Lateriser: I hate to waste money too, but don't mind spending some to get the best for certain things. Nursery stock is one of those things. You get pretty much what you pay for. Agree with DJofnelson that is is very good fortune to have a source like Vintage Virginia nearby, which is run by very good, honest people, and where you can get good advice as well as good trees. Tom Burford, who has advised the nursery for years, is the acknowledged expert on ancient and modern apples in the state of Virginia. It just wouldn't make sense to bring in trees from the West coast or anyplace else when you have this resource nearby. Having said that, I would caution you to be very careful when planting large numbers of heirloom apples. Many well-known heirloom English apples do not adapt well to the Virginia climate, and you have to know which is which. I planted a bunch years ago with visions of making English-style cider, but dropped that idea when I found I didn't need another full-scale hobby. Other heirlooms, while unique or unusual in flavor and appearance, are very shy bloomers and bearers compared with many of the modern apple varieties available today. Lucky's suggestion of grafting your own might be the best if you want to plant lots of trees but hold down costs. You could plant out a bunch of rootstocks this fall, and be ready to graft in the spring. Scionwood is available for nearly all varieties, and I would be happy to supply you with some myself at no cost but mailing. I know you could handle grafting, since I have done it successfully myself, and many other beginners here have also been successful on the first attempts. You have all winter to study techniques. Don Yellman, Great Falls, VA

Hudson's Golden Gem

Joe: Dare to believe; its true. Chilling hours for apples are a myth; I'm not in the mountains- I grow over 100 apple varieties 1/4 mile from the Parent Washington Navel Orange tree in Riverside on 200 chilling hours. I tore out a big clump of banana trees to plant the orchard, which is getting ready to bloom now right next to my neighbor's big Valencia orange tree. Do not look to university programs to validate this; there's no money in it, and their research is devoted to commercial growers. You will not read it in scholarly books either, as they just quote one another rather than actually sticking a tree in the ground to see what happens. However this has not gone unnoticed; Tom Spellman at Dave Wilson Nursery did a few nice videos at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5jwtYhS2Qcs If you're still needing more assurance, check out the Ba' Kelalan Apple Fiesta in Borneo, Malaysia where the apple orchard is next to the rice paddies and they eat their apple pie off a banana leaf. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MK0yW7U_ddQ I know this goes against everything that you've ever heard about apples, so I understand; if you still can't get a grip on it, check out some of our clients in tropic Africa at http://kuffelcreek.wordpress.com/

"...I'm guessing those get separated out at nurseries, right?..." I think I'd contact the supplier about these questions. Their practices may not be universal. "Any reason not to heel them in in containers to allow for easy removal?" Possible issues include drainage problems, root system formation disadvantages, increase in planting labor due to necessity of addressing distorted root system, and problems removing the container if roots grow out of the bottom. I'm not saying not to use containers, but I did want to mention some possible disadvantages. "...I know I'm supposed to leave a "mother limb" anyway..." I've never heard of the term "mother limb". If you are talking about a central leader, most fruit production pruning methods result in the termination of the leader. "I'll seal up any cuts, but is there much risk of seriously injuring the tree by pruning it back very heavily?" NO!!! Never (well, almost never) seal a pruning cut or wound, except when grafting. Sealing around grafts (for some techniques, is imperative). "Lastly, we have large mess of an ancient apple tree in the backyard that hasn't been kept in any way for decades." Here's my recommendation on that...Search the fruit forum for Harvestman's discussions on this topic, and/or email him for more info. I disagree with him on many topics and sometimes find discussions with him rather difficult (He enjoys being the contrarian, even when discussing fairly well settled matters), but renovating old fruit trees is the one topic in which he may be the most knowledgeable of anyone on GW.