Clair 4

Bred by Clair Lammers of Fairbanks. This is a cross between Westland and September Ruby.

Both our trees produced abundantly in their 4th year. Apples are large, mostly around 2.5" in diameter but some get larger. They ripen mid to late August, one of our earliest ripening varieties. They are semi-sweet, juicy and similar to Golden Delicious. When made into apple sauce, they produce a runny sauce due to high juice content. They work well in sauce when combined with Alma Sweet. This is a good juicing apple. Because the tree produces so much fruit and does not store well, you should be prepared to freeze fruit, make sauce, or dry the apples. Its early production of abundant large apples make it an appealing variety, especially for those with a short growing season.

The trees are fast growers with a leggy open branching habit, with the branches having naturally wide crotch angles. Extensive thinning is required to reduce the load of fruit on this very productive tree. It is fully winter hardy in our orchard, so far, but we have been told that the tips of branches die back in colder locations. Its positive attributes are that it fruits at a young age, with good sized apples, is super hardy, with good productivity, and is one of the earliest ripening apples. On the downside the branches tend to be long, and droop to the ground when loaded with apples, making mowing a real chore. More frequent pruning, particularly in second year wood, could help alleviate this problem. Remove branches below 3' to reduce this problem. Our tree is also growing quite tall and is now almost too tall to pick even with a ladder, so we will be pruning it for height as well.