Apple Index - "K"

Keener Seedling (Rusty Coat)

Two Russeted Apples

Description: Fruit medium or below, round, flattened on the ends; skin completely covered with brown russet with faint red stripes barely visible beneath the russet; dots inconspicuous, faint, tan. Flesh crisp, juicy, fine-grained, subacid. Ripe late October and a good keeper.

History: Listed in the 1890 catalog of the Catawba County Nursery of Newton, North Carolina. Bertha Kiser Goodson of Lincoln County, North Carolina, said that about 1880 a mining engineer from Missouri, who came to work with the iron ore mines in Lincoln County, married the daughter of Mr. Keener and bought sixty-six acres of the Keener land. This man grafted fruit trees and distributed Keener Seedling trees throughout Lincoln County.

Uses: Fresh Eating, Cooking, Stores well

Kennedy

Two Red Apples

Description: Fruit medium or above, round to slightly oblong; skin mostly covered in bright red or purplish red with some scarf skin, some apples may have considerable russeting; dots few to many, large, whitish. Flesh pale greenish, juicy, crisp, somewhat chewy, subacid. Ripe mid-July.

History: A Georgia apple first mentioned and briefly described in 1858. A Kennedy apple was found by Jimmy Hargrove and is the one described above, but it is probably not the Georgia apple.

Uses: Fresh Eating

 

Kentucky Limbertwig

Two Red Apples

A great old Limbertwig variety from the Cumberland Mountains of Kentucky. True Limbertwig flavor and good for cooking and fresh eating. Fruit is below large, somewhat elongated to slightly tapered with greenish-yellow skin, partially overlaid with light reddish-orange skin. Wonderful fresh eating apple with a firm, crisp texture. When fully ripe, this apple has a wonderful flavor that resembles a banana. Tree susceptible to fungal diseases. Ripens late and is an excellent keeper.

Uses: Fresh Eating, Cooking, Stores well

Description from Big Horse Creek Farm at bighorsecreekfarm.com.

Kentucky Red (Red Crab, Castor Crab, Red Cider Crab, Beeler's Crab)

Watercolor plate

Description:  Fruit very large for a crab apple, almost round or slightly oblate; skin almost entirely deep red; dots numerous, large, russet; stem long and slender; basin medium sized; flesh white, stained red under skin, crisp, very juicy, tannic, acid.  Ripe September/October.

History:  Highly prized carb apple from Kentucky and Indiana.  Originated from a tree that grew in the orchard of John Harpool near Bowling Green Kentucky.  Larger than Hewes' Crab and produces a cider that is rich and will keep without reducing.

Uses: Cider, Cooking, Apple Butter, Stores well

Kimrome

Two Red Apples

Description: Fruit large to very large, round, often slightly oblique; skin pale yellow, partly to mostly covered with pinkish red to medium red with faint, darker red stripes; dots large, scattered, gray. Ripe September.

History: This is not an antique apple, but its size and quality make it a worthwhile addition to orchards. A seedling tree was found in the 1970s by Kimsey Waddell in his commercial orchard of Rome Beauty apple trees in north Georgia near Ellijay.

Uses: Fresh Eating, Cooking, Drying, Stores well

 

King David

Two Red Apples and Watercolor Print

Description: Fruit medium to large, roundish to oblate, conical, often oblique; skin rather thick, tough, glossy, mostly covered with red overlaid with stripes of darker red, with a gray bloom; dots numerous, irregular, tan russet. Flesh yellowish white, fine-grained, crisp, juicy, mild subacid. Ripe September/October and a good keeper.

History: Thought to be a cross of Jonathan x Winesap or perhaps Jonathan x Arkansas Black. The original tree was found in 1893 growing in a fencerow on the farm of Ben Frost near Durham in Washington County, Arkansas. It was trademarked and introduced by Stark Bro’s Nursery in 1902 and sold by them until the 1930s as a replacement for Jonathan in commercial orchards.

Uses: Fresh Eating, Cider, Cooking, Stores well

King Luscious

Two Red Apples

Description: Fruit medium to large, roundish to oblate, conical, often oblique; skin rather thick, tough, glossy, mostly covered with red overlaid with stripes of darker red, with a gray bloom; dots numerous, irregular, tan russet. Flesh yellowish white, fine-grained, crisp, juicy, mild subacid. Ripe September/October and a good keeper.

History: Although this apple is not quite an “old” apple, it is included here because it is a fine southern apple still grown commercially in several small orchards in western North Carolina. King Luscious was found in 1935 growing as a chance seedling near Hendersonville, North Carolina and was introduced by the Will Dalton Nursery. Bountiful Ridge Nursery of Maryland patented and sold King Luscious from 1960 to 1977.

Uses: Fresh Eating, Stores well

 

King Solomon (Solomon)

Two Red Apples

Description: Fruit medium or above, oblate or roundish oblate, slightly angular; skin orange yellow with scattered stripes and splashes of light red; dots moderate in number, brown. Flesh yellow, slightly coarse, moderately juicy, mild subacid. Ripe August/September.

History: King Solomon is a Georgia apple that originated before the Civil War and was sold in 1870 by the Forest Nursery of Fairview, Kentucky.

Uses: Fresh Eating

King Tom

Three Red Apples

Description: Fruit medium, roundish to oblate; skin almost covered with medium to dark red and with some scarf skin and russet blotches; dots rather large, scattered, russet. Ripe August.

History: King Tom may be of North Carolina origin, but two old catalogs credit South Carolina. It was first described in an 1853 issue of Western Horticultural Review magazine.

Uses: Cooking, Fresh Eating, Stores well for the season

 

Kinnaird’s Choice (Kinnaird, Red Winter Cluster, Kinnaird’s Favorite, Kennard, Kinnard, Black Winesap)

Two Red Apples and Watercolor Print

Description: Fruit medium, roundish to slightly oblate, slightly conical, sometimes oblique; skin thick, tough, almost covered with dark red when exposed to the sun; dots numerous, small to large, light-colored. Flesh yellowish, moderately fine-grained, crisp, tender, juicy, somewhat aromatic, mild subacid. Ripe September/October in central North Carolina and an excellent keeper.

History: The first mention of Kinnaird’s Choice is a discussion and description by Charles Downing in an 1870 issue of The Gardener’s Monthly magazine. He says the apple originated about 1855 on the farm of Michael Kinnaird of Franklin, Tennessee, and was thought to be a cross of Winesap x Limbertwig. A letter in USDA files says that the original tree was brought to Maura County, Tennessee, in 1843 by R. O. Kinnard from Williamson County.

Uses: Fresh Eating, Cider, Stores well