For mid season how about crimson crisp? I only got 2 last year but they were awesome. Early is not going to store well but read about Redfree, Pristine and Williams Pride - have not fruited yet for me so I can't say for sure..

I came across Williams Pride in the Burnt Ridge nursery catalog and thought it looked like a winner. I'll have to check out Pristine and Redfree as well.

I was also thinking about growing a crabapple, like Chestnut, with a polyploidy apple like Arkansas black or Liberty. Not sure how good or useful chestnut is. We'd probably use it for applesauce or butter. Thoughts?

Wolf River is also on my shortlist. Anyone know if it is compatible with Goldrush?

William's Pride is a good early season apple. I don't know if it would be as good in your warmer zone. Wolf River is said to be better for cooking and drying than eating fresh.

i suggest checking out Jonagold, Sun Crisp, Kidd's Orange Red or Ashmead's Kernel. May may want to plant all, not just one of them.

If you want to read about apple varieties, check out orangepippins.com. It has a nice write- up of many apples, a good reference source.

Ferro - I'm in Raleigh and I grow William's Pride, Goldrush, Arkansas Black, and Enterprise. I also have crabapples - Dolgo and Transparent. There are old abandoned apples in my neighborhood - look like Red Delicious, too buggy and diseased to tell for sure. William's Pride is early and great tasting but not the easiest to get a big crop out of. My tree is 6 years old, it has had fireblight issues as well as other diseases but nothing overwhelms it or kills it. Ark Blk is the easiest to grow, no spraying needed but the fruit is nothing special (even after storage for me). Goldrush is my favorite apple to eat but my trees are small and I've only gotten a few fruits off of them. They do get Cedar Apple Rust, so far no fire blight. They seem pretty tough to me. The Enterprise was bought to be a better pollinator for the Goldrush, it is also young and hasn't fruited yet. The Dolgo crab isn't all that good but seem disease free so far. The Transparent is wonderful tasting but the tree gets hit by fire blight every year. So far it has bounced back. I will do whatever it takes to keep Transparent and Goldrush growing - they both are that good.

If you get an early ripening variety with a late ripening variety, ensure that their bloom times overlap otherwise they will not be able to pollinate each other.