The Apple of My Eye

For year around interest,

one of the nicest things you 

can plant is.......
fruiting trees, especially apples.

As American as apple pie, 

 there are several nice varieties that

will endure our severe winters 

and produce fruit for years.

Apples provide loads of seasonal interest:
blossoms in the spring that attract bees and pollinators
and render most people absolutely giddy with anticipation of warm weather
fruit and shade in the summer
great color and good eatin' in the fall
architectural interest in the winter.

Things to know BEFORE planting apple trees:

First, keep in mind that apple trees require a pollinator, which will be another apple tree that blooms at roughly the same time of the spring as the other.  Apple (Malus) trees are picky about their pollination. Most varieties cannot pollinate themselves. They need another tree -- of another variety -- and they both must bloom at the same time. Do your research before making selections. That’s important for the bees, wasps and other pollinators to be able to move the pollen from a bloom on one tree to the flower on another.

If your neighbor has a tree that blooms in the same time frame as the tree you are planting, your apple tree will be pollinated by the neighbor's tree. Because apple trees need pollinators, it’s important to not place them too far apart. These insects need to meander from a flower on one tree to a flower on another. The farther apart they are, the less chance there is of that happening. Experts recommend that you not plant them more than 100 feet from each other to ensure pollination.

Crab apple trees count as pollinators, so long as the bloom time coincides and they

are within range to ensure pollination.

Secondly, how do you grow apple trees?  

We're sometimes asked if you can plant apple seeds.

Well, yes you can, and they may or may not germinate, 

and may or may not grow into a productive fruit tree, 

but you won't get the same apple as the parent plant.

The popular image of Johnny Appleseed spreading apple seeds randomly everywhere he went is likely false. In fact, he planted nurseries rather than orchards, built fences around them to protect them from livestock, left the nurseries in the care of a neighbor who sold trees on shares, and returned every year or two to tend the nursery.

That said, nearly every apple tree available for sale is a grafted tree.

Same theory as applies to grafting tomatoes, in that a

disease-resistant, cold hardy rootstock is used to graft

a delicious and productive scion for the best of both worlds.

Grafting ensures that the resulting tree and fruit will

retain the characteristics of the original parent plant.

 

If you REALLY want some absolutely fascinating reading on apples, 

I recommend Michael Pollan's 

The Botany of Desire

Last, but certainly not least, is the life cycle of an apple tree.

You need to choose an apple variety that grows well and is recommended for your zone where you live.  Apple trees can live for 50 years or more, so you want to plan your investment for the long term and select the appropriate varieties.  

Most apples won't bear fruit in abundance until the 5th year.  You will get a few here and there,

but the abundance, generally speaking, begins at year 5.  

Imagine planting a zone 4 apple, it surviving three mild winters in a row, only to succumb to a 'normal' winter on year four.  Now THAT would upset the apple cart!

Back to the drawing board and another 4 years of waiting.  

Not to mention the cost of the original tree, that is now dead, the new tree cost, digging the original hole, removing the now 4 year old dead tree, and planting the new one.  

There's also all the time you took to care for that now-dead tree and

the time you will now invest in getting the new one established.
Taking on a 'glass half full' attitude, you now have some
nice applewood for your grill and smoker.

We believe that it's prudent only to plant zone 3 trees. 

There are stories galore of zone 4 plants that have survived in an Ely yard, but for how long?

Find me a 50 year old zone 4 apple tree and I'll buy you lunch.

That said, as sure as God made little green apples, we recommend these four varieties for

Ely and Arrowhead yards and gardens:

Haralred

A Bailey Nurseries introduction, this red selection of 'Haralson' apple was discovered by Louis Lautz, an orchardist from La Crescent, MN. The fruit is redder and earlier than the standard 'Haralson', yet retains all the good qualities of 'Haralson': juicy, tart, firm, good keeper, extremely hardy and fireblight resistant. This is an excellent variety for northern United States and Canada. Unsuitable pollinator for 'Haralson', which is hardy only to Zone 4.

Haralreds were grown at the University of Minnesota's Northcentral Research Center
in Grand Rapids, Minnesota.  Patty and I visited the center during the UofM's Horticulture Days,
and are true believers that Haralred is a great apple for our area, but you can read more about the
Hort Day adventure HERE

Prairie Magic

From Manitoba, this apple stands out because of its superior cold hardiness. The flesh is white, crisp and sweeter than 'Goodland'. Delicious eaten out of hand and may also be used for cooking.

 Frostbite

 This MN apple bred in 1936, is now being introduced. Frostbite™ is a unique small apple with a very sweet, intense taste. Crisp but firm texture and juicy. Extremely cold hardy, it is an excellent variety for cold, northern regions. Great for cider or cooking. Parent to 'Keepsake' and 'Sweet 16', grandparent to 'Honeycrisp'.

 Frostbite is another variety grown by the UofM in Grand Rapids.
This location in Grand Rapids is the northernmost research center
in the United States. 

 State Fair

University of MN, 1978. Medium-sized red striped fruit. Flavor is sprightly tart and good for eating and baking. Good texture, semi-acid to sweet, all-purpose apple. One of the better early apples for northern locations, but has a short storage life.

Growing apples is a rewarding endeavor,
and a tree, properly suited to its environment,
will bear fruit for decades.
 How about them apples?