There's big anticipation about a new Washington apple variety called "Cosmic Crisp," that should hit the market in time for Christmas. Washington has bet the farm on this apple, planting 11 million trees in just three years, the fastest ramp up of any apple variety ever. It took 20 years for the the popular Honeycrisp to reach that volume. Cosmic Crisp growers are ripping out less profitable varieties as fast as they can.
In old-fashioned Red or Golden Delicious orchards, there are about 100 very large trees per acre. But as we drive through the Wenatchee area these days, we see more small trees growing on upright trellises. These trees have a dwarf rootstock, so the growers can plant up to 1800 per acre. The Cosmic Crisp is bred for this dense planting, and 1,500 acres can accommodate a mind-boggling 2 million trees.
If you have time, there's an interesting article about developing the Cosmic Crisp in Seattle Business Magazine CLICK HERE.
Of course, Cosmic Crisp will command a premium price, much like the Honeycrisp. But it has competition from other growers around the country, who have also been busy developing new apple varieties.
Really, they must hire English majors to name these apples:
Ruby Frost, SnapDragon, Crunch Time, SweeTango, EverCrisp, Rave, Kiku, Opal, Koru, Aurora, Smitten, Juci and Autumn Glory, to name a few.
If that doesn't make you want to eat an apple today, nothing will.
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