Gewürzluikenapfel: The winter apple in portrait

The Gewürzluikenapfel is an old Baden-Württemberg regional variety with a long tradition. We explain why and how you can plant the apple in warm locations as a versatile house apple tree.

The Gewürzluikenapfel, also known as ‘Gewürzluiken’ for short, comes from Baden-Württemberg and loves the warm climate that prevails there. Only with a little warmth does it ripen into a tasty table apple in late autumn. The apple can also be used very well for musts, juices and even for burning. We present the characteristics and peculiarities of the old apple variety.

Gewürzluikenapfel: fact sheet

Synonyms	‘Spice Liquids’
fruit	medium-sized; yellow base color with carmine to dark red overcolour
taste	juicy, sweet and sour, spicy
Yield	medium high and regular
Harvest time	from October on
Ripe for enjoyment	November to December
Shelf life	very good; storable until March
growth	initially strong, later moderately strong; densely branched
climate	warm, sheltered, but not calm; Altitudes are unsuitable
Diseases and pests	susceptible to fruit tree cancer and apple scab in unfavorable locations

History and origin of the ‘Gewürzluiken’ variety

The ‘Gewürzluiken’ is an old local variety from Baden-Württemberg that was grown before 1885. From the middle of the 20th In the mid-19th century, it was distributed throughout southwest Germany as a recommendable variety. The aim of the larger-scale production was to sell it on the market, because the tasty apple is best suited for direct consumption. But the ‘Gewürzluiken’ was also popular for self-sufficiency from the garden at home.
Because the Gewürzluikenapfel has medium climatic requirements, the variety is unfortunately not particularly suitable for northern German weather conditions. So it never found its way to the regions closer to the coast.

Appearance, taste and characteristics of the apple variety

The ‘Gewürzluiken’ is a medium-sized, sometimes large apple with a somewhat irregular, usually conical or spherical shape. The surface often shows five distinct edges. The basic color of the fine, matt skin is yellow-green at the beginning, later completely yellow. The opaque color covers half or even the whole Gewürzluikenapfel and is carmine red to dark red speckled or marbled. Strong brown-red stripes also adorn the bowl. The flesh inside is very light, almost white or sometimes greenish white. The structure is a little coarse, but fresh and juicy with a pleasantly sweet and sour taste and a spicy aroma. The whole apple smells strongly.

Special features in the cultivation and care of the Gewürzluikenapfel

The tree of the ‘Gewürzluiken’ variety grows strongly in its youth, later only moderately strong. It forms a broadly spherical, aspiring and densely branched crown if it is not regularly steered into the right paths by pruning. With the right base, the ‘Gewürzluiken’ can be raised to a vigorously growing high trunk, a slightly smaller half trunk, but also a very small quarter trunk or bush tree. For large trees, as can be found in less well-kept orchards, the use of strong-growing rootstocks, especially M25, M11 or A2, is recommended. Medium-sized trees are obtained by grafting on M7 or MM106. You can get even smaller trees with the M9 underlay - here, however, a stable, permanent tree connection is absolutely necessary to support the plant.

At the Apple tree cut The main thing to note about this variety is the dense branching: regular thinning is essential, otherwise the crown will be so dense that the fruit inside will hardly get any light and no red overlay to develop. In addition, there is a particularly good climate here for the development of fungal leaf and fruit diseases. It is worthwhile to form the main branches with the help of cords so that the upward growth of the young trees is more likely to be directed horizontally.

As far as the location is concerned, the Gewürzluikenapfel is simply frugal: the main thing is that it is warm enough! No special requirements are placed on the soil; normal garden soil is completely sufficient. The floor should not be just wet and cold. Humous, dark soils are very clayey and heavy, because they warm up much more slowly in spring. A more sheltered, but not windless location is perfect, because this way the variety can maintain its good health. Altitudes are also not ideal because the mean annual temperatures are too low for the ‘Gewürzluiken’.

The bloom appears late in spring and lasts a long time. Suitable pollinators are accordingly ‘Gloster’, ‘Gold parmane‘,‘ Ingrid Marie ’, the‘ Bell Apple ’and‘Graham's Jubilee Apple‘.
Due to the late opening of the flower buds, flower frosts almost never occur in this variety. This results in a regular yield. If this regularity is not interrupted by care errors such as too strong a cut, the Gewürzluikenapfel reliably brings medium-high yields and high fruit quality.
In cool locations, on clay soils and when the air is stagnant, the ‘Gewürzluiken’ tends to Fruit tree cancer and apple scab.

Tip: The wood of the ‘Gewürzluiken’ is susceptible to frost damage. This is one of the reasons why it is not suitable for cold locations. In addition, the fruits do not develop their aroma properly in too cool climates, so they taste bland and grassy.

Harvest and use Spiced Liquor Apple

In warm Indian summers, the Gewürzluikenapfel can be harvested for storage as early as October. If stored in a cool and dark place, the variety can be kept until March. The prerequisite here is that only healthy, not very ripe and early harvested fruits go into the warehouse.
The Gewürzluikenapfel is ripe for consumption on the tree and in storage from around November to December. Then it is suitable as a wonderful dessert fruit, for baking, canning, musts and juices as well as for distilling.
A perfect combination for the home garden is the Gewürzluikenapfel and the pollinator ‘Graham's anniversary apple‘Represent. Because the latter ripens into a ready-to-eat table apple as early as the beginning of October. It can hardly be stored, but it is particularly easy to process into dried fruit.