From early May through October 31, items shipping from our garden seeds warehouse ship twice a week, usually Tuesday and Thursday. For quickest turnaround time order online by noon Monday or Wednesday.
Items shipping from our growing supplies warehouse take 2-4 business days to process.
This is a twig for grafting.Fall. Unknown parentage, probably originated on North Haven Island, Maine, before 1850.
Very large or even huge green blocky deeply ribbed high-quality all-purpose fruit often with a brilliant pinkish-red blush. It hardly looks like an apple. More like gigantic bell peppers on a tree. It’s become one of our favorites. Cook it up, or eat it fresh. It’s tart and quite tasty.
Brought to our attention by Becky Bartovics whose farm is defined by the tree that’s been leaning downwind for more than 100 years. Not knowing if it had a proper name, Becky named it after Cora Ames, the single woman who farmed the property in the 19th century. One of many ancient Maine-island varieties that only made it to the mainland in very recent years.
Incredibly rugged, long-lived and scab free. Triploid: will not pollinate other apples. Blooms early-midseason. Z4.
Scionwood and early rootstock orders ship around March 10.
Additional Information
Scionwood
Scions are twigs, not trees. They have no roots and will not grow if you plant them. They are cuttings from dormant branch tips, intended for spring grafting.
We do our best to provide ¼" caliper stock. Because of factors beyond our control (such as weather!) stock may be 3⁄16–3⁄8".
We sell scionwood in two ways:
By the stick: One 8" stick will graft 3-4 trees.
By the foot:Minimum order of 10 feet per variety. For orchardists grafting large numbers of trees of a particular variety. In our own nursery work, we are usually able to graft 6-8 trees from one foot of scionwood.
You can graft right away or store scionwood for later use. It will keep quite well for several weeks stored in sealed ziplock bags in the refrigerator.
Not sure where to start? Check out our Apple Chart!
Choosing a variety: Not every variety may be right for you.
All-purpose apples are just that—they’re good for
a bunch of jobs. If you're planting just one tree, perhaps start there.
However, if you’re a history buff, consider the historical varieties
and maybe plant one that originated nearby. If you don’t eat many
apples but love pies, go for the pie apples. If you’re a dessert
connoisseur, skip all the others and go for the highly flavored dessert
varieties. Some are strictly for cider. Some are great to put out at the
camp for summer use. Some are perfect for those who want fall fruit but
don’t have a root cellar. Others keep all winter and into the
following summer.
Summer apples ripen in summer, are generally crisp
only for a short period, do not store well, and are often best for
cooking.
Fall apples store longer and are useful for a wide
variety of purposes.
Winter apples ripen mid to late fall, store well, and
reach their best flavor after weeks, or even months, of storage.
Dessert apples are delicious eaten raw.
Crabapples are less than 2" in diameter. Some
crabs bear edible or culinary or cider-making fruit. Some have
persistent wildlife fruit that hangs on the tree for weeks or even
months. Others have hardly any fruit at all. Some are beautiful
ornamentals.
Cider apples are especially suited to making
fermented “hard” cider. Some cider apples are also good
dessert fruit, but most are not.
Subacid means tart!
Russet or russeting is a skin
texture (fairly common on apple varieties and on a few pears and
potatoes) which looks and feels somewhat like suede.
Bloom is a naturally occurring dust-like yeast film
on the skin of some varieties of apples, plums, grapes and blueberries.
Cider Apples
Each year we offer a different assortment of the best
European and American
cider varieties, including new wild apple introductions from local fruit
explorers and cidermakers. Many of these are NOT for fresh eating. They do
however possess qualities that make them very desirable for fermented cider
production.
Seedling Apples
These trees were grown from seeds, rather than grafted onto rootstock like the other apple varieties we offer. These standard-sized trees will grow to 20–30'.
Flowering and Culinary Crabapples
A crabapple is any apple with fruit smaller than 2" in
diameter. All
crabs bear edible fruit, some more favorable for culinary use than others.
Some fruits are persistent, hanging on the branch through winter and
providing forage for robins, jays and waxwings in the early spring. The
flowers, tree form and even the shape of the leaves can vary subtly or
profoundly. Most are magnificent in bloom and ornamental year round,
especially in winter when the leaves drop and the trees show off their
interesting forms.
Growing Apples
Soil: Adaptable, but prefers well-drained fertile
soil.
Sun: Full.
Pollination: Requires a second variety for
pollination.
Any apple or crabapple blooming within a quarter mile will probably
do.
