AKApples

09/09/2026

This year’s apple seedlings have grown very well. Now they are being labeled and tied to stakes to prevent winter damage. Next year they get grafted to G890 rootstock to encourage earlier fruiting.

09/09/2026

It’s been awhile since I’ve shared an update on this year’s seedlings. These were grown from seed this year. Most are crosses I made (knowing both seed and pollen parents), some are open pollinated seedlings (only knowing seed parent), and a few are seeds purchased from out of state (that I think may have a good chance of doing well in Alaska).

Many of these grew 2 feet or more this year and there’s a good amount of nice seedlings getting ready for winter.

They are all going to be numbered and clearly marked as each seedling is unique. They will all be tied to stakes so snow and ice don’t break off the young trees. In March I’ll cut the tops off and graft to G890 rootstock to fruit earlier.

Looking forward to seeing how they do through the winter and grow next year once grafted out. Lots of diversity here and hopefully one day some new apple varieties.

Descriptions under photos.

09/07/2026

A few fall colors on the apple trees. Some are seedlings of mine while a few are known cultivars.

09/07/2026

While most apple tree leaves aren’t the most appealing to look at when changing color and dying in the fall, there are always some that don’t follow that pattern and actually are pretty striking to look at. Here are a few of my favorites this fall. Some are my seedlings while a few are known cultivars. Descriptions under each photo.

09/06/2026

https://myfruittree.cahnrs.wsu.edu/

If you have apple trees on your property and you don’t know what kind they are, Washington State University’s My Fruit Tree Project may be able to identify them through DNA testing of leaf tissue.

I have used this program on multiple occasions to identify trees I have and highly recommend it. Well worth checking into.

CAHNRS Network Sites > MyFruitTree Project Welcome to WSU’s MyFruitTree Project Helping you name and value your U.S.-grown apple trees! What’s that tree? Have or know of an old apple tree that you would like to identify? Misnamed or missing-named family heirloom? The MyFruitTree project exists t...

09/06/2026

If you want to see what apples do well here in south central Alaska (and taste them!) Mid Valley Garden and Greenhouse is the place to be Saturday September 26. I highly recommend attending.

09/04/2026

An exciting day….20 unique grafted apple seedlings finally finished planting in the ground. The seedling trial rows have begun to take shape. Many of these are open pollinated seedlings while a few are some of my crosses. All are grafted to G890 rootstock. Next year pruning and training takes place along with clearing the area for the next batch to go in the ground. Looking forward to seeing what apples these produce.

09/03/2026

Time to protect the apple trees against voles in the winter. I use either DeWitt white fabric tree wrap or hardware cloth.

09/03/2026

Time to start preparing the trees for winter. Most people know about moose, but there are other things that can affect trees during winter. Voles are a big menace and deadly. They tunnel under the snow and chew the bark all the way around and the tree will die.

Two things I use to protect against this are DeWitt white fabric tree wrap, and hardware cloth. They’ve never chewed through the wrap on any tree I’ve had, and of course can’t chew through hardware cloth mesh. We have voles but I’ve never lost a tree to them in 25 years of growing apple trees.

Hardware cloth is pretty much full proof, you can’t chew through metal. The fabric wrap has an added bonus in that it protects young trees against sun scald (late winter the warm sun draws sap up the trunk, but the night temperatures are still well below freezing so the sap is trapped and splits the trunk).

09/02/2026

I hand pollinated Rescue and Trailman apple blossoms this spring with specific pollen so I know both seed and pollen parents. Apples are marked now just in case they drop.