Lakeland

Apple

Lakeland

Origin / History

Originated at the University of Minnesota Fruit Breeding Farm as Minn. No. 978, an open-pollinated seedling of Malinda. Introduced 1950 (Alderman, Wilcox and Weir); Zielinski gives 1951. Alderman, Wilcox and Weir call it too recently introduced to have demonstrated its value in Minnesota orchards, but credit it with four characteristics "highly important in a commercial apple variety". Zielinski calls it "a desirable variety for dessert, sauce, and pies".

Tree

Trees hardy; only moderately vigorous while young, but older trees become large, strong, spreading, well shaped and productive. An annual bearer. Fruiting habit non-clustering. Fruit adheres well to the tree at harvest time. Susceptible to cedar rust; only moderately susceptible to fire blight and scab.

Fruit

Size: Medium (Alderman, Wilcox and Weir); medium to larger (Zielinski).

Form: Oblate to roundish oblate, sometimes obscurely angled; uniform in shape (Zielinski).

Stem: Short, medium-thick.

Cavity: Medium-deep, flaring.

Calyx: Closed; lobes often large and foliar; tube urn-shaped.

Basin: Medium, moderately furrowed.

Skin: Medium-tender, smooth, well finished (Zielinski). Color bright, attractive all-over red, medium-red (Alderman, Wilcox and Weir) to medium-dark red (Zielinski), three-fourths to solid covering; obscurely striped (Alderman, Wilcox and Weir), attractively striped red (Zielinski).

Dots: Not described in source.

Flesh and flavor: Flesh light, creamy yellow, sometimes lightly tinged with red (Alderman, Wilcox and Weir) or slightly tinged with pink (Zielinski). Texture fine-grained, medium-tender, juicy. Flavor pleasantly mild acid changing to subacid (Alderman, Wilcox and Weir); pleasantly mild subacid changing to subacid in storage (Zielinski). Quality good for dessert and very good for sauce and pies (Alderman, Wilcox and Weir); general quality "excellent" (Zielinski).

Core and seeds: Core closed.

Season

Ripens a little later than Wealthy and keeps longer in storage (Alderman, Wilcox and Weir). Season of use September 15 to January (Alderman, Wilcox and Weir). Ripens about September 15 at Corvallis (Zielinski).

Uses

Dessert, sauce and pies. Cooked slices hold their shape but are not tough (Alderman, Wilcox and Weir).

Subtypes / Variants

Not described in source.

Other

Not described in source.

Book Sources

Described in 2 period pomological works

Alderman, Wilcox & Weir, Fruit Varieties Developed at the University of Minnesota Fruit Breeding Farm (1957)
Zielinski, Apple Varieties for Oregon (1964) — listed as Lakeland†

View original book sources (2)

Lakeland. Minn. No. 978. Malinda open pollinated. Introduced 1950.

Lakeland is too recently introduced to have demonstrated its value in Minnesota orchards, but it possesses four characteristics which are highly important in a commercial apple variety. It is an annual bearer; has an attractive all-over red color; has a non-clustering fruiting habit and adheres well to the tree at harvest time. It ripens a little later than Wealthy and keeps longer in storage. It is susceptible to cedar rust but only moderately susceptible to fire blight and scab.

The trees are hardy, only moderately vigorous while young but older trees become large, strong, spreading, well shaped and productive. The fruit is medium in size, oblate to roundish oblate, sometimes obscurely angled; color bright, attractive medium-red, three-quarters to solid covering, obscurely striped; stem short, medium-thick; cavity medium-deep, flaring; basin medium, moderately furrowed; calyx closed, lobes often large and foliar; tube urn-shaped; core closed; skin medium-tender; flesh light, creamy yellow, sometimes lightly tinged with red; texture fine-grained, medium-tender, juicy; flavor pleasantly mild acid changing to subacid; quality good for dessert and very good for sauce and pies, since the cooked slices hold their shape but are not tough; season of use September 15 to January.

— W.H. Alderman, A.N. Wilcox & T.S. Weir, Fruit Varieties Developed at the University of Minnesota Fruit Breeding Farm (1957)

Lakeland†

This variety originated at the Minnesota Fruit Breeding Farm and was introduced in 1951. Color is a bright, attractive, medium-dark red, three-fourths to solid color. The skin is medium tender, smooth, well finished, and an attractively striped red. Flesh is a light, creamy yellow, sometimes slightly tinged with pink. Texture is fine grained, medium tender, and juicy. The flavor is pleasantly mild subacid changing to subacid in storage. Fruit size is medium to larger and uniform in shape. The general quality is excellent, and it is a desirable variety for dessert, sauce, and pies. It ripens about September 15 at Corvallis.

— Quentin B. Zielinski, Apple Varieties for Oregon (1964)