The Search for Rare, Heritage Apples

Reader Contribution by Tom Brown
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The past year was a rewarding one for apple discovery, because I potentially found the apple that started my apple search about sixteen years ago — the ‘Harper’s Seedling’ apple.

In the very early years of my apple search I found an excellent apple in Wilkes County, N.C. called a ‘Streaked June’ near the home of Sherrill Pardue. I grafted it and planted a tree in my orchard.  Years later when I checked back, the original tree had died. The apple name never really made sense because this “June” apple ripened in late August.

Even though I might not initially find an apple such as the ‘Harper’s Seedling’, I keep thinking about it and continue to compare apples I encounter to the descriptions I have. This year I had many well-colored ‘Streaked June’ apples; I realized that it fit the description of my long-lost apple. I then took some of the apples and showed them to the one remaining person who remembered the apple, Ricky Evans; he said”Yes, it looks just like the ‘Harper’s Seedling.'”

Ideally, I would like to have three identifications, but the apple discovery process is often a race against time, and while I was looking for the apple, two people who remembered it passed away and the memory of another has greatly dimmed. Other apples found include the following: ‘Appalachian Limbertwig’ (probably), ‘August Beauty,’ ‘Aunt Sally,’ ‘Big Boy,’ ‘Big Red,’ ‘Bitter Sweet,’ ‘Black Ammit,’ ‘Carter County,’ ‘Cheese’ (England), ‘Corder,’ ‘Ell Star,’ ‘Ernest Blair Well’ Apple, ‘Fall Astor,’ ‘Fired,’ ‘Haycock,’ ‘High Top Sweet’ (green), ‘Lady Williams,’ ‘Pitney,’ ‘Pumpkin Sweet’ (large, yellow), ‘Red Astor,’ ‘Rose Sweet,’ ‘Ruusin Ball,’ ‘Striped Virginia Beauty,’ ‘Summer Sweet,’ ‘Summer Treat,’ ‘Tendersweet,’ ‘Thinskin,’ ‘Vandever,’ and ‘Water Luscious.

Pictured at right: Junior Johnson’s ‘Black Beauty’ heritage apple trees and cows.

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