Trying to find the name of a apple tree that i remember from a kid. My grandfather had a couple of these type trees. They grew small apples, probably no more than 2.5" iirc. They were red and green striped and had a tart taste to them. Tree was mature and probably no more than 12 ft-15 at most.

These are the closest looks wise I can find by picture but are much larger than what he had. https://handyandysnursery.com/malus-apple

Little Benny apples.

Some Galas are striped, but my guess would be an old Gravenstein.



This from another forum...

" I had a ninety year old Gravenstein, and a couple more on my former place. During an HOS tour, some of our senior members were excited about my ‘strain’ of Gravenstein apples, “This is an old tree, you don’t see this kind of striping on the newer forms of Gravenstein,” said one member. "I've always thought their flavor's better than the newer ones," said another.

In an effort to obtain a ‘Red Gravenstein,’ the newer Grav’s have a mottled look and appear to have lost their stripes ... and I wouldn’t call them “red.” So younger members may only have seen the ‘newer sports’ and be unfamiliar with the old-time Grav's.

Gravensteins are biennial bearers, if you don’t thin hard (real hard) during a heavy set, you’ll see very few apples the following year; the pattern can be broken though with that severe thinning. They're triploids, needing pollen from two other sources to accommodate that extra chromosome. And they bloom early, so finding pollinators blooming at the correct time can be tricky. I'd grafted on limbs of Yellow Transparent, and Summer Red's for pollinators, very early apples as well.

The fruit is highly susceptible to scab, but develops a waxy sheen with age. But with age comes the mellow texture of a 'summer apple.' So crisp-off-the-tree was my favorite! They've short stems - so will push themselves off and fall very easily ... the deer loved that! Some long-time members had said "They don't make good juice." I was able to dispel that myth at an HOS picnic with several gallons of fresh Gravenstein juice; their sweet-tart blend is a natural for juice!

...I miss them.. As vigorous a tree as any, they're hard to keep small. A couple branches grafted to another vigorous variety might work well. Or, often the owners would be fine if you 'kept them from dropping' by picking (getting rid of) them... Growing up on a small city lot in SE Portland, my Dad had a way of finding, then 'hustling' fruit! He'd ask the homeowner, and I don't think he was ever turned down. ...but now you've got me wanting another Grav "

DEADorAlive those are very close to what they looked like to me . My mother remembers them being more splotched than striped. So im not sure who is actually correct. I may ride up to the old home place and see if the tree is still there after 40 years.

Could have been a striped Ben Davis

My grandparents had 3 apple trees that were “Yates” they made small apples but most times were less than 2” in diameter. They weren’t tart but sweet.

https://www.isons.com/shop/fruit-trees/apple-trees/yates-apple-tree/