Wealthy is a very cold hardy early ripening medium sized red striped apple . The variety originated in Minnesota around in 1868, where it was named by farmer Peter Gideon after his wife. Long thought to be a seedling of Cherry Crab, modern genetics have shown that it is actually a cross of Duchess of Oldenburg and Jonathan. It has been grown in the San Juans since before 1894 and we have found living trees in orchards on San Juan and Lopez (two of the apple trees outside the Brewvado Tap Room are Wealthy, and scions are available through our annual scion exchange and grafting workshops on Lopez, Orcas, and San Juan. Crisp and well balanced in flavor for an early apple, Wealthy is good fresh, baked, in cider, and makes great dried apple rings. It can ripen over a long period of time, and the trees may need to be picked more than once, but is considered best for pies when picked slightly underripe.
You can view watercolors of Wealthy in the USDA Pomological Watercolor Collection.