This is a twig for grafting.Late Summer. Uncertain Italian or German origin, 17th century or earlier.
The most famous of all pie apples. Ripens earlier than most cooking apples, over the course of several weeks so you don’t have to deal with them all at once. But they don’t keep well. Also good for dessert and sauce.
Of the many Gravenstein strains, this one is stripey purple-red and can be found in old orchards in southern Maine. Gravensteins are still grown commercially in Nova Scotia and on the West Coast. On a trip to northern California in the heart of what he figured was Gravenstein country, John stopped for lunch at a small grocery store and headed straight for the produce cooler. There they were, looking just like home!
Large vigorous perfectly shaped tree. Easy to prune. Triploid: will not pollinate other apples. Blooms early. Z4.
Scionwood and early rootstock orders ship around March 10.
Scions are twigs, not trees. They have no roots and will not grow if you plant them. They are cuttings from dormant branch tips, intended for spring grafting.
We do our best to provide ¼" caliper stock. Because of factors beyond our control (such as weather!) stock may be 3⁄16–3⁄8".
We sell scionwood in two ways:
By the stick: One 8" stick will graft 3-4 trees.
By the foot:Minimum order of 10 feet per variety. For orchardists grafting large numbers of trees of a particular variety. In our own nursery work, we are usually able to graft 6-8 trees from one foot of scionwood.
You can graft right away or store scionwood for later use. It will keep quite well for several weeks stored in sealed ziplock bags in the refrigerator.
The deadline for ordering scionwood is February 21, 2025, for shipment around March 10. (Please note: we ship scionwood only in mid-March. If you would like to order rootstock to arrive in the same shipment, select mid-March shipping when adding the rootstock to your cart.)
