One of my favorite heirlooms and very local, I grow them in the same county in Maine where the variety originated. It’s a great keeping all purpose late apple with pest and disease resistance here. Minuses include biannual bearing if untended, and sometimes bitterpit if calcium is low. Nice cooking, sauce, cider, and eating with a mild yet rich vinous flavor
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All mine (about a dozen) got swiped by squirrels this year.
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Beautiful apple!
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Lovely color on the apples. It’s definitely one of the least bothered by anything (disease, pests) among my potted trees. I also put one in on mm111 in the ground in a spot I hope will be a long term planting.
It must be a “Maine only” apple, lol. I’ve bought two trees and gotten 3 pieces of scion over the past 6 years…only to have nothing to show for my troubles. A small B-118 tree from Fedco and a M-111 Century Farms tree died. So have my own grafts.
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I’ve got two Black Oxfords that I grafted 3 years ago to antonovka. Neither is taller than 30" and neither has better than 3/8" caliper. I’ve come to the same conclusion as you, it only grows well in a climate different than mine
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I’ll probably try again…by putting on a limb of a multi-graft tree and see if that turns out better. 
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I had a couple of grafts of Black Oxford that survived but barely grew and barely produced. I eventually removed them. It doesn’t like my climate, either.
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how long do you wait to eat them? i think I’ll add one to the orchard next spring. maybe graft Arkansas black on it to see the difference.
My most recent roadside find looks very similar.
I wonder if it could be a grafted tree I found… It’s in a historical area.
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wow that sure looks like it. its been around a long time so could be a graft. is it really hard?
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I think Black Oxford likes our New England climate. My graft has grown well and set fruit for the first time last year.
I remember it as a dense-fleshed apple but not as hard as Arkansas Black and also less tart. But I did not have a chance to try it this year to confirm if my memory is correct.
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The skin is substantial. It is crisp, not quite as crunchy as honeycrisp but very close. The one I cut open had a wormhole down the core but it had a bit of pink flesh at the base, might be able to see it. It is sweet with a nice acid balance.
I looked at other options, could also be Black Amish or a seedling… I’ll have to monitor this tree.
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The Black Oxford apple is an heirloom variety known for its dark purple to almost black skin. The flesh is typically yellowish-white and has a sweet-tart flavor. It’s a rare apple variety with historical significance, originating in the late 18th century.
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I think Black Oxford is a particularly intriguing fruit tree for wildlife (primarily whitetail deer) applications. It’s generally good resistance to diseases and insects renders it suitable for the low maintenance expectation. The very late ripening habit will have the fruit dropping into the late fall/early winter mast depletion period, and during the typical hunting seasons in the north half of the country. It’s cold hardiness rating (up to Zone 3) renders it suitable up north. The firm flesh and long storage life likely indicates better than average resistance to degradation once on the ground. The broad appeal for human consumption traits is a bonus. The light pink blossoms might qualify as an ornamental. The very dark red fruit hanging into early winter is also an attraction for me. I planted a bunch.
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Got my first apple this year from ours in Baraga County. Planted it 8 years ago on standard Antonovka. Picked it yesterday, and placed it in cold storage. I think it would be a winner for wildlife for all the reasons you listed. I think I will graft it into one of our wildlife plantings next spring.
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I harvested a decent crop of Black Oxfords this year, but most of the crop was lost to black rot. Do others see this problem? Anybody have a remedy?
Black Oxford here is a slowwww grower on antonovka. I lost one of the two i grafted to frogeye spot. I’ll let the other one go and hope it makes an apple some day. Its been three growing seasons and it may be 5’ tall. I sure can’t give the variety a thumbs up at my location (yet?)
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Mine has been a good grower, maybe slightly above average. It was a purchase from Fedco on MM.111.
p.s. I had a fairly modest problem with rust, despite millions of cedars in the area.
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My two trees were grafted from a B.O. scion purchased from Fedco
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