Thomis:

Save yourself! Get out while there's still time! Once you start with just a few antique apple trees, you'll get sucked in and there's no turning back.

You need to plant your trees on Bud 9 on an oblique cordon spaced 18" apart from each other, pinching back the side branches to three buds around August to encourage fruit buds. This is the only way you're going to be able to fit the hundreds or so varieties you're going to end up with.

I'm addicted to it here in zone 10a, where the apples grow just fine. Your zone is positively arctic compared to here and you will have no problem.

Applenut

Applenut is right. Soon you'll be digging up the front yard, the drive way, to make room for all your apple trees. You have the good sense to include a few good modern apples as well as just antiques. My new this year Grimes Golden is still dormant. Goldrush is new also, too young to bear yet.
Don Yellman (jellyman)grows a number of apple trees in Virginia, really knows his apples, and has posted frequently on this forum. If you use the "Search" for this form, type in "jellyman apple heirloom", you'll find 19 posts about growing antique apples in your area of the country. Some are sure to be helpful.
Have you read Apples for the 21st Century yet? It has some good information on growing a wide variety of apples, many of them antique, in the Pacific Northwest, but many of his favorites would grow where you live as well. There are some excellent antique apples varieties you might miss out on, if you don't do a little more homework.
Thanks for your post. I was able to procrastinate planting 13 antique apple whips on cordons space 18" apart for another hour. Guess I'd better get up and get started on the project.

Ha! Very funny, maybe I will get the apple fever. I think I already do though, in a sense. This whole thing started with planning 4 trees in an area of our yard that we didn't use much. So I started doing some research, and one thing led to another... Next thing I know, I am going through the phone book looking for contractors that install 8 foot tall deer fences! Wife thought I was crazy but she loves it now. It looks beautiful up there now, not to mention surely has added a great deal of value to our property. I haven't read the 21st century book but I have done a great deal of research thus far. I had about 200 varieties to choose from last fall when I placed my orders so keeping the tally down to 16 was nealy impossible. Maybe someday I will clear some of the woods away from my property and plant even more trees. We'll see how these do first.

I have two concerns for my trees:

I have dense clay so I am worried about the trees drowning. Second, they don't get sunshine until about 11:30 am (due to my neighbor's trees), but then they get it the rest of the day, with no interruptions.

Think they'll fare alright?

I have tons of pictures of my little hobby orchard on my myspace page for any of you myspacers... I took a lot of before and after photos.

http://www.myspace.com/jtleamer3

thomis:

You have enought light so don't worry about that. I to caught the antique apple bug but about 30 yrs ago. Tried probably 50 or so but also tried the best new varieties. The only apples I still grow are the best of the new varieties. My conclusion was that there was a good reason most of these are now seldom grown. Hopefully you will have more luck. But I think this craze is mostly about good salemenship by the people who write descriptions of old varieties.

If I were just starting out I'd try all of the new varieties I could find. You will find some great ones there, probably some that very few have tried. Or just plant Gala, Goldrush, Fuji, and Pink Lady. Are there other good varieties, sure, but are they better?

fruitnut-

I'm interested in your post. On what have you based your opinion that most antiques are not worth growing? Taste? productivity? Disease resistance?

Ah, I can see it coming. A string of posts started by fruitnut on the pros and cons of Heirloom varieties. And such discussion would be enlightening and fun. But, in the end, you really just have to just give fruit culture a try and see what old or new varieties you like.

I think there's a multitude of reasons to fall in love with the old varieties. The colors, textures, and fragrances are fascinating even before we address the topics suggested by storkace (taste, productivity, and disease).

There's also this feeling of "stepping back in time" when cultivating heirlooms. Hard for me to put it to words, but I love that feeling.

Here is a link that might be useful: The Heirloom Orchardist

Don't forget some apples can be highly adaptive to some climates, and what's horrible in some places can be heavenly in others.

Northern Spy grows and fruits just fine here, but the quality is terrible- no color and really mushy. But Arkansas Black grown down in our heat is wonderful right off the tree, with a nice crunch and a deep, dark, rich flavor; contrast this with the ones grown in our local mountains that are hard as a rock and flavorless until months in storage.

Place of origin of the apple seems to have little to do with it either, as Wealthy is wonderful here and also grown in Nicaragua, where it is replacing Anna. You just have to try a bunch of varieties and see what works for your location and soil.

Applenut

I am growing many old/obscure apples, and am quite happy with some of them. A few that I give high marks to in my climate are Kidds Orange Red, Egremont Russet, Ribston Pippin, Canada Reinette, Reine des Reinettes, Hewes Crab, Wickson, Hawaii, Mother, Roxbury Russet, White Winter Pearmain, Hawaii. I also find Gala and Fuji to be wonderful here. The old apples do on average have more "problems" than the modern varieties in terms of productivity, blemishing, tree shape, etc, but most of them only have minor problems of this form, and reward you with unique flavors. Mother for example has a very small harvest window, a huge problem for a commercial grower, but often not a problem for a backyard grower who knows what a ripe one looks like and can pick when dead ripe and enjoy a little slice of heaven. Some do seem like duds as well, at least in my climate: Sturmer Pippin splits at the tops, the bugs love them extra good, and its taste isn't worth the demerits.

Scott

Now that Scott mentions it I can't think of many heirloom varieties that would fare well in today's commercial market; they're either lopsided, have russeting, splotchy color, are smaller, heavily bi-annual, or get sunburnt on the shoulders. Others are good only after a certain time in storage.

Ironic that one of the most popular commercial varieties, Golden Delicious, could be considered an "heirloom" but the ones in the store are not good representations of what can be an outstanding apple in the correct climate (ones grown here are better than in the supermarket but not nearly as good as from the mountains). Granny Smith is probably the last heirloom standing.

Applenut

I'll repeat what I said earlier, if you are searching for the best eating quality, search the newer varieties. If you want the nostaliga of older kinds, fine. I'm sure you will find some good apples there. Just don't believe all the glowing descriptions of people trying to sell you something. I got burnt out on that stuff. But then many nurseries never sell anything, old or new, that isn't "the world's best".

Different strokes for different folks.

The Fruitnut

I've spent the past two months putting in a small home orchard, sixteen trees (two avocados still to come), six of which are apples. These are the ones we chose.

Winter White Pearmain
Newtown Pippin
Kidd's Orange Red
Empire
Ashmead's Kernel
Winesap

This is my second attempt at growing apples. My first batch mostly died of sunburn. This time I painted the trunks with 50% white interior latex paint. If at first you don't succeed, read the directions! - My new motto, I guess.

Rosefolly,
I've never hear of trees dying of sunburn. What does this mean? Too much sun? I was under the impression that they couldn't get enough sun. Will you please elaborate and educate me? Thanks

Thomis

Here is a link that might be useful: slideshow of orchard

thomis:

I think Rosefolly is speaking of what I call "Sun Scald." In my area (New England) it can happen to trees that get good direct south-facing sun. During the winter, usually late winter or early spring, we can get nice warm days in the forties, which warms up the south side of the tree trunk and gets those tree juices flowing. Then, that night the temperature can plummet, freezing the tree trunk rapidly and the south side of the trunk suffers damage.

The tree can be painted white I guess, as Rosefolly did. But often it can be controlled by just wrapping the trunk in tree tape. Interesting, I'm an enthusiast of heirloom orcharding, and I've never read any old accounts of this problem. Perhaps the old-timers hadn't figured it out?

I misspoke. They died of sunscald, not sunburn. What happens is the strong sun burns the tender young bark on the trunk and fungus gets in. I actually saw the peeling back and the fungus. I was very ashamed of myself for having been such a careless steward of my plants and for a while thought I'd just stick to my roses.

The lure of food-producing plants was too much for me to resist, so I started again, at first by planting grapes, then a second mulberry and a pomegranate, then moving on to more demanding fruits. I have to give credit to Applenut and Fruithack, both of whom gave me encouragement at critical points. If I am successful this time, they must get part of the credit. Any failures will be my own, or acts of nature.

Anyway, prevention of sunscald is why you sometimes see trees in an orchard with their lower trunks painted a washed-out white.

Rosefolly

Oh dear.

Once I posted the note above, I started thinking of all sorts of helpful people whose posts inspired or encouraged my renewed efforts at fruit growing. Now I understand those rambling Academy Award acceptance speeches. Once you start thanking people for helping you, it is impossible to stop. The only safe person to thank without leaving someone important out is your own Mum.

So thanks, Mum.
And Dad, too.
See?

Rosefolly