[Beetroot queen]

We have had a Katy apple tree for about 5 maybe  6 years and it flowers well and produces apples but they are the worst tasting apples ever and I don't think anyone has got past the first bite.

The tree drops huge amounts which I know all fruit trees do but we are talking double the amount of any other tree. It also never seems to get the apples left to a really good size. They are a lovely pillar box red colour but taste awful.

We decided if it's another naff year this year maybe we should take the tree out. Are we right or should we do something else. We purchased the tree after being told it was a kids lunch box favourite.

[CornishCol]

i have a 2 year old Katy on my lottie,its yet to produce any fruit thus far. Really dissappointed to hear it failed your taste test. Could you describe the taste? I had thought it was a discovery type apple, ie had to be eaten almost immediately,no storage capabilities but good for juicing. Without wishing to patronise ,is it possible they were underipe? Do they taste rotten/ bitter? smelly flesh?

[Beetroot queen]

We did eat straight away, I did pick off the tree to stop them dropping and being eaten. They were easy to take off no pulling required almost dropped as soon as touched.

The taste was almost sour, bitter to the point you had to spit out, absolutely not one the kids would be happy even trying. Apples look bright and glossy but Dawes is all I can say. 

[Beetroot queen]

We did eat straight away, I did pick off the tree to stop them dropping and being eaten. They were easy to take off no pulling required almost dropped as soon as touched.

The taste was almost sour, bitter to the point you had to spit out, absolutely not one the kids would be happy even trying. Apples look bright and glossy but Dawes is all I can say. 

That should read e w w w w but it didn't work.

[CornishCol]

Well to be honest BQ all apples  taste true to type every year,only varying in sweetness slightly due to sun levels. Although 1 mans meat is another mans poison, its unlikely my Katy will be in the ground for more than an hour after i had tasted 1 if not to my taste,giving it more another year  is a waste of time. I'm just down the coast from you,the westcountry climate can make apple growing tricky with apple scab being prevalent. Perhaps you have the patience to dig it up & plant a different cultivar? I have found fiesta (red pippin) & kidds orange red,have wonderful flavour &apple scab resistant.

[grendel]

my parents had an apple tree, the apples were small and bitter, then the year they cut it down a friend picked up the apples and made the most beautiful cider from them, so all I can say is dont give up until you have tried all the options.
Grendel

[beaker141]

Thatchers do a single variety of Katy which I think is made from just Katy apples - sounds like it would be worth a try!

http://www.thatcherscider.co.uk/product/the-cider/single-variety/thatchers-katy-single-variety-cider.ashx

[CornishCol]

but BQ only has 1 tree & katy if i recall is hardly a ferocious fruiter. Keeping a tree for a pint of cider a year doesn't seem to be worth it imho & its already been posted  its a lunchbox apple thats needed rather than scrump ,esp having children.

[dmg]

You could also have a go at grafting another variety on to it Stephenhayesuk on you tube has some very good instructional videos. i think it's a bit late to do it for this year but you could give it a go next year and it would save you waiting for a new tree to establish.


dmg

[Beetroot queen]

Ooooh not sure what to do with it now. It looks the healthiest it ever has this year.  maybe we could try juicing as I have a juicer. 

[DaveJNeal]

or apple cheese, or apple pies, or eat with a nice chedder and a pint of something brown and flat-ish.

cheers

Dave

[hamsterhead]

I've had mine for about three years from a bare root.  Each year there has been more applies.  The trick I've found is to leave the apples on the tree as long as possible thus allowing them to turn red and sweeten up.  For the past two years my Katy apples have won a prize at our local village show.

[Beetroot queen]

It can have this year and then
Well I suppose while it's growing it's doing good for the planet.

[Beetroot queen]

Just had a thought could my compost bin be the problem it is only about three foot away from the Katy apple tree, would that cause the apples to be bitter. We are considering moving dalek to allotment this weekend 

[Beetroot queen]

Well the compost and bin have now been removed, watch this space, the area looks so different without that doc who darlek.

Hopefully it will help the apples too. It had a high concentration of chicken poop, horse poop and rabbit poop in, maybe it's just too strong.