Fall. Unknown origin. This ornamental crab was mistakenly added to the Maine Heritage Orchard collection years ago. We were after the extremely rare full sized York County apple with the same name, but once this one set fruit we decided to keep it. It was too good to replace!
When the buds begin to swell in spring they are carmine red, opening up to fragrant white flowers blushed with pink. Not usually planted for its small bright orange-scarlet, long stemmed fruit, but it is surprisingly good for fresh eating. Juicy, citrusy and not too tart. Whatever you don’t eat will hang on the tree well into the winter providing nourishing treats for the birds.
Good grower with a pleasing compact ovular shape. Highly disease resistant. Blooms midseason. Z4
Narrangansett is so good. Complex crabbiness and nostalgic flavors that are sort of reminiscent of ice pops. It also has a great growth habit in terms of compactness, branch angles, and precociousness. Nice firm texture, kept well in the fridge for a few months. Highly recommend!
I traded scions with a friend that works at the Maine Heritage Orchard, my interest was peaked after seeing them share some info about the tree online & also hearing reports back from friends that tried the fruit. They sent me 4 scions in 2023 and I have just been regrafting any new growth, I have 20+ trees at this point and will be planting them out in the coming weeks. In the nursery - the leaves have been super healthy, with short internodes. It seems to flower on last years growth.
