A helpful resource to get you started growing your own apple trees.
An apple is a sweet, edible fruit produced by an apple tree, Malus domestica. Apple trees are grown worldwide and have been cultivated by humans for thousands of years. There are over 7,000 varieties of apples grown for reasons as wide ranging as fresh eating to cider making, so it is important to choose one that is right for your area and needs. It's important to know what your USDA zone is, and what your average chill hours are, to be certain your trees will not freeze out or lack dormant hours to bloom and fruit properly.
Apple trees became popular in the 17th century after being imported to America by early settlers due to their versatility, ease of preservation, and the high value of apple cider. By the mid-1800s apple fruits, especially cider apples, would become the most common fruit grown in America. Apple cider remained extremely valuable until the prohibition era of the 1920s and 1930s that outlawed all forms of alcoholic beverages, leading to the removal of the majority of America's older cider apple orchards. Modern day apples are no less popular however, and thanks to fruit historians, and avid enthusiasts, many of our old heritage varieties are making a comeback!
Here are some helpful videos on growing apples!
Comments
4 comments
I would like to order apple trees for planting this fall, but I can’t figure out if you sell them potted or bare root. Your shipping policy is based on this factor. I wish it were easier to determine on your website. Timing is everything.
Hi, Robin -
Thanks for your comment. We are primarily a bare root nursery, so our default status is to ship bare root. When a plant is potted, we indicate that by describing the pot size in the upper right corner of the product page under the designation "Size". In our bare root plants, the description of the size is usually in inches, with bushes showing something like Size: 18"-24", or for trees, something like Size: 4'-5'.
Our boxes are 5' tall, so all size designations include roots as well. For more information, check out our unboxing videos on our Youtube channel: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7z0C8gh19UY&list=PLSmlGZ887GJ61VGuPsaUmwW4DuuNu9CD6&index=4&t=847s and https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vYCt7I-JEbc&list=PLSmlGZ887GJ61VGuPsaUmwW4DuuNu9CD6&index=16
Keep On Growing!
-Laura Sweany, Horticulturist
What is your recommended strategy for dealing with codling moths in apples? The traps by themselves don't seem to be enough. Thanks!
Hi, Arno - traps are designed to be an assessment tool, not a control method, so no wonder they aren't controlling your coddling moths! Here's a valuable technical document on the subject: https://www.ars.usda.gov/ARSUserFiles/20920000/PublicationLists/Lacey_Extra/Lacey-Unruh-BC-CM.pdf
This one is not so technical:
https://www.homeorchardeducationcenter.org/arboretum-blog/codling-moth-in-organic-orchard and it mentions trunk banding, which you can do with caution plastic tape covered in Tanglefoot, to capture climbing adults, and also nylon bagging + kaolin clay sprays, which can thwart juvenile access to the fruit. Coddling moths are a challenge!
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