August 27, 2018: Our little apple tree is full of little apples.

As I've made clear over the years, I'm no farmer. My thumb is not green, but closer to a lifeless, crispy brown. I've never kept a houseplant alive and healthy for more than a few years, and that one time was something of a miracle.

Our apple tree is my outdoor miracle. When we moved here, I thought it was just an ugly little bush. I never gave it any attention or care of any kind. When it started growing through my chain link fence, I planned to have it ripped out. Then, six or seven years ago, when I found a bunch of apples laying around the tree, I thought someone was throwing apples in my yard. Why would someone do that, I demanded. Even then, it didn't occur to me that the tall, ugly bush was an actual apple tree!

Despite my years of neglect, the little tree survived. It had finally captured my attention. Noting how it still looked like a wild bush rather than a tree of any kind, late last fall I asked a neighbor to prune the tree for me. Prune her he did, deeply. He cut out more than half of her wood. It made me a bit nervous, so I've been watching the little tree's progress more closely than usual since spring, comparing its stages to that of other small trees throughout our neighborhood.

On August 9th, the apples were still very green.

The pink-and-white blossoms came later than everyone else's. The apples seemed to take longer to develop. They appeared to be substantially smaller. And, while everyone else's apples started blushing, mine remained stubbornly green. I was beginning to foresee a crop of tiny, sour-green apples.

When I mentioned my concerns to my kids, both Sarah and Dylan told me they were pretty sure they'd always been green apples, never red. No...really? No... Was dementia finally starting to set in? I had such clear memories of the red apples I thought had been thrown in my yard, of the pink blush starting to color the apples late each summer. Was I really losing it?

Thus, I was quite relieved when the reddish blush began to stain parts of the apples in my tree. Not only could I hope for sweet red apples, but I also knew I wasn't crazy after all!

A fine blush finally appears. We should have red apples by September!

My concerns aren't over yet. It looks like many of the apples have developed rough brown patches on the surface. After an internet search, I'm happy to report that it doesn't match the damage caused by any type of pest or disease. It appears to be something called "russeting," often caused by too much rainfall or late frosts in the spring, while the apples are developing.

Russeting may decrease an apple's shelf-life, but it doesn't affect its flavor or render it inedible. On occasion, I've seen and eaten apples with scaly scars similar to mine, and they were fine. They are ugly, though, and I'd like to know how to prevent them in the future. If anyone reading this is familiar with this problem, please advise!

Meanwhile, I'll be watching.

Blushing beauties, with a little russeting thrown in.