Vintage Virginia Apples

MELROSE is a cross of Jonathan and Red Delicious, introduced by Dr. Howlett of the Ohio Experiment Station in 1944. There is a strain called Melrouge. Scottish Melrose is a distinct variety. Large in size and somewhat ribbed on the body and at the eye, the yellowish-green skin is flushed and streaked dark, brownish-red with russet patches and spots. The creamy-white flesh of this dessert apple is firm, coarse, juicy and aromatic, with a slight acid flavor. It is shaped very much like a Jonathan, but is larger in size. A heavy cropper that bears early, it ripens 10 days or so after Red Delicious. The growth habit is spreading, somewhat willowy, and peculiarly, often the flowers are petal incomplete. It ripens in late September