I bought trees from a variety of sources for my project... intending to compare them as cost vs tree and graft quality, subsequent survivability, etc.
The number of nurseries has proliferated... was booming back then... and many of those that were new back then are now better seasoned... or, a few, no longer as competitive. I think the access to the heirlooms will be sustained... in spite of the disaster engulfing the core of the apple collection in Oregon... as a lot of those nurseries are both tree providers and cider producers themselves...
But, still, I bought trees from Trees of Antiquity that I judged were "the best"... in every aspect... they also the source of the Jefferson Plum. The only issue there today is... lack of availability... which pushes you into searching elsewhere for sources... some of which, obviously, are buying up ToA's stock, and reselling it a 2X or more.
From my time in the Dakota's... learned not to buy "local" varieties from Arkansas, or even suitable varieties the plants of which had been grown out in more southern climes... rather than imports from Manitoba...
That wasn't an issue for the ToA trees I grew east of the Cascades...
From my time in the Puget Sound... learned to not ignore local potential in the "wild" or "escaped" population... Spent an entire day tasting through the fruits growing in a large, dense grove of crab apple trees... which remains among the most challenging "tasting adventures" I've ever endured... One of my preferred selections, taken from an "apple tree forest" growing in old ditch where the Experiment Station used to dump the clean-up from tree fall coming off nearby crab-apple and apple tree trials... is now marketed as "Puget Spice"... which, unfortunately, I did not include in my trials... as it was "not yet available", then...
I did work to extend that awareness... in future efforts... Spending time poking around in eastern Washington, eastern Oregon and Idaho... I found derelict orchards that have survived until now... without any care... a couple of them in spite of growing right next to wheat fields... Its clear that a lot of the trees growing in those sites now are not the originals, but are seedlings that have survived... along with a couple of very large, very old trees that carry on... One of those I found on a ranch I visited repeatedly until I caught the owners outside... and stopped to chat... They had one big happy tree, golden skinned fruit with texture like a honey crisp, but with the crunch, an intense rush of sugar... peach/cotton candy/apple... and so juicy, each bite left juice dribbling down your chin... They also had a couple smaller relict survivors, all varieties unknown...all of which had been carried to that spot by the founders of the ranch, the same family living there now... the great (?) grandparents carried them while crossing the country in a covered wagon... in 1854...
There is more interesting potential out there, I think... than is being appreciated... particularly in either the genetics by rigorous selection, or by the way they grow more resiliently in the wild as forest plants... seeming to insulate them both from disease and chemical assault... in spite of being exposed, and unprotected... |
