A new (2021) variety from our breeding program, Bellatrix is a variety resulting from planting open pollinated (we know the mama but not the papa) seed of Enterprise. This is kind of interesting because Enterprise offspring are usually pretty boring.

It ranges from tart to eye wateringly tart – and the tartness sneaks up on you. It has a difficult to describe complex flavor and is very firm.

In appearance it ranges from kind of looking like a normal apple to having lumpy bumpy russet with patches of red and yellow. The latter have what I call rustic beauty. The rustic beautiful ones are the best tasting.

Bellatrix is awful to grow due to its propensity to crack as it approaches maturity. Many of the fruit we sell have small cracks on the bottom but many fruit on the tree crack so badly that they are unusable. It will probably get to remain in the orchard even with this flaw due to its unique beauty and amazing flavor.