Yellow Jay

This open-pollinated seedling originated in an experimental orchard in Palmer, Alaska. Parents are probably Rescue and Chinese Golden Early. It was bred (probably in 1960s) by Curtis Dearborn at the Palmer Agricultural Experiment Station of the University of Alaska. It was introduced to us in about 2010 by Dwight Bradley who was living in Alaska at the time.

The small to medium-sized, barrel-shaped, yellow fruit has a red blush. It is bigger than a crab, but not by much. The skin is thin, and the flesh is dark yellow and juicy. The fruit is sweet and a bit tannic. Good for fresh eating or squeezing into cider. It is crisp when fresh picked, but use them up quickly- they don't keep.

It has grown well here in Palermo and produced crops almost annually.