Lady's Sweet. Pomeroy. Lady's Sweeting. Roa Yon. Ladies' Sweet.

We consider this one of the finest winter sweet Apples for the dessert yet known or cultivated in this country. Its handsome appearance, delightful perfume, sprightly flavor, and the long time which it remains in perfection, render it universally admired wherever it is known, and no garden should be without it. It is a native of this neighborhood. The wood is not very strong, but it grows thriftily, and bears very abundantly, making a round spreading head. Young shoots reddish brown, downy. Buds small.

Fruit large, roundish ovate, narrowing pretty rapidly to the eye. Skin very smooth, nearly covered with red in the sun, but pale yellowish green in the shade, with broken stripes of pale red. The red is sprinkled with well-marked yellowish gray dots, and covered, when first gathered, with a thin white bloom. There is also generally a faint marbling of cloudy white over the red, on the shady side of the fruit, and rays of the same around the stalk. Calyx quite small, set in a narrow, shallow, plaited basin. Stalk half an inch long, in a shallow cavity. Flesh greenish white, exceedingly tender, juicy, and crisp, with a delicious, sprightly, agreeably perfumed flavor. Very good or best. Keeps without shrivelling, or losing its flavor, till May.

— A.J. Downing, The Fruits and Fruit Trees of America (1900)

LADY SWEET.

REFERENCES. 1. Downing, 1845:136. fig. 2. Cole, 1849:132. fig. 3. Downing, Horticulturist, 3:578. 1849. 4. Emmons, Nat. Hist. N. Y., 3:75. 1851. 5. Hovey, 2:87. 1851. col. pl. and fig. 6. Am. Pom. Soc. Cat., 1854. 7. Elliott, 1854:88. 8. Hovey, Mag. Hort., 21:566. 1855. fig. 9. Hooper, 1857:52. 10. Warder, 1867:561. fig. 11. Fitz, 1872:166. 12. Downing, 1872:246. fig. 13. Barry, 1883:348. 14. Thomas, 1885:227. fig. 15. Lyon, Mich. Hort. Soc. Rpt., 1890:294. 16. Bailey, An. Hort., 1892:243. 17. Farrand, Mich. Sta. Bul., 205:42. 1903. 18. Budd-Hansen, 1903:112. 19. Powell and Fulton, U. S. B. P. I. Bul., 48:46. 1903. 20. Beach and Clark, N. Y. Sta. Bul., 248:128. 1904.

SYNONYMS. LADIES SWEET (11). LADIES SWEETING (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 14). LADY'S SWEET (12, 13). Lady's Sweeting (20). Pommeroy (12, 20). Roa Yon (12).

This is one of the most desirable of the sweet apples for commercial planting. When well grown, the fruit is of good size, fine red color and excellent quality and keeps very late. It has an established reputation in market and is well known to fruit growers in many parts of the state, and often under the synonym Pommeroy. Doubtless it would be grown more extensively were it not for the fact that at present the market demand for sweet apples is quite limited. It ships well, stores well and usually sells well. It is also a good variety for the home orchard because the tree comes into bearing young, is a regular bearer, yields heavy crops, and the fruit is attractive in color and excellent either for dessert or for culinary uses. When grown as far north as Lake Ontario its season for home use extends from late autumn to late spring. Generally the tree is not a remarkably strong grower and is but moderately longlived. In some locations it is not quite hardy, and sometimes it is injured by bark-bursting. These deficiencies are in part overcome by top-working the variety upon some hardier and more vigorous sort. The variety is somewhat susceptible to the attacks of the scab fungus and requires thorough treatment to protect it from this disease. It is a reliable cropper, bearing biennially, or in some cases almost annually, and the fruit hangs well to the tree. When it overbears, as it often does, there is apt to be a considerable portion of undersized and poorly colored fruit. This difficulty may be remedied in part by pruning so as to restrict the amount of bearing wood and permit free access of light and air to all parts of the tree.

Historical. This variety originated in the vicinity of Newburg where it established an excellent local reputation. It was first introduced into more general cultivation by the Downing Nurseries of that place (1, 3, 5). It is now propagated in the North Atlantic States, the Middle West and the Pacific region. (16).

TREE.

Tree in the nursery is a slim, slow grower with tender foliage and soft wood and should be top-worked. In the orchard under favorable conditions it becomes moderately vigorous or in some cases a rather strong grower. Form rather upright becoming roundish and somewhat spreading. Twigs medium to rather short, slender; internodes medium to short. Bark dull olive-green or reddish-brown with thin scarf-skin; pubescent particularly toward the tips. Lenticels rather inconspicuous, scattering, very small, elongated or roundish, raised. Buds medium to small, obtuse, closely appressed, slightly pubescent; ends often swollen so that the bud sets on an eminence. Leaves rather narrow, medium to small, ovate.

FRUIT.

Fruit large to medium, pretty uniform in size and shape. Form roundish conic, often approaching oblong conic, irregularly elliptical, often ribbed, nearly symmetrical. Stem short to very short. Cavity acute or approaching acuminate, deep, usually rather narrow, sometimes wide, gently furrowed, often partly russeted, sometimes lipped. Calyx small, closed, pubescent. Basin small, narrow, rather shallow to moderately deep, abrupt, furrowed.

Skin thin, tough, smooth, yellow or greenish, in highly colored specimens almost entirely overspread with bright red splashed with carmine. It is mottled and striped with whitish scarf-skin about the cavity. Dots rather conspicuous, small to rather large, pale areolar with russet point or submerged, numerous toward the basin.

Calyx tube conical varying to funnel-shape. Stamens basal to median. Core small to above medium, axile to somewhat abaxile; cells not uniformly developed, closed; core lines meeting or somewhat clasping. Carpels broad, roundish to roundish ovate, mucronate, sometimes slightly emarginate, somewhat tufted. Seeds dark, large, rather narrow, long, acute, slightly tufted, often abortive.

Flesh whitish or with slight yellow tinge, rather firm, moderately fine, crisp, tender, juicy, sweet with a distinct and pleasant aroma, very good to best. Season November to April or May; in cold storage to May or June.

— S.A. Beach, The Apples of New York, Vol. 1 (1905)

Lady Sweet. — Origin, New York. Downing considered this variety, which originated in his neighborhood, Newburgh, N. Y., one of the finest winter-sweet apples for the dessert, yet known or cultivated in this country, and describes it fully as follows:

" Fruit large, roundish ovate, narrowing pretty rapidly to the eye; surface very smooth, nearly covered with red in the sun, but pale yellowish green in the shade, with broken stripes of pale red; red sprinkled with well-marked yellowish gray dots, and covered, when first gathered, with a thin white bloom; on shaded side there is generally a faint marbling of cloudy white over the red, and rays of same around the stalk; cavity shallow; stem half an inch long; basin shallow, plaited, narrow; calyx quite small; flesh greenish white, exceedingly tender, juicy, and crisp, with a delicious, sprightly, agreeable perfumed flavor, very good to best; keep without shrivelling or losing its flavor till May."

— J.L. Budd & N.E. Hansen, American Horticultural Manual, Part II: Systematic Pomology (1914)

Lady's Sweet. Size: large. Form: round. Color: yellow-red. Quality: very good. Use: both kitchen and market. Season: winter. Northern Division: 9 reporting stations (also reported in another division).

— Granville Lowther (ed.), Encyclopedia of Practical Horticulture (1914)

LADY SWEET. Pommeroy. Lady Sweet has few rivals among sweet apples in its season. The fruits are superior in size, color, flavor, and keeping qualities. The trees come in bearing young and bear regularly and heavily, though they are not remarkably vigorous, are short-lived, and often suffer from winter injury. Fruit and foliage are quite susceptible to apple-scab. The season is from late autumn to late spring. Lady Sweet originated near Newburg, New York, and was brought to notice by Downing in 1845. It is a general favorite in the North Atlantic states and the Middle West. Tree upright-spreading, vigorous. Leaves narrow, small, ovate. Fruit large, uniform in size and shape, round-conic, often approaching oblong-conic, irregularly elliptical, often ribbed, symmetrical; stem short; cavity acute, deep, narrow, sometimes wide, gently furrowed, often russeted, sometimes lipped; calyx small, closed, pubescent; basin small, narrow, shallow, abrupt, furrowed; skin thin, smooth, yellow overspread with bright red splashed with carmine, mottled and striped with white scarf-skin about the cavity; dots conspicuous, pale areolar with russet point or submerged, numerous toward the basin; calyx-tube conical; stamens basal; core small, axile to abaxile; cells not uniformly developed, closed; core-lines meeting or clasping; carpels broad, round to round-ovate, mucronate, sometimes emarginate, tufted; flesh yellow, firm, fine, crisp, tender, juicy, sweet, with a distinct and pleasant aroma; very good to best; November to April or May.

— U.P. Hedrick, Cyclopedia of Hardy Fruits (1922)

...Of the most desirable winter sweet apples, having yellow color, good quality and heavy bearing. But for heavy shipping, we did not recommend it for extensive planting, this a delicious, extremely blended with rich dark red. Originated in Tennessee. NCS

— Stark Bros. Nurseries & Orchards Co., Stark Bros. Year Book (1910) (1910)