An apple breeder plants for customers who have not been born yet. In 1998, at a Washington State University research orchard, someone hand-pollinated a Honeycrisp blossom with pollen from a Cripps Pink — the variety sold as Pink Lady — and then waited. Fruit from that cross should reach grocery stores in 2029, 31 years later.
The new apple with the long journey will be called Sunflare.
The delay is built into the biology. Every pollinated seed inside an apple flower is genetically distinct, and the tree it becomes can bear fruit that resembles neither parent. Breeders raise thousands of trees to find one worth keeping.
Bruce Barritt, the retired breeder who started the program in 1994, has described the work as simply doing what the bees do.
What came out of the wait looks worth it. According to WSU, the fruit is crisper and juicier than Cripps Pink and slightly less so than Honeycrisp, with sweetness and acidity landing between its two parents. The skin is a pink and red blush over yellow. It holds its texture after months in cold storage, and cut slices resist browning — the one trait that decides whether an apple belongs in a salad.
Rick Good spent ten years in the newspaper business, including with The News & Observer (Raleigh, NC) and The Greenville News (Greenville, SC). He co-wrote, with Melinda Coleman, Rutledge to Riley: Governors of South Carolina, 1776–Present (Published by The Greenville News), and is the author of Mind Games Trivia #1 (Amazon). He has recently spent 15 years creating original trivia content through Sounds Good Mobile Entertainment and continues that with his new company, SGME Software. He edits The Smart Reader’s money, real estate, and business coverage.
