This is a twig for grafting.Summer. Thought to be from Astrakhan on the Black Sea, prior to 1800.
The standard Maine summer cooking apple for generations. Still found occasionally in old Maine dooryards. Juicy rich subacid white flesh frequently tinged with red makes a highly colored sauce. Especially loved for its distinctive flavor in pies. Medium-sized somewhat oblate fruit, splashed or sometimes solidly covered with dark red. An obvious russet patch surrounds the stem. Looks like a junior version of a Wolf River.
Fruit ripens over a period of several weeks in midsummer, making it perfect for the home orchard and lousy for the commercial folks who want them all at once.
After finding its way to Sweden, the apple then traveled to England, and finally to Massachusetts in 1835. From there it quickly spread throughout New England and beyond. Keeps for a few weeks with refrigeration. Very hardy. Blooms early. Z3.
Scionwood and early rootstock orders ship around March 10.
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.
The deadline for ordering scionwood is February 21, 2025, for shipment around March 10. (Please note: we ship scionwood only in mid-March. If you would like to order rootstock to arrive in the same shipment, select mid-March shipping when adding the rootstock to your cart.)
