Tompkin's King Apple
About
Tompkins County King
TOMPKINS COUNTY KING has the synonyms Flat Spitzenburg, King, King Apple, King Apple of America, Toma Red, Tommy Red, Tom's Red and Winter King. It is thought to have come from near Washington, Warren County, New Jersey, and brought to Tompkins County, New York, by Jacob Wycoff in 1804, who called it King. It was renamed King of Tompkins County about 1855. Another report is that it originated with a Thomas Thacker in Warren County, New Jersey. Large in size and rectangular to truncate-conic in shape, it is ribbed at the eye and on the body. The yellow skin is flushed a pale-red with darker red stripes and white or russet dots. The stem cavity is also russeted. The yellow flesh of this dessert apple is rather coarse, but crisp and tender, with a subacid, sweet and aromatic flavor. The skin has a greasy finish, like Black Twig, especially after storage. Vigorous and spreading, the tree grows naturally small, and the shiny leaves are highly folded with sharp, closely set serrations. It is susceptible to fireblight. The limbs grow nearly horizontal with many crossing branches. A pollen sterile triploid, it will not pollinate other trees, but it is partially self-fertile. Known for setting a crop under adverse conditions, Tompkins County King ripens in September.
