I’m planning to get the trees from Fedco Seeds, a local supplier in Maine. They sell standard size trees and have a good selection on sturdy seedling rootstock. I like the idea of Maine-grown trees, and there is something romantic about full-size trees that dwarfing rootstocks lack. They have a volume discount that ends December 8, so it’s time to get the order figured out.
The way I figure it, a quarter acre should have about enough room for 16 trees, if they are spaced 25~30 feet apart. Following in my grandfather’s tradition, I’d like to plant a bunch of different varieties rather than a whole block of all the same thing. Here are some preliminary choices, from the 07 Fedco catalog:
Baldwin: This is a sturdy old apple with a flavor I like, a good keeper that was once a commercial mainstay.
Calville Blanc d’Hiver: This is an old European green apple that’s lumpy, grainy, and not particularly pleasant for fresh eating, but it has a really nice flavor when cooked. We made a really good pie for Thanksgiving this year that was mostly Calvilles.
Cortland: My favorite in Pops’ orchard when I was a kid; mild flavor but classic, big meaty apples related to McIntosh but with a more normal skin.
Cox’s Orange Pippin: I’ve never eaten one, but I’ve been inspired ever since reading about them as a kid, maybe in Roald Dahl’s Danny the Champion of the World. Michael Phillips says that this British classic does best in ocean- or lake-moderated climates, which we have certainly got.
Esopus Spitzenburg: This old apple was apparently Thomas Jefferson’s favorite. Beautiful red-orange conical apples with a powerful flavor.
Golden Russet: This is a classic New England apple and a good source of acid for hard cider. I like them fresh as well, and they are apparently good keepers.
Honeycrisp: Apparently one of the best of the new varieties out of Minnesota, sweet and very crisp. I figure we should branch out from heirlooms at least a bit…
McIntosh: Not a good keeper and I’m not particularly partial to their thin, plastic-like skin, but Macs are an absolute New England classic and they make good mild sweet cider.
Opalescent: I’ve never tried one, but this big red apple sounds too good to miss, so maybe we’ll give it a shot.
Roxbury Russet: Another classic New England cider apple; we have used it in our blends the last couple of years.
The following are full-on cider varieties, not particularly good eating but used to supply tannin for hard cider.
Dabinett: English, the preferred bittersweet at Farnum Hill. Mangy-looking, terrible taste, but quite effective. Alexis’ classmate Broc pressed a bunch from Poverty Lane for his cider this year.
Foxwhelp: We were really impressed by Foxwhelp in last year’s cidermaking; the tree at Poverty lane was absolutely plastered with these big green bittersharps and they gave a ton of juice; this year the crop was not so plentiful but the apples were just as big.
Yarlington Mill: Medium bittersweet, I remember this apple as singularly unpleasant fresh but making a very smooth, rich, sweet cider.
Somerset Redstreak: An early British bittersweet. We have not used it but it has a good reputation.
Kingston Black: Bittersharp, apparently makes a good single-variety hard cider.
Ashton Bitter: Early bittersweet, apparently reasonably popular lately.
That makes 16 trees; there are a number of others that are worth considering, but they aren’t in the Fedco Likeup this year:
Ashmead’s Kearnel: A very flavorful old eating apple that’s also well regarded for cider. We planted one last spring that was a gift to my mother from my uncle in Mt. Vernon, Maine.
Wickson: This is an awesome bright red apple that is about the size of an apricot. I love the look and the flavor but I can’t imagine picking a whole tree. Wickson will be an early grafting project.
Rhode Island Greening: A big, sturdy old green variety; my grandfather had one that produced well but was a low dwarfed tree and the deer browsed it nearly to death.
Medaille d’Or: A nice bittersweet that went into this year’s cider, beautiful golden color. I’d like to get one at some point.
Granny Smith: My dad’s favorite, so I’ll get one at some point. I heard that they are hard to grow in New England.
Macoun: A nice fresh eating apple, not much of a keeper but good flavor.
Winesap: Pops had one when I was a kid; I like the name but don’t remember much about the apples
Red Delicious: Be sure to try this much-maligned variety right off the tree; the west-coast storage versions are a travesty of mealy sawdust, but the variety itself is actually pretty good.
… The list goes on. There are more apple varieties than I will ever have time to describe, let alone plant. Check out the descriptions from Fedco.
Leave a Reply