Summer King
Apple
USDA Pomological Watercolor Collection
Summer King
Origin / History
An old variety, supposed to have originated in North Carolina. Downing, citing the Western Gardener, records it as cultivated for many years in Warren and Todd Counties, Ky., "where it is highly prized as one of their best and handsomest apples of its season." The Stark Bros. Year Book (1910) repeats the verdict "one of the best and handsomest of its season," and adds that it is "an old variety, yet little known."
Tree
Upright, a moderate grower, productive in alternate years. Young shoots reddish brown, grayish. "A good orchard tree and hardy" (Stark Bros.).
Fruit
Size: Medium to large; Thomas and Lowther give medium.
Form: Roundish oblate to oblate or flat.
Stem: Short.
Cavity: Large, deep, russeted.
Calyx: Closed.
Basin: Medium, regular.
Skin: Yellowish green to yellow, striped with crimson, red and orange. Thomas gives a red blush, and Lowther calls the skin yellow-red.
Dots: Not described in source.
Flesh and flavor: Flesh whitish, yellow, fine, brittle, juicy. Flavor mild, agreeable, subacid. Quality "good" (Thomas; Lowther).
Core and seeds: Core small.
Season
Summer; August and September.
Uses
Kitchen and market (Lowther).
Subtypes / Variants
Not described in source.
Other
Lowther's station table lists no reporting stations in the Northern Division. It lists 2 reporting stations in the Central Division and 1 in the Southern Division, each also reported in another division. The Stark Bros. Year Book entry carries the notation "NCS."
Book Sources
Described in 4 period pomological works
Nursery Catalog Sources
Found in 4 catalogs (1898–1913) from Illinois, Missouri
- Stark Bros. Nurseries & Orchards Co. , Louisiana , Missouri — 1898
- Central Experimental Farm , Dominion Department of Agriculture, Agassiz, British Columbia (under test; Bulletin No. 3, Second Series) — 1900
- Benjamin Buckman (personal inventory) , Farmingdale , Illinois — 1901
- Benjamin Buckman (personal inventory) , Farmingdale , Illinois — 1913
View original book sources (5)
— A.J. Downing, The Fruits and Fruit Trees of America (1900)Summer King.
King. Puckett. Cheese. Puckett's Summer. Summer Cheese.
An old variety supposed to have originated in North Carolina, and has been cultivated in Warren and Todd Counties, Ky., for many years, where it is highly prized as one of their best and handsomest apples of its season. Tree upright, moderate grower, and productive alternate years; young shoots reddish brown, grayish.
Fruit medium to large, roundish oblate; skin yellowish green, striped with crimson, red and orange; stalk short; cavity large, deep, russeted; calyx closed; basin medium, regular; flesh whitish, yellow, fine, brittle, juicy, mild agreeable subacid flavor; core small. August, September.—(Western Gardener.)
— John J. Thomas, The American Fruit Culturist (1903)Summer King. Medium, oblate; yellow, red blush; good.
— J.L. Budd & N.E. Hansen, American Horticultural Manual, Part II: Systematic Pomology (1914)Summer King.—An old variety; supposed origin, North Carolina, popular in Kentucky; tree upright, moderate grower, productive alternate years.
Fruit medium to large, roundish oblate; surface yellowish green, striped with crimson, red and orange; cavity large, deep, russeted; stem short; basin medium, regular; calyx closed. Core small; flesh whitish, yellow, fine, brittle, juicy, mild agreeable subacid. August, September.
— Granville Lowther (ed.), Encyclopedia of Practical Horticulture (1914)Summer King is a medium-sized apple of flat form with yellow-red skin. Quality is good. Use is both kitchen and market. Season is summer. Northern Division: no reporting stations. Central Division: 2 reporting stations (also reported in another division). Southern Division: 1 reporting station (also reported in another division).
— Stark Bros. Nurseries & Orchards Co., Stark Bros. Year Book (1910) (1910)Striped crimson, red, and orange—one of the best and handsomest of its season. An old variety, yet little known. A good orchard tree and hardy. NCS