Stark Bro’s Releases Two New Apple Varieties Best Suited for Warmer Climates

In the past few years, Stark Bro’s Nurseries & Orchards Co. has released ‘Stark Ruby Darling’ and ‘Stark Scarlet Crush,’ as well as ‘Stark Franklin Cider’ apple. These varieties were all either grower-made crosses or chance varieties found in orchards.

 

Stark Bro’s Releases Two New Apple Varieties Best Suited for Warmer Climates

‘Stark Hart’s Fancy’

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As Stark Bro’s seeks a return to their roots, the nursery is releasing two new varieties, ‘Stark Red Romance’ and ‘Stark Hart’s Fancy,’ both coming from a grower in Illinois.

 

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‘Stark Hart’s Fancy’ is a ‘Honeycrisp’ and ‘Gala’ cross whose name is a nod to Stark Bro’s founder, James Hart Stark. It boasts cherry-red skin with light striping. The tree is a strong annual bearer.

“It’s a pretty, red apple,” says Ken Lane, Chief Marketing Office for Stark Bro’s. “It’s got a better crunch than ‘Stark Red Romance.’”

The flavor of ‘Stark Hart’s Fancy’ is a sub-acid flavor with sweetness, crispness, and juiciness, that ‘Honeycrisp’ is known for. But what makes ‘Stark Hart’s Fancy’ a so-called “better ‘Honeycrisp’” its tolerance for warmer climates.

‘Stark Hart’s Fancy’ also boasts disease resistance too, but would be a better fit for the consumer-grower or pick-your-own.

On the commercial side, the fact that this apple is more red will have some commercial appeal. On the flip side, ‘Red Romance’ stores up to six months and ‘Hart’s Fancy’ does not. It’s probably a month or six weeks,” Lane says.

‘Stark Hart’s Fancy’ harvests closer to “Honeycrisp,’ too.

Stark Bro’s Releases Two New Apple Varieties Best Suited for Warmer Climates

‘Stark Red Romance’

More Like a Gala
‘Stark Red Romance,’ another ‘Honeycrisp’ and ‘Gala’ cross, takes on more of the ‘Gala’ growth characteristics, but it, too, can thrive in warmer climates. Its skin is a deep-red, and it boasts a pale-yellow to cream flesh that is juicy and sweet.

“That was the purpose of crossing it with a ‘Gala,’ to add the ‘Gala’ sweetness and keep the ‘Honeycrisp’ crunch,” Lane says. “It’s a pretty juicy apple as well.”

It’s also more tolerant to wet seasons, with resistance to cedar apple rust, apple scab, and fire blight, is its sister, ‘Stark Hart’s Fancy.’

“It is something that can go to market 2 ½ weeks after ‘Honeycrisp,’” Lane says.

Both ‘Stark Red Romance’ and ‘Star Hart’s Fancy’ grow well in zones 5-7.

“You can grow [them] in Zone 7, which traditional ‘Honeycrisp’ struggles to do,” Lane says. “It opens up a significant swath of the country for growers.”

Lane says Stark Bro’s is always looking for more grower-partners of new and interesting varieties as well.

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