Very large and very old apple tree - over 100 years old

I am visiting my brother-in-law in Roseburg, OR. He has a small farm with a very old and very large producing apple tree. I just got here and do not really know the variety if in fact it is a named variety. I will talk to him tomorrow.

Is there anyone out there interested in heirloom apples and would like to try a scion or seeds from this apple tree? Maybe swap some seeds of any kind but that would not really be necessary I do not think. They are very nice people. Before expending much energy on this I thought I would see if there is an interest.

Thanks, Rick

The appletree is an un-known named apple tree that was part of an orchard planted between 1895-1905. Originally there were supposed to have been about 30 trees. It is a red and green splotched apple. There are a few left this year but they are up too high for me to reach. All the ones reaching the ground this year were eaten by goats. There seem to be a lot of "suckers" above 5 or 6 feet where the goats cannot reach. The tree seems to be about 25-30 feet tall I just ate some apples from a volunteer apple nearby and they were quite delicious today. But the volunteer does not seem to be the same apple as the one I am referring to.

I know that there are a lot of really good apples around but if anyone has a time and desire to try cultivate this one let me know and I can put you in contact with the right person.

Rick

alaska-rick, There is an outfit named Kuffle Farms or Kuffle Creek Farms that specializes in finding and propagating heirloom apples. I bet they would be delighted to hear from you and they might identify your tree. Don

Thank you.
Rick

How wonderful to be able to eat apples from such a venerable old tree! We also have an heirloom tree though it is not as old as theirs. An oldtimer here told us the variety he thought it was. Possibly there is someone in your relatives' community that might be familiar with their tree. I have read that apple trees do not come true from seed, so if the tree is to be propagated it would probably need to be grafted onto a rootstock. In that way, it can actually be made into a dwarf or semi-dwarf tree by choosing the appropriate one.

I sent a copy of this thread to Kuffle Creek. We shall see what their interest is if any.

Rick
http://www.kuffelcreek.com/apples.htm

Good luck Rick. When I was a child I used to pick apples from an old apple orchard that my grandmother had probably started about 75 plus years ago. I've never seen apples like them since and I wish I had known about grafting before the trees died. Mauryhillfarm is correct, apples do not grow true from seed. Get a ladder and pick one of those apples high up and take it to the botany dept. at a university who might be able to identify it or lead you to some one who can. You might want to call ahead to see if they need leaves or part of a branch too. Instead of a ladder you would be far safer to buy or borrow an apple picker. They look like a extra long broom stick with a basket on the end.

My brother-in-law had an apple picker but it still did not reach. We could reach maybe 1/2 way up. We did not have a ladder handy. Maybe he needs to make up a picker with one of those really long handled window washers. It is a long way up and the ground was not very even for using a ladder.

I am back in Alaska now. Maybe next year. He has picked lots of apples off of this tree; but I was a bit late for the party.

I got no response from Kuffle Creek. So I presume that they are not interested. Rick

I think you can take cuttings to Raintree Nursery to get them grafted. There are probably nurseries in Oregon, closer to your relatives where they can get this done if they want to have the tree's genetics carried on past its lifespan.

Rick next time back the pick up close and put a ladder in the back of it ha ha where is OSHA. Ernie