Cultivar 483: Carroll

Carroll is a prairie apple from Morden, Manitoba, introduced in 1961. It is generally described as a dessert apple with some kitchen use. Most sources link it to a cross involving Melba and a Moscow Pear seedling or a Morden selection. They place it among apples recommended for prairie growing, especially in more favorable areas. [S1] [S2] [S3]

Sources link Carroll to the Morden Research Station and to C. R. Ure. A later prairie index gives its origin more cautiously as a Morden selection crossed with Melba, while the fuller cultivar entry gives the parentage as Moscow Pear seedling x Melba. [S1] [S3] A 1976 Saskatchewan note also groups Carroll among varieties introduced by the Research Station at Morden. [S4]

The fruit is described as medium to fairly large, about 6 to 7.5 cm across, with a pale or creamy green ground color and a mottled, streaked red flush. The flesh is clear white, and the texture is soft to very soft. The flavor is usually described as mild and pleasant to good. Sources call it excellent for eating or a good dessert apple. It was also noted as suitable for sauce, processing, and apple pies. [S1] [S2] [S3]

Carroll ripens early, around early September. One source gives about September 1, and another places it in the mid season group for prairie recommendations. [S1] [S2] It reportedly keeps for about two to three months, which is relatively good for an apple of its season. [S1]

Tree notes are brief but useful. The cultivar was praised for good branch structure, and one prairie recommendation list ranked it highly for much of the region. [S1] At the same time, hardiness seems to be the main limitation. One source rates it H2, or moderately hardy, while another rates it H3, or borderline hardy, and Coutts summarized it bluntly as "Very good but too tender." [S1]

In prairie fruit history, Carroll belongs to the Morden line of hardy apple improvement and appears beside cultivars such as Battleford, Goodland, and Parkland in recommendation literature. [S2] Its value seems to have been in trying to combine better dessert quality with prairie adaptation, even if its winter hardiness was not fully reliable in the colder parts of the region. [S1] [S2]

Summary source basis

• S1: Edible Apples in Prairie Canada
• S2: Tree fruit production for the Prairie Provinces
• S3: An index of fruit cultivars tested or developed on the Canadian prairies.
• S4: hortfacts_1976_3.pdf

This summary currently draws chiefly from Edible Apples in Prairie Canada, with 3 additional supporting sources linked below.

Featured source descriptions

“Texture is described as soft to very soft.”
— ^[1]

“H3 hardiness rating.”
— ^[1]

“Flavor described as mild and good for dessert.”
— ^[1]

“Asoft apple of mild pleasant flavor.”
— ^[1]

Direct parent cultivars

• No direct linked parent cultivars promoted yet.

Parentage claim text

• Parentage given as Moscow Pear seedling x Melba.
• Moscow Pear x Melba.
• A Morden selection x 'Melba'.

Derived or downstream cultivar links

• No derived or downstream lineage links yet.

Source-story quotations

• Carroll (Moscow Pear sdlg x Melba) Morden (1961) C.R. Ure Fruit 6-7cm, pale green, mottled and streaked rosy red. Texture soft to very soft. Flavor mild, good dessert. Good sauce and apple pies. Ripens Sept 1, and keeps 2-3 months. Good branch structure. Manitoba Centennial frt (1970). Erskine rec. "Very good but too tEdible Apples in Prairie Canada, p21
• Carroll (Moscow Pear sdlg x Melba) Morden (1961) C.R. Ure Fruit 6-7cm, pale green, mottled and streaked rosy red. Texture soft to very soft. Flavor mild, good dessert. Good sauce and apple pies. Ripens Sept 1, and keeps 2-3 months. Good branch structure. Manitoba Centennial frt (1970). Erskine rec. "Very good but too tEdible Apples in Prairie Canada, p21
• Carroll (Moscow Pear sdlg x Melba) Morden (1961) C.R. Ure Fruit 6-7cm, pale green, mottled and streaked rosy red. Texture soft to very soft. Flavor mild, good dessert. Good sauce and apple pies. Ripens Sept 1, and keeps 2-3 months. Good branch structure. Manitoba Centennial frt (1970). Erskine rec. "Very good but too tEdible Apples in Prairie Canada, p21
• Carroll (Moscow Pear sdlg x Melba) Morden (1961) C.R. Ure Fruit 6-7cm, pale green, mottled and streaked rosy red. Texture soft to very soft. Flavor mild, good dessert. Good sauce and apple pies. Ripens Sept 1, and keeps 2-3 months. Good branch structure. Manitoba Centennial frt (1970). Erskine rec. "Very good but too tEdible Apples in Prairie Canada, p21

Taxonomy context: No family-tree context surfaced yet.

Related cultivars mentioned in source context