Today in the orchard
The conversation about frost resistance and apple bloom has been an important one, particularly since the May 18, 2023 freeze when temperatures dropped to well below 32F from Maine to Buffalo. By 4:00 PM the afternoon before, I knew we were in for trouble. The air already had that distinct feeling that meant clear and cold. It is a date that apple growers have etched indelibly in their brains. When you say “May 18” you needn’t say more. So what do we do? As mentioned in yesterday’s orchard report, we have done well on our farm with Black Oxford and Frostbite. What is it about those two cultivars that could have outsmarted mother nature on May 18?
Frostbite is the apple that contributed the crispness to Honeycrisp, Cosmic Crisp, SweeTango, SnapDragon and many—or even all—of the other ultra-crisp cultivars. That gene came from Frostbite’s Malus baccata (Siberian Crab) ancestry. It is in that M. baccata ancestry that we may find the key to the cold hardiness of Frostbite that enabled it to produce a nearly-full crop after 22F in bloom.
Trailman: candy on a tree.
This past spring I was attending an apple roundtable meeting in western MA when one of the other attendees, Amy Miller, talked about the Malus baccata seedlings she was growing in the midwest that had produced full crops after temps plunged well below freezing during bloom. In its native Siberia M. baccata experiences winter temperatures closer to -50F (although not during bloom). It is one hardy crab apple.
The fruit of M. baccata is small. In another recent orchard report we mentioned Sissipuk which has M. baccata in its pedigree. It’s beautiful in bloom and leaf, and the fruit is only about 1/2”. Two of our favorite dessert cultivars—Ivan and Trailman—also have M. baccata ancestry. They are small (2”) but large enough for many growers. There’s nothing lacking in flavor or texture in either of them. They are like candy on a tree. (As E.F. Schumacher famously said, “small is beautiful.”)
For those of you who read MALUS magazine, there’s an excellent article focusing on M. baccata by Andy Brennan in the current issue. Should we be growing Baccata? Can Baccata play a role in the breeding of future cultivars? We think so.
