Happy 50th Birthday dear husband!

The Planting of the Apple-tree

Come, let us plant the apple-tree.
Cleave the tough greensward with the spade;
Wide let its hollow bed be made;
There gently lay the roots, and there
Sift the dark mould with kindly care,
And press it o'er them tenderly,
As, round the sleeping infant's feet,
We softly fold the cradle sheet;
So plant we the apple-tree.

What plant we in this apple-tree?
Buds, which the breath of summer days
Shall lengthen into leafy sprays;
Boughs where the thrush, with crimson breast,
Shall haunt and sing and hide her nest;
We plant, upon the sunny lea,
A shadow for the noontide hour,
A shelter from the summer shower,
When we plant the apple-tree.

What plant we in this apple-tree?
Sweets for a hundred flowery springs
To load the May-wind's restless wings,
When, from the orchard row, he pours
Its fragrance through our open doors;
A world of blossoms for the bee,
Flowers for the sick girl's silent room,
For the glad infant sprigs of bloom,
We plant with the apple-tree.

What plant we in this apple-tree!
Fruits that shall swell in sunny June,
And redden in the August noon,
And drop, when gentle airs come by,
That fan the blue September sky,
While children come, with cries of glee,
And seek them where the fragrant grass
Betrays their bed to those who pass,
At the foot of the apple-tree.

And when, above this apple-tree,
The winter stars are quivering bright,
And winds go howling through the night,
Girls, whose young eyes o'erflow with mirth,
Shall peel its fruit by cottage-hearth,
And guests in prouder homes shall see,
Heaped with the grape of Cintra's vine
And golden orange of the line,
The fruit of the apple-tree.

The fruitage of this apple-tree
Winds and our flag of stripe and star
Shall bear to coasts that lie afar,
Where men shall wonder at the view,
And ask in what fair groves they grew;
And sojourners beyond the sea
Shall think of childhood's careless day
And long, long hours of summer play,
In the shade of the apple-tree.

— William Cullen Bryant.
1794–1878

Fredrick Morgan's The Apple Gatherers

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A Profusion of Blossoms on our Russet Apple Tree

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More about Russet Apples:

Ashmead's Kernal

(early 1700's Gloucester, England, UK) Medium size greenish yelllow fruit with brown flush, usually covered with arusset. Crisp, yellowish juicy flesh. Unique nut-like flavor. Ripens in October.

Egremont Russet

(pre 1880 England, UK) Small to medium size fruit. Golden brown russet often with black spots or markings. Very high quality. Ripens in October.

Golden Russet

(1845 New York, USA) Medium size fruit. Gray-green to golden bronze with a coppery orange cheek, heavily splotched with light brown russet. Crisp, highly flavored, fine textured, very sugary yellow flesh. Use for cider, dried apples, fresh eating and cooking. Called the champagne of old time cider apples. Ripens in September and October.

Hudsons's Golden Gem

(1931 Tangent, Oregon, USA) Large, elongated, high quality fruit. Smooth, dull yellow russet skin with a very long stem. Excellent dessert apple with a pear-like flavor. Ripens in early October.

Roxbury Russet

(early 1600's Roxbury, Massachusetts, USA) Large greenish, sometimes bronze tinged skin almost completely covered with yellowish brown russet. Firm, slightly coarse, yellowish white flesh. Remarkable for its amount of sugar. Excellent for eating fresh, cooking and cider. Ripens in October.

St. Edmunds Pippin

(1870 Bury St. Edmunds, England, UK) Medium to large size fruit. Considered the most beautiful of all the russet apples. Uniformaly flat-round shape, entirely covered with a flawless, smooth, pure fawn russet. Very juicy, crisp, yellowish flesh. Rich pear-like flavor. Makes excellent cider. Listed among the six best apples of England. Ripens in early September.

Great Old Apples of New York, the Russet!

I live in New York which is the second most important apple growing state, after Washington State. My tree is a Russet. Russet apples look ugly with tan, slightly raspy skins, but inside they're bursting with intense flavor.   We use them allot for baking and my husband just thrills to the intense apple flavor right off the tree.  They come ripe late which is also nice. I feed them to the sheep and it helps them gain weight just before winter comes. We do not know which variety we have of Russet as this tree was here when we moved in 24 years ago.

Many apple conesuers think that Russets are the best tasting apples out there. Sadly, Russet Apples never make it to the grocery stores these days. The public has been brainwashed into thinking blemish free apples are the only fruit to buy. Most consumers today believe that russeting on the skin is a sign something is spoiled or deformed in a apple. Some people are so misguided and ignorant they dislike biting into a patch of skin that feels different. Russeting on apples is seen as a bad sign by most modern producers  because they can't sell the apples as eating apples which always bring the higher prices from buyers.

Apple aficionados, however, continue to seek out and buy Russets at farmer's markets and on apple farms.  These Russet apples that remain neglected and untouched by most today tend to have a spicy, pronounced flavour. It  reminds us why our ancestors wrote poems about apples. We have to blame ourselves for the most part that these apples are so hard to find because we're the ones who walked by displays of Russet Apples in the stores until they disapeared from stores all together. There seems to be change in the wind as more people are seeking out old varieties of apples and other fruit.  Today many older types of apple tree are being sold  as heirloom apples.  Let's hope their is a bright future for the good old russet apple!

Russets need humid storage because the pores that make up the russeting are large and let moisture out. In a dry environment, they will quickly shrivel.The Victorians, as you can tell from Victorian artwork, preferred the look of russet apples. In the 1500s, Russets were also known as "leather-coats".

"There's a dish of leather-coats for you."
-- Davy, in Henry IV, ACT V, Scene III. Shakespeare.


Some common names of  Russet apples:

'Acklam Russett'
'Adam's Pearmain'
'Blenheim Orange'
'Braddick's Nonpariel'
'Claygate Pearmain'
'Egremont Russet'
'Golden Russet'
'Merton Russet'
'Ribston Pippin'
'Ross Nonpariel'
'Roxbury Russet' (also known as Boston Russet)
'St. Edmund's Pippin'
'Sam Young'
'Tydeman's Late Orange'
'Winston'


A Golden Russet Apple

This classic cider apple, which is also excellent for fresh eating or drying, was grown in New York State prior to 1845. The dense, sugary flesh is reminiscent of the French heirloom russets.

In separate petals shed, each like a tear...

Dante Gabriel Rossetti

On his Last Sight of Fiammetta 


Behold Fiammetta, shown in Vision here.

Gloom-girt 'mid Spring-flushed apple-growth she

stands;

And as she sways the branches with her hands,

Along her arm the sundered bloom falls sheer,

In separate petals shed, each like a tear;

While from the quivering bough the bird expands

His wings. And lo! thy spirit understands

Life shaken and shower'd and flown, and Death

drawn near.

All stirs with change. Her garments beat the air:

 The angel circling round her aureole

Shimmers in flight against the tree's grey bole:

While she, with reassuring eyes most fair,

A presage and a promise stands; as 'twere

On Death's dark storm the rainbow of the Soul.

Our Apple Tree in full Glory!

Bud well, bear well
God send you fare well;
Every sprig and every spray
A bushel of apples next New Year Day.

-19th century Worcestershire

Climate and Weather

Most hardy fruit trees need a certain amount of cold winter weather to end their dormancy and to promote spring growth. When winters are too mild, spring growth is delayed, irregular and slow. These factors extend the period of blooming, and thereby increase the possibility of frost injury.

On the other hand, extreme cold during winter dormancy may kill the fruit buds. Winter weather rarely threatens hardy apple, pear, plum and sour cherry varieties. Sweet cherry, however, is relatively sensitive to cold until it becomes dormant. Peach trees are very vulnerable to cold weather. Their buds can be killed by midwinter temperatures around 10°F.

As the fruit buds grow and open, they become more susceptible to injury from frost. The exposed buds can usually withstand temperatures near 24°F. However, the open blossoms of practically all fruit trees may be killed if the temperature drops below 27°F.

When a heavy frost is expected, covering the trees will sometimes prevent bud or blossom injury, provided temperatures do not fall too low and the cold weather is of short duration. Protective covering may be effective, and such things as cheesecloth and old bed sheets may be used.

During spring frosts, some commercial growers heat their orchards, but this method is impractical for most home gardeners. After a severe frost, injured blossoms may appear normal, but if the pistils (center part of the blossoms) are killed, the tree will not bear fruit.