Lee Sweet
Apple
USDA Pomological Watercolor Collection
Lee Sweet
Origin and History
An old variety of uncertain origin, known in the vicinity of Geneva under the name Lee Sweet because it was formerly grown on the White Springs farm, then known as the Lee farm. Unable to be identified with any other variety in historical records.
Tree
Tree medium in size, moderately vigorous. Form erect. Twigs medium in length to rather short, pretty straight, rather slender; internodes short to medium. Bark olive-green overcast with brownish-red, overlaid with thin scarf-skin, slightly pubescent. Lenticels moderately numerous, raised, generally elongated, small. Buds small, roundish, pubescent, nearly free from bark.
The tree does not come into bearing very young, but when mature is a reliable cropper, yielding moderately heavy crops biennially. The fruit hangs fairly well to the tree and is pretty uniform in size and quality, having about as high a percentage of marketable fruit as the Baldwin. It is somewhat subject to scab, but this may be readily controlled by proper treatment.
Fruit
Form and Size: Medium to nearly large, fairly uniform in shape and size. Form roundish conic to oblong conic, often somewhat angular or elliptical; sides sometimes unequal.
Stem: Medium to short.
Cavity: Acuminate, deep, moderately wide, sometimes lipped or furrowed, russeted, often with outspreading russet rays.
Calyx: Rather large, open; lobes long, acuminate, reflexed, often separated at the base.
Basin: Medium to rather small, usually abrupt, usually medium in depth and width, sometimes a little furrowed.
Skin: Tough, glossy bright red striped with purplish-carmine over a yellow background and sometimes marked with grayish scarf-skin about the base. Highly colored specimens are nearly or quite covered with red, but where the color is less strongly developed it has a striped appearance. Dots usually whitish, rather numerous, small, occasionally rather large and dark russet. Calyx tube conical or funnel-form. Stamens median or below.
Core and Seeds: Core medium to small, abaxile; cells pretty symmetrical, open or closed; core lines clasping. Carpels much concave, roundish ovate, mucronate, tufted. Seeds short, broad, plump, obtuse.
Flesh and Flavor: Nearly white, slightly tinged with yellow, firm, somewhat coarse, not very juicy, sweet, good.
Season and Storage
Stores well if perfect. In ordinary storage, in season from January to April.
Uses
Handsome, deep red apple of good size. Acceptable for dessert but especially valuable for market and culinary uses. Desirable for the home orchard and worthy of consideration for commercial planting where a sweet apple is desired.
Subtypes and Variants
Not described in source.
Other
The fruit is illustrated on the color plate with Northern Spy, and a section of it is shown on the color plate with McLellan.
Book Sources
Described in 1 period pomological work
View original book sources (1)
— S.A. Beach, The Apples of New York, Vol. 1 (1905)LEE SWEET.
Lee Sweet is a handsome deep red apple of good size, acceptable for dessert but especially valuable for market and culinary uses. It is desirable for the home orchard and appears to be worthy of consideration for commercial planting where a sweet apple is desired. The fruit is illustrated on the color plate with Northern Spy, and a section of it is shown on the color plate with McLellan.
The tree does not come into bearing very young, but when mature is a reliable cropper, yielding moderately heavy crops biennially. The fruit hangs fairly well to the tree and is pretty uniform in size and quality, having about as high a percentage of marketable fruit as the Baldwin. It is somewhat subject to scab, but this may be readily controlled by proper treatment. It stores well and, if perfect, keeps well. In ordinary storage it is in season from January to April.
Historical. An old variety of uncertain origin known to some in the vicinity of Geneva under the name of Lee Sweet because it was formerly grown on the White Springs farm then known as the Lee farm. It is here described under its local name because we have been unable to identify it with any other variety.
TREE.
Tree medium in size, moderately vigorous. Form erect. Twigs medium in length to rather short, pretty straight, rather slender; internodes short to medium. Bark olive-green overcast with brownish-red, overlaid with thin scarf-skin, slightly pubescent. Lenticels moderately numerous, raised, generally elongated, small. Buds small, roundish, pubescent, nearly free from bark.
FRUIT.
Fruit medium to nearly large, fairly uniform in shape and size. Form roundish conic to oblong conic, often somewhat angular or elliptical; sides sometimes unequal. Stem medium to short. Cavity acuminate, deep, moderately wide, sometimes lipped or furrowed, russeted, often with outspreading russet rays. Calyx rather large, open; lobes long, acuminate, reflexed, often separated at the base. Basin medium to rather small, usually abrupt, usually medium in depth and width, sometimes a little furrowed. Skin tough, glossy bright red striped with purplish-carmine over a yellow background and sometimes marked with grayish scarf-skin about the base. Highly colored specimens are nearly or quite covered with red but where the color is less strongly developed it has a striped appearance. Dots usually whitish, rather numerous, small, occasionally rather large and dark russet. Calyx tube conical or funnel-form. Stamens median or below.
Core medium to small, abaxile; cells pretty symmetrical, open or closed; core lines clasping. Carpels much concave, roundish ovate, mucronate, tufted. Seeds short, broad, plump, obtuse. Flesh nearly white, slightly tinged with yellow, firm, somewhat coarse, not very juicy, sweet, good.