One Man's Apples

(Page 2 of 2)

February/March 2004
By Kris Wetherbee 
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"At first I used to buy scions to build my collection," he says, "but then people started giving scions to me that I didn't have." He did some trading, too, and since then has distributed more than 1,500 varieties of apples in the form of scionwood and grafted trees to more than 10,000 growers around the world. By his reckoning, he's grafted more than 20,000 apple trees.

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"Grafting is an economical way to get a tree," Botner says. "If I had to buy all the trees I have now, I couldn't find them, and even if I could, the cost would be prohibitive."

(If you wantto graft your own apple trees, scions are available from Botner at 4015 Eagle Valley Road, Yoncalla, OR 97499; (541) 849-2781; for $3.50 each ($14 minimum), plus shipping. Send a legal-sized SASE to him for a list.—MOTHER)

GROWING TRICKS

Two growing methods that Botner employs to use his orchard land as efficiently as possible are tight spacing and annual pruning. "Many folks still are trying to hold onto the concept that an apple tree has to be a big tree," he says. He spaces his smaller grafted trees 3 feet apart, which allows him to grow more varieties in the same area and get all the fruit he wants.

The tight spacing also works best for scion and evaluation purposes. To accommodate the spacing, Botner grafts his scions onto dwarf rootstock "M26" and "Mark," and prunes to a central leader. "A good height for today's apple tree," he says, "is anything you can reach with your loppers."

Lastly, he adds, "All your efforts to grow a great apple can get lost in the pits if you pick them before they're ripe." His advice on when to pick: "Simply cut one open. The seeds should be dark. Seeds that are white or any stage in-between mean the apple still needs time to fully develop and ripen."

Kris Wetherbee learned how to graft from Nick Botner. She and her husband, photographer Rick Wetherbee, maintain a 1-acre orchard in the rolling hills of western Oregon.

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