It is amazing how many wild apple trees are out there just waiting to be discovered. Found a real winner today (maybe) . Unique shape ,sweet and crunchy . Spotted this apple tree ( we were out looking for apple trees) from a hill on the wrong side of a river. Had to wade the river and crawl through the thick under brush to get to it ,but I think it was well worth it ! Plan on going back tomorrow to take pictures and pick a bunch to see how they keep and make cider (not the fermented kind) with some! Also found a couple of russet crabs that will be very late apples as they were far from being ripe.
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Welcome to the forum, Chris! You’ll find the company of other apple enthusiasts here.
Wow! That sounds like a really enjoyable kind of exploring adventure. Yes, I’d say it was definitely worth it. If you haven’t already done so, you should mark that tree so that you can find it again in winter to collect some scion wood for yourself.
I hope you take some time to go to the top pinned thread and introduce yourself. If you don’t want to read through the whole thing in order to post an intro, use those arrow keys in the bottom right hand of the screen when you are in that thread and choose “bottom”. That way it will take you right to the end so that you can post. Then you can read the other intros at your leisure if you’re interested.
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Do have pics of the one russet crab from a couple of days ago
Always been interested in russet verities although have not had a chance to grow them . Taught myself how to graft this spring/summer so plan on trying several verities starting next spring.
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slice up some of those chartman and take a photo, also a photo with a coin or something for size.
Nice find btw.
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Fantastic! I plant the seeds from my wild apples. Sounds like you have found some hardy and unique apples. I think several of us would be interested in some scion wood this spring if they wind up being good ones. Please let us know how it turns out.
Clark
I have read your thread on new apple seedling verities and in a way this is my way of doing the same thing except I am not the one cross pollinating and planting the seeds.(although I plan on playing ,with it in time) I have no idea the origin of these trees I am finding ,but I do notice that in each area the trees usually share some sort of common trait . Telling me they are related. This group all have this unique shape but are very different in about every other way. These trees are extremely cold hardy and most all I have discovered seem to have some degree of disease resistance.
I am on a quest to "name " my own apple variety but I want it to be a worth wile apple and tree. One that people are not disappointed they took the time to grow . I don’t have the vast experience of having taste tested a bunch of different named verities so have no way to compare . I only know what taste good to me and that might not be the same to others with the same apple . I will get some pics and post with size comparison and cut fruit tomorrow some time like Appleseed mentioned.
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Chartman, seems a very worthy quest, but keep in mind that breeders reject thousands of varieties to come up with a single “winner”. What you are doing is still important,IMO, because these breeders aren’t doing enough to produce low or no spray varieties of good eating quality and the ones you are discovering have survived the test of time and your climate.
The discoverer of a variety does tend to favor the apples they have that attachment to in the way that all parents have children of well above average intelligence.
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I agree with you Alan completely. One additional thing to think about with fruit , grain , and vegetable breeders is low spray is not in the breeders best interest. Round up ready soybeans for example sell a lot of round up. The plant breeders methods are currently working for their intended purpose. As fruit growers if we want low / no spray fruits we can’t expect those varieties to be bred by the companies that sell spray. I’m not implying we can ever have 100% of what we want in agriculture but we can certainly as individuals breed some hardier, better tasting fruits. The majority of pippins will be inferior in some way and not be a honey crisp or a Fuji as we have discussed before. Those wild apples are frequently highly resistant to fungus, bugs, and bacterial problems.
What is the shape like? I think your venture sounds exciting and will bring new thoughts about apples. Thanks!
The kids are getting ready to go out right now so I will post pics when we get back. The shape is more cone shape. It is nice that every one is showing interest and I do plan on cutting scion wood when the time comes, and will share if it ends up sounding like an apple worth spending the time and effort to grow.
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I certainly don’t expect that. If there are any major fruit breeders whose main interest is manufacturing and selling pesticides and treatments for problems growing that fruit, I’ve never heard of them. I believe your statement was misleading , in that it made it sound like chemical companies are the primary breeders of new fruit varieties. To my knowledge, they are not.
I understand that Alan and is why I say I am looking for something people won’t feel they wasted their time and effort growing. This apple “may” be close to something people would want to grow but needs to be grown in better conditions for one to see . Right now it is in a wet area and severely crowded. Already a disappointment today with what was thought to be the unique shape at dark last night .That shape ended up being a small % of the apples on that tree and just so happened to be what was reachable from the ground. Pic of the shape I was talking about
And what most of the apples really were on the tree
However the tree seems to have some disease resistance ( other apple trees nearby did have some issues so the exposure was there)
The worse I could find on the tree
Kids picking
They certainly didn’t take great care with them and as everyone can see these apples do bruise but they were also handled quite rough!
Size comparison and cut
Other apples in the area
Fairly decent apple
A pretty apple but super soft
The highlight of the day was spooking up a white or partially white deer. Really thick in the area so was unable to get a pic. Been a wile since there has been a white one around the area !
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Great post and great pics. I’m always willing to graft a rare apple if scion becomes available.
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I do plan on cutting scions from this tree when it is time . If any one is interested in trying this apple remind me then and I can send them !
Wanted to keep a few back to hand out to friends for tasting ,and to see if they would store for any amount of time. But the kids grabbed the ones I had set aside at some time in the process and they are now cider 
Have permission to several acres of wild apples originating from an what looks like an old orchard to explore some time this fall. The trees are loaded (the reason I ask for access) but have no idea what the apples are like. Although others have picked them and made cider (non fermented) in years past.
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Muddy mess,
Grains are sprayed with chemicals manufactured by plant breeders aka seed producers. This article discusses relationships with grains and chemicals they are sprayed with http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2013/10/06/dr-huber-gmo-foods.aspx. This is another interesting article The Roundup Ready Controversy.
Apple orchards are spraying with the same chemicals as noted in this article just not directly on the tree http://www.nyshs.org/pdf/fq/10fall/glyphosate-exposure-contributes-to-internal-browning-of-apples-during-long-term-storage.pdf. This is an article discussing actual gmo apples http://www.npr.org/sections/thesalt/2014/01/08/260782518/this-gmo-apple-wont-brown-will-that-sour-the-fruits-image. How long will it be until the gmo apples are sprayed the same as gmo grains?
CK, I think most people are at least somewhat familiar with issues involving growing grain products. That’s not the contested statement. The way I interpreted your previous statement was that it implied that fruit breeder’s interests were in selling sprays. Although your links may be interesting, there is nothing there to link the two. Even the slower to brown on air exposure Arctic apples’ purpose is to maintain color without having to cover the cut fruit with antioxidants. That is not the same as promoting or selling sprays.
Sorry, but I don’t see anything in your links to back up your statement. Just unrelated bits and pieces.
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Interesting stuff and good photos. I wish there were more posts like this here. I don’t know how things are up your way, but around here river valleys seem have to have the highest insect and disease pressure of just about anywhere in that area. Seems those apples faired pretty well.
I think it merits grafting a piece to a tree where it has some dominance and receives spray / fertilizer etc. to see what it looks like under optimum conditions.
Even named varieties will often (usually) be of similar smallish size given similar growing conditions.
I grew up on a river and in bends or areas where eddy currents exist I’ve found a hodge podge of known landscape trees that were deposited there during floods etc…your apple could even be a named variety. It’s doubtful though.
Nice find, thanks for sharing. Keep us posted, I’m interested in this stuff.
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MuddyMess_8a,
I will respectfully say again companies that sell spray are breeding fruits, vegetables, and grains which they will say themselves. Not all of those are gmo seeds. Some seeds they produce are regular seed. GMO is really a separate discussion. Monsanto as one example purchased Seminis in 2005 which was the worlds largest producer of fruit and vegetable seeds at the time http://www.motherearthnews.com/nature-and-environment/monsanto-targets-fruit-veggies.aspx. I use Monsanto as an example because they are the largest company I know of that produces grain, fruit , and veggie seeds and sprays. Here is a video that explains Monsanto’s work in the Netherlands https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MTWGgmW8g7M. My statement was "One additional thing to think about with fruit , grain , and vegetable breeders is low spray is not in the breeders best interest. Round up ready soybeans for example sell a lot of round up. The plant breeders methods are currently working for their intended purpose. As fruit growers if we want low / no spray fruits we can’t expect those varieties to be bred by the companies that sell spray. I’m not implying we can ever have 100% of what we want in agriculture but we can certainly as individuals breed some hardier, better tasting fruits. The majority of pippins will be inferior in some way and not be a honey crisp or a Fuji as we have discussed before. Those wild apples are frequently highly resistant to fungus, bugs, and bacterial ". I think I’ve backed up what I said and If not here is more http://www.monsanto.com/products/pages/vegetable-seeds.aspx , https://monsanto.pr/making-it-easier-to-eat-better/. You said “I certainly don’t expect that. If there are any major fruit breeders whose main interest is manufacturing and selling pesticides and treatments for problems growing that fruit, I’ve never heard of them. I believe your statement was misleading , in that it made it sound like chemical companies are the primary breeders of new fruit varieties. To my knowledge, they are not.” I was misinterpreted as saying “primary breeders of new fruit varieties” which I did not say. I did establish the same companies that produce fruit, vegetable, and grain seeds produces spray. It would not be in their best interest to stop selling spray. It would not be in their best interest to sell low spray plants since they sell spray. I may be wrong long term in the case of Monsato though since they are already changing their business strategy and selling some organic seeds http://www.wired.com/2014/01/new-monsanto-vegetables/
chartman…why don’t you get some champagne yeast (or whatever the cider guys use) and make some real cider? My grandma use to always have some cider and when I was a young boy, would allow my brother and I to have a small drink. I’ll never forget that bubbly goodness.
Chartman,
Those apples look incredible. There is no insect , bacteria, or fungus damage. The leaves look as good as the fruit. There is no question that apple is worth growing.