It’s a pink-hued and firmly crisp apple, adorned in pink blush superimposed over yellow and is round, sweet and tart — what would you call it?
That’s what Washington State University wants to know.
The university’s newest apple, WA 64, is ready for Washington growers, and the university is asking for the public’s help to officially name it.
First bred in Wenatchee in 1998 and known by a mix of numbers and initials since then, WA 64 is a hybrid of Honeycrisp and Cripps Pink, widely known as Pink Lady.
WA 64 is a small to medium apple, slightly less hard but considerably more crisp and juicy than Cripps Pink. Its sweetness and acidity, though, are between those of its two parents, according to the university.
It’s taken nearly three decades to bring WA 64 from a single tree to release for commercial licensing last summer. Trees are expected to be available to growers in 2026, with the apple itself reaching stores in 2029.
But before then, the university needs to give the variety a trademark name, preferably one that is “memorable and punchy,” Jeremy Tamsen, with WSU’s College of Agricultural, Human, and Natural Resource Sciences, told the university.
The ideal name might play on the apple’s qualities or draw a connection to Washington, where the apple will be exclusively grown for at least the next 10 years, Tamsen added.
WA 64 comes on the heels of the Cosmic Crisp (formerly WA 38), a WSU apple variety released to growers around 2016 and brought to the market in 2019.
The contest to name WA 64 is open to all U.S. residents 18 and older and ends May 5.
The winning name will gain its creator a juicy prize: A gift box of WA 64 apples, an engraved charcuterie board, Cougar Gold cheese, WSU spice rubs and a university-branded coffee cup and water bottle.
You get just one entry, so mull it over wisely before casting your vote by visiting: st.news/WA64.
