Gardner's Sweet Pearmain
AppleGardner's Sweet Pearmain
Origin/History
Gardner's Sweet Pearmain is an old Long Island apple variety. Downing records it in his 1869 edition (page 188), and that reference is cited by Beach (1905) as the sole published source. By the time Beach compiled The Apples of New York (1905), the variety was unknown to his researchers; as Beach states, "so far as we have been able to learn it is no longer propagated."
Tree
Not described in source.
Fruit
Size and Form
Fruit medium in size, oblate, with sides unequal.
Stem
Not described in source.
Cavity
Not described in source.
Calyx
Not described in source.
Basin
Not described in source.
Skin
Yellowish ground, shaded, splashed, and striped with light and dark red nearly over the whole surface, and thickly sprinkled with light dots.
Flesh and Flavor
Flesh whitish, tender, juicy, sweet, and pleasant. Rated Good.
Core and Seeds
Core small. Seeds not described in source.
Season
September.
Uses
Not described in source.
Subtypes/Variants
Not described in source.
Other
Not described in source.
Book Sources
Described in 2 period pomological works
- Downing, Fruits and Fruit Trees of America (1900)
- Beach, The Apples of New York Vol. 2 (1905) — listed as Gardner Sweet Pearmain
View original book sources (2)
— A.J. Downing, The Fruits and Fruit Trees of America (1900)Gardner's Sweet Pearmain.
An old Long Island Apple.
Fruit medium, oblate, sides unequal, yellowish, shaded, splashed, and striped with light and dark red nearly over the whole surface, thickly sprinkled with light dots. Flesh whitish, tender, juicy, sweet, and pleasant. Good. Core small. September.
— S.A. Beach, The Apples of New York, Vol. 2 (1905)GARDNER SWEET PEARMAIN.
Reference. 1. Downing, 1869:188.
Synonyms. None.
A Long Island variety, the fruit of which, according to Downing (1), is medium in size, nearly covered with red; flesh whitish, sweet, good; season September. This variety is unknown to us; so far as we have been able to learn it is no longer propagated.