December 21: Arkansas Black

Winesap seedling, mid-1800’s
Benton County, Arkansas
aka Blacktwig, Paragon

Can you believe that Arkansas was home to a commercial apple industry at the time this apple variety originated? Arkansas’s apple industry was knocked out about the time of the Great Depression and ever since, Arkansas Black apples have been relegated to southern backyards and catalogs of nurseries that specialize in obscure apples.

As a southern apple, this variety may not taste best grown here but nonetheless, I still think it has something going for it.

It is also said that Arkansas Black are excellent keepers that reach peak flavor five months into storage. If you eat it now, you’ll be eating an apple that is hard, hard, hard. It’s still edible, but it sure would be interesting to eat it down the road, wouldn’t it? Last year, these apples kept handily until June.

Although “Blacktwig” appears in this apples psuedonyms, note that Black Twig is a distinct variety.

Growing Notes

Arkansas Black need a long growing season and I have consistently picked them in the latter half of October and reckon that they consistently ripen — just barely — by October 15.

Also, Arkansas Black is another triploid variety and is a somewhat shy bearer.