Description
Lucy Rose is a red-fleshed apple with flesh that is crisp, very juicy and, in Chelan Fresh’s own description, sweet with a hint of berry. The red color runs through the fruit rather than stopping at the skin.
It shares its breeding with Lucy Glo: both were bred by Bill Howell in Prosser, Washington, from a 2001 cross of Airlie Red Flesh and Honeycrisp, and released together in 2018 as the first two commercial Lucy apples. Rose is the fuller-red sibling, with a blush covering about 90 percent of the skin, where Glo instead carries mottled red over a yellow ground color.
Overview
- Dark pink-to-red flesh throughout
- Sweet flavor with a hint of berry
- Red blush over most of the skin
- Needs a different apple variety nearby to bear fruit
- Bred from Airlie Red Flesh and Honeycrisp
Growing Details
Latin Name: Malus domestica ‘Lucy Rose’
Site and Soil: Full sun; well-drained soil
Chill Requirement: Estimated 500 to 600 hours
Hardiness:Hardy to USDA Zone 4
Rootstock: M-106 (semi-dwarf)
Bearing Age: 1 to 3 years
Size at Maturity: 12-15′ tall and wide – easily maintained smaller with pruning.
Flowering Group: Group 3 (mid-season bloom)
Ripening Time: Early to mid season; September
Pollination: Self-incompatible, unable to fruit alone; plant a different apple variety nearby
Pests & Diseases: Standard apple pest and disease considerations; good airflow helps
Yield: Reliable producer once established
Additional Notes
- Grower’s Insight: The red blush covers most of the skin at full color, so use that near-complete coverage, not a single date, as the cue that fruit is ready to pick.
- Regional Insight: Hardy to USDA Zone 4, Lucy Rose suits cold-winter regions such as the Upper Midwest, the Mountain West and the Northeast as well as it does the Pacific Northwest.
- Explore more apple trees in our collection: Apple Trees
