Bellatrix

Bellatrix produces large, red apples that ripen very late in the season (1-2 weeks after Goldrush) and are sometimes rough with blotches of russet. The fruit is tart to very tart at harvest, mellowing in storage. It has a strong, distinct fruit flavor at harvest and is very hard and firm.  The fruit maintains firmness for a very long storage life but flavor diminishes with storage time and after several months the fruit can be relatively bland while still very firm. The tree blooms in early mid-season, is annual bearing, and is a floppy tip bearer of above average vigor. Like its parent Enterprise, Bellatrix trees and fruit are resistant to the major diseases (scab, rust, mildew, and fire blight) and are quite healthy even unsprayed. In a heavy disease pressure setting a small amount of fruit has been infected with bitter rot. Bellatrix is only suitable for conventional and low spray production as any caustic sprays (sulfur, copper, regalia) cause unacceptable deformation and unattractive russeting.

Pros: Good size, fairly attractive most years, heavy annual crops. It has a cult following at our farmers markets

Cons: Loss of flavor in storage; some people think it is too hard; there can be losses due to cheek and stem bowl cracking some years.

Recommendation: Backyard growers and specialty growers who have the season to ripen the fruit and want a distinctively flavored very hard tart apple. Bellatrix is suitable for limited commercial scale production but is so distinctive it takes hand selling to market it. This cultivar may also be useful for further breeding work for firmness and disease resistance.

Origin: Enterprise was used as a parent for its ability to pass on excellent disease resistance.  Many Enterprise seedlings in the breeding program have been of very poor quality. This seedling was first identified for its firmness and very high acidity. At proper maturity the acidity was lower, although Bellatrix is still a tart apple. The cultivar was named for the star Bellatrix and because it is a beautiful (bella) red apple and it surprises (tricks) with its tartness.