Rensselaer
Apple
USDA Pomological Watercolor Collection
Rensselaer
Origin / History
Rensselaer resulted from the cross Ben Davis x Jonathan, made in 1899. The breeding record number was 5550, and the seedling number was 28. It was selected in 1910 from a population of 13 seedlings. It was introduced in 1914, along with 11 other new cultivars named at the same time. It was named for Rensselaer County, New York.
The breeding research which resulted in the origin of Rensselaer was described by Hedrick and Wellington. It was described by Hedrick, and trees of it were distributed to fruit growers in 1914.
During the 20-year period prior to 1969, no Rensselaer trees were in the New York State Agricultural Experiment Station's apple cultivar test orchard. Probably no trees identifiable as Rensselaer were living anywhere.
Tree
Not described in source.
Fruit
Size: Not described in source.
Form: Not described in source.
Stem: Not described in source.
Cavity: Not described in source.
Calyx: Not described in source.
Basin: Not described in source.
Skin: Not described in source.
Dots: Not described in source.
Flesh and flavor: Not described in source.
Core and seeds: Not described in source.
Season
Not described in source.
Uses
Not described in source.
Subtypes / Variants
Not described in source.
Other
Not described in source.
Book Sources
Described in 1 period pomological work
View original book sources (1)
— Roger D. Way, Apple Cultivars Introduced by the New York State Agricultural Experiment Station, 1914–1968 (1971)Rensselaer
Rensselaer resulted from the cross, Ben Davis x Jonathan, made in 1899. The breeding record number was 5550, and the seedling number was 28. It was selected in 1910 from a population of 13 seedlings. It was introduced in 1914, along with 11 other new cultivars named at the same time (see Broome and Table 2). It was named for Rensselaer County, New York.
During the 20-year period prior to 1969, no Rensselaer trees were in the Station's apple cultivar test orchard. Probably no trees identifiable as Rensselaer were living anywhere.
The breeding research which resulted in the origin of Rensselaer was described by Hedrick and Wellington (94). It was described by Hedrick, and trees of it were distributed to fruit growers in 1914 (87).
Because no Rensselaer trees were known to be living in 1969, it is not discussed any further here.