The 'Yellow Bellefleur' apple is an old variety that comes from New Jersey (USA). Since the middle of the 19th century it has been known as 'Schafsnase' or 'Metzgers Kalvill' in Germany for its particularly good taste.
The 'Yellow Bellefleur' apple is a tasty but very demanding representative of the apples. Its name - sometimes also called 'Yellow Bellflower', simply 'Bellflower' or 'Blumenkalvill' - indicates the very beautiful flowering of the variety. Other synonyms of the apple are 'Metzgers Kalvill', 'Lineous Pippin' and in Switzerland 'Schafsnase'.
The 'Yellow Bellefleur' places high demands on its location as well as regular and specific care. However, it is only worth bringing the 'sheep's nose' into your own garden if you can meet the location requirements well. Otherwise the tree will deliver unpredictable yields and will be severely restricted in its vitality by diseases.
'Yellow Bellefleur': Wanted Poster
| Synonyms | 'Yellow Bellflower', 'Metzgers Kalvill', 'Schafsnase' |
| Fruit | Medium to large, light yellow and slightly orange |
| Flavour | Finely spiced, banana-like |
| Yield | Early and sufficiently high, can vary |
| Harvest time | From October |
| Maturity for pleasure | From November |
| Shelf Life | Maximum until March |
| Growth | Medium strength, thin shoots |
| Floor | Nutrient, warm, permeable, sufficiently moist |
| Diseases and Pests | Susceptible to many important apple diseases and specks |
Origin and history of the Yellow Bellefleur apple
The history of the old variety 'Yellow Bellefleur' cannot be precisely documented, but is said to have happened as follows: The 'Bellflower' was created in Burlington, New Jersey (USA) around 1750 and, thanks to its beautiful flowering, already achieved success modest celebrity. At that time he was sometimes tooreferred to locally as 'Lincoln Pippin' or 'Warren Pippin'. For a long time, the variety was not distributed beyond the local area. In 1834, the Baumann brothers from Bollwiller in Alsace had the variety sent from North America and passed it on to the then garden director in Schwetzingen near Heidelberg, whose name was Metzger. He in turn offered the then Margrave Wilhelm von Baden fruits of the 'Yellow Bellefleur' for consumption. The Margrave was so enthusiastic that he chose the 'Yellow Bellefleur' as his favorite apple and always called it 'Metzgers Apfel', which gave rise to the name 'Metzgers Kalvill', which is still known in the Baden region today.
Flavour and characteristics
The 'Yellow Bellefleur' is medium to large in size and is generally conical and tall in shape, but sometimes broadly ovate. The surface is uneven and five wide characteristic ribs are visible on the calyx side. The stalk cavity is deep and narrow, and sometimes has a nose that narrows it even further. The calyx can be shallow to medium deep and narrow or medium wide and shows fine folds as well as five distinct ribs or even larger bumps.
The shell of the 'Schafsnase' has a light yellow basic colour, the overcolour is not at all or only insignificant and from cloudy orange to brown-red in color. The skin is thin but firm, smooth and shiny. Beige-coloured, raised lenticels are clearly recognizable, which are often triangular or quadrangular or rarely form larger rust figures. Under the peel is a white or yellowish-white pulp of moderate juiciness, which audibly cracks when bitten. Very ripe Yellow Bellefleur apples are tender. The taste is delicately spiced and supposedly banana-like, but not very aromatic.
Apple variety 'Yellow Bellefleur': cultivation and care
The 'Yellow Bellflower' apple tree needs nutrient-rich, sufficiently moist, but also permeable and warm soil. Overall, warm and sheltered locations do well, while harsh and windy locations preclude growing 'Sheep's Nose'. Heavily humic sandy and loess soils are ideal.
The growth of the 'Yellow Bellfleur' variety is strong when young, later only moderately strong. A consistent training cut over several years is necessary for the crown structure. A medium-sized, thin-branched and somewhat hanging, broad pyramidal crown then develops, which should be thinned out regularly and never too radically. theFruits are often carried at the ends of the long fruit rods, so that in windy areas the fruit can swing wildly and thus damage the fruit.
The yellow Bellfleur apple can be cultivated as a standard, half-stem or low-stem. It is not at all suitable for trellis cutting, because the long fruit canes prove to be a hindrance. A medium-growing rootstock such as M7, M4 or MM106 is recommended as a rootstock for the home garden, while the necessary regular care is hardly possible on fast-growing rootstocks. The wood frost hardness of the tree is very good, but the tree sprout early in spring.
The handsome 'Yellow Bellfleur' flowers appear mid-late and can be susceptible to cold and wet weather. It only lasts for a short time and during this short phase should be supported by suitable pollinating varieties such as 'Ananasrenette', 'Baumannsrenette', 'Gelben Edelapfel', 'Goldparmäne', 'Ontario', 'Champagne-Renette' or of 'Cox Orangerenette'.
Once the sheep's nose apple has found a suitable location, it will soon and regularly bear a good harvest. However, on locations that are endangered by late frost or if pruned too radically, it tends to produce alternating, i.e. strongly fluctuating yields.
The apple variety 'Schafsnase' is susceptible to apple scab on unsuitable locations. If it is too wet and cold, fruit tree canker is often added, while powdery mildew can be observed on dry locations. In addition, specks, i.e. brown spots in the flesh of the fruit, can often occur at sites that are too lime-poor or too humid, as well as with alternating yields.
Tip: The 'Yellow Bellefleur' is one of the apple varieties with a slightly higher nutrient requirement. Compared to vegetables, however, the extraction from the soil is small. They can easily be covered with a single fertilization in spring with compost or an organic complete fertilizer such as our Plantura organic universal fertilizer.
Harvesting and using the 'Yellow Bellefleur'
About mid-October the time has come: The late-ripening 'Yellow Bellefleur' can be harvested for storage! Fruits picked from around November are ready for immediate consumption. The apples stored early can last up to five months at 2 to 3 °C, which means that the enjoyment of the variety can extend into March. It is important that the storage room has sufficient humidity, otherwise the 'sheep's nose' will begin to wither early. The 'YellowAs Baden's Margrave Wilhelm said, the Bellefleur' apple is an excellent food apple. But this large, delicious fruit is also very suitable as a cooking apple for mush and compote or desserts.
You can't offer the 'Yellow Bellefleur' a warm, sheltered location? Then you should take a closer look at the 'Landsberger Renette' apple variety, which comes along with robustness and medium-sized to large and also yellow fruits.