Apple Trees

[naturebee]

There is a Nursery site that sold "old varieties" of apple and other trees that were common in Pennsylvania and the North East prior to the 20th century. I lost the link, can anyone provide the link, or similar links?

Thanks
Joe

[Hambone]

Is this it?

http://www.acnursery.com/acn_apple.php

Or this

http://www.maplevalleyorchards.com/Pages/Home.aspx

[Keith Benson]

Such orchards seem to be making a comeback.

Some others to ponder:

http://www.treesofantiquity.com/

I have heard good things about these folks: http://www.bighorsecreekfarm.com/whatweoffer.htm

The trees are whips when you get them - but that really sets the stage for them to take off as the roots and tops are balanced, and you can prune them with whatever system of management you desire.

Also - grafting apples is really easy and kinda fun.

Get yourself some rootstock (small lots can be had from http://www.raintreenursery.com/catalog/producttype.cfm?producttype=ROOT)

Some scionwood (many sources, http://www.maplevalleyorchards.com/Pages/ScionWood.aspx, http://nafex.org/supply_source.htm, http://www.icserv.com/nnga/scion.htm)

A sharp knife (I like http://www.womacknursery.com/item20.htm, but many other will do: http://www.womacknursery.com/item22.htm, http://www.forestry-suppliers.com/product_pages/View_Catalog_Page.asp?mi=1806, http://www.orchardsedge.com/tools.jsp?type=knives, Heck you can use an exacto knife.

And something to seal the union: http://www.frostproof.com/catalog/m831.html, http://gvbsinc.com/BuddingFilm.htm, http://www.raintreenursery.com/catalog/productdetails.cfm?productid=T150

There are plenty of pics on the net, but prolly the best book on the subject is: http://www.amazon.com/Grafters-Handbook-R-J-Garner/dp/1844030393/ref=pd_bbs_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1221257320&sr=1-1

Lastly - if you want to get all fancy (and it is easier than a knife) get one of these: http://www.raintreenursery.com/catalog/producttype.cfm?producttype=Supplies-Grafting

The first year I did apples and pears I got 19 out of 20 takes. Some were even double grafts. It is simple, fun and more importantly you can select the rootstock scion combination you want - they are not always available everywhere. Once you know how to do it - you can add other varieties later on though that can get out of hand. Try it - I think you would get a kick out of it.

Keith

[nursebee]

The best I know: http://www.centuryfarmorchards.com/

Also try the North American Fruit Explorers http://www.nafex.org/

[cow pollinater]

Also try stark brothers nursery in missouri. They sell alot of old varieties. especially apples.

[LtlWilli]

How can anyone overlook the magic and taste of the older apples, when they are very hardy, disease resistant, and a delight to know the history associated with them. For instance, King Louis XIV's favorite apple, the CalVille Blanc', is richer in vitamin C than an orange.
I have had no luck with them in this part of Texas...On standard roots, they tend to go down from nematodes in the soil. The alternative of using MM (Malling Merton 106,109,and MM113) semi-drarfing rootstocks are good, but they will not forgive you for allowing them to go dry.---It is "water me regularly, or I will belly-up on you fast. Many years of research in England went into these rootstocks, and they are very adaptable to soil types when used under proper handling.

[Zane]

My grandpa started using these guys and I still do toohttp://www.starkbros.com/?fc=1
They seem to be adding a few new "oldtime" fruits ea year. They warranty them for a year. Great helpful folks.
One thing to note is some of the oldtime tree's went beyond the wayside due to pests. Others are resistant. Also get some beefriendly BT to spray those tree's it works well.
I have over 40 fruit tree's some 10 yrs old and the bee's and all the rain did wonders this year. I have 10x more apples than past years!!!!
I'm making Apple butter now!
Good luck

[sqkcrk]

Check out St. Lawrence Nursery, Potsdam, NY.

[SantaCruzBee]

I have received nice bareroot heritage apples from Trees of Antiquity, which Keith mentioned. I have received good plants, blueberries and heritage strawberries from Raintree, which he mentioned too.

-Doug

[foresthillbilly]

Try this one http://www.bighorsecreekfarm.com/
I got some grafting wood from him a couple years ago.
They have around 300 kinds of apples

[Hobie]

I'm in NW Pa, and have a wonderful old apple tree in my yard. These apples are crisp and tart, but turn brown quickly after you bite into one (which is why no one propagated the variety commercially, I'm sure.) The nearest I can guess is that it is a "Wealthy." I can not keep up with the quantity, despite the fact that I never spray and the tree is darn near hollow. Joe, if you can graft, you are welcome to a cutting off this tree as long as you make a graft for me!

I've also grown four decendents from seed, but I hear apples to not breed true, so who knows about those.