Summer apple varieties include: Close, Yellow Transparent, Stark Earliest, Vista Bella, Discovery, Menteš, JerseYmac, Summerred, James Grieve, Akane, but besides these, there are many more varieties that ripen during this time of year.
CLOSE
The variety originates from the USA. It is triploid and requires pollinators for cultivation. Good pollinators include Stark Earliest, James Grieve, Idared, and Golden Delicious. It is characterized by early flowering, which makes it susceptible to late spring frosts in regions prone to them, leading to frost damage to flowers and fruit set. It has moderate susceptibility to powdery mildew and scab. It bears fruit early and moderately. The fruits ripen in the second half of June (between June 20th and 30th) and represent the earliest red-colored variety. The tree of this variety is vigorous. The fruit is medium-large, weighing between 130 to 180 g, greenish-yellow to reddish in color, and elongated-round in shape. The flesh is firm, juicy, acidic, and aromatic. It can be stored for about 2 weeks.
YELLOW TRANSPARENT
The diploid variety ripens in late June and in the first decade of July, from June 25th to July 10th. It is also an early flowering variety that bears fruit very well. It is pollinated by other early flowering varieties. The tree is moderately vigorous. It is quite susceptible to powdery mildew. The fruit is medium-sized, weighing between 110 to 160 g, and round in shape. The skin is pale yellow to straw yellow, with densely distributed light green dots on the surface. The flesh of the fruit is moderately juicy, pleasantly acidic, and refreshing in flavor. It can be stored for 8 to 10 days.
STARK EARLIEST
It belongs to the earliest summer varieties, ripening between July 1st and 15th. It originates from the USA and has been in production since 1944. This variety is widespread in the USA, Italy, Switzerland, France, and Germany. It is a diploid variety that blooms early. Good pollinators include Jonathan, J. Grieve, Golden Delicious, and Idared. It is susceptible to powdery mildew. When grafted onto wild apple rootstock, it produces small fruits. The tree is moderately vigorous and strong, entering fruiting early and bearing abundantly and regularly. The fruit is medium-sized, weighing between 150 to 180 g, round in shape, slightly wider than long. The skin is smooth, shiny, pale green, with pinkish-red blush on the sunny side, often in stripes. The flesh is white with a yellowish tint, moderately firm, slightly acidic, juicy, and flavorful. The fruit quality is very good, and it can be stored for up to 2 weeks.
VISTA BELLA
This variety, also an American type, is cultivated not only in America but also in Canada, Italy, the Netherlands, France, and Japan. It is also widespread in Bulgaria. This variety ripens from July 10th to 15th. It grows vigorously with fairly vertical branches. To reduce its vigor, it should be grown on dwarfing rootstocks such as M 9 or M 27. It blooms moderately early, with good pollinators being Stark Earliest, J. Grieve, Golden Delicious, and Idared. It is susceptible to scab and powdery mildew. It bears medium-sized, round fruit with broad, blunt ribs. The skin is smooth and fairly thick. The base color of the skin is greenish-yellow, covered over half of the fruit’s surface with dark red that gives a slight purple tone. The flesh of the fruit is pale yellow, moderately firm, slightly acidic, and aromatic. In terms of fruit quality, it ranks among above-average summer varieties. Due to the tree’s vigorous growth, it enters bearing later compared to other summer varieties but produces abundantly and regularly when mature. It can be stored for up to 2 weeks.
DISCOVERY
A early to mid-early variety ripening from July 10th to 20th. It is characterized by good and late fertility. The tree is of moderate vigor. The branches are quite spread out, so occasional branch management is beneficial. It produces small to medium-sized fruit weighing around 100 g. The skin of the fruit is very noticeable with vibrant red color, while the shaded part of the fruit is less colored with red. The flesh is moderately juicy, with a sweet-tart flavor. It can be stored for up to 2 weeks.
MANTET
A variety originating from Canada, it is a spontaneous seedling of the Tetofsky variety. It ripens in the second half of July, from the 15th to the 30th. It blooms moderately early and is a diploid variety. The tree is vigorous, and it performs well on the dwarfing rootstock M 9. Good pollinators for it are Stark Earliest, J. Grieve, and Idared. Its drawback is its tendency towards alternate bearing, which can be mitigated by rigorous pruning and thinning of young fruit. It is susceptible to powdery mildew but relatively resistant to scab. It has very good and moderately early fertility. It produces medium to large-sized fruit weighing from 130 to 180 g. The fruits are round-conical and slightly ribbed. The skin is yellowish-green with bright red stripes. The flesh is firm, with a winey tart flavor, very juicy, aromatic, and of excellent quality. It can be stored for up to a week.
JERSEYMAC
The American variety “McIntosh” was developed by crossing New Jersey 24 with Julyred in 1971. The tree is vigorous and branched. It has very good fertility but is sensitive to scab. It ripens from August 1st to 10th and blooms moderately early. Good pollinators for it are Tydeman’s, Prima, Discovery, and Abas. It produces medium to large-sized fruit with a flattened conical shape. The skin of the fruit is primarily green, with a secondary color of red, though not as dark as in the Vista Bella variety. The flesh is greenish, sweet-tart, and juicy. A characteristic of this variety is its uneven ripening. It can be stored for up to a month.
SUMMERRED
The Canadian-origin variety, developed in 1964 by crossing McIntosh with Golden Delicious, ripens from August 1st to 10th. The tree is moderately vigorous. It is moderately susceptible to scab and moderately resistant to powdery mildew. It blooms moderately early and bears fruit abundantly. Good pollinators for it are Delicious, Golden Delicious, Fuji, and Idared. The fruit is medium-sized, weighing 120 to 140 g, and has an elongated conical shape. The skin is attractive, with a reddish-crimson color throughout the fruit, light brown lenticels, smooth, and can be thick. The flesh of the fruit is white, crisp, juicy, sweet-tart in taste. A characteristic of this variety is that its fruits come in clusters. It can be stored from one month to two months.
JAMES GRIEVE
The diploid variety, originating from Scotland, is presumed to have been derived from seeds of Cox’s Orange or Potts Seedling. It was propagated in 1980 as a highly productive variety. It ripens from August 15th to 25th. The tree is of moderate vigor. It blooms early to moderately early. A good pollinator for it is the Jonathan variety. It bears abundantly and early. The fruits are medium to large-sized, weighing from 140 to 210 g. They are susceptible to bruising, transportation damage, and bitter pit. The skin is straw-yellow, with a secondary color of light red. The fruit is round in shape, slightly ribbed around the calyx basin. It is excellent in quality and represents the best variety ripening in August. It can be stored for one to two months.
Akane is a diploid variety originating from Japan, with renowned parentage of Jonathan × Worcester Pearmain. It has been in production since 1970. It ripens from August 15th to 30th. The tree is of moderate vigor. It is relatively resistant to scab and fire blight but susceptible to powdery mildew. It blooms from mid-early to mid-late season. Good pollinators for it are James Grieve and Golden Delicious. It bears abundantly and early. The fruits hold well on the tree and can be harvested for up to 30 days without significant loss in quality. They are medium-sized, around 110 g, round, and have a primary green-yellow color. The secondary color is light red, covering up to 80% of the fruit in stripes. After harvesting, the fruits develop a waxy coating. The flesh is pale white, firm, juicy, winey-acidic, aromatic, and of very good quality. It can be stored for up to one month.
