The Case of the Mystery Apple Tree

When Food Garden Group member Avril asked me in August last year how her apple tree could have two types of apples without it being grafted, I did not foresee that this would lead to one of the more unusual Food Garden Group blog posts to date. Do you like reading detective stories? Do you like eating apples? Would you like to find out more about apple varieties and growing apples? If so, you will enjoy reading ….. The Case of the Mystery Apple Tree.

 

 

Because I knew there was going to be a fair amount of detective work involved in the solving of this case I decided to call my long-time friend Sarah Stronghope, who does this type of work professionally.

That Monday morning Detective Chief Inspector Sarah Stronghope arrived at her desk in the South Slumberland police head-quarters in not too good a mood, hoping for a quiet start to her working week.

But then her phone rang as soon as she entered her office. At first, she was clearly happy to be hearing from the caller who must have been a long-time friend, but then the tone of the conversation changed and for a long time Sarah just listened to what was said at the other end of the line, while sipping her by now cold take-away coffee.

At the end of the conversation Sarah very gently put down the phone, sat in thought for a few moments, and then strode to the big display board in the middle of the room and called everyone to attention. “Just got the details of a new case here” she announced in a loud voice. "Everyone, yes that includes you, Malcolm, drop what you are doing and listen up. We have a case here of a mystery apple tree.”

Sarah then explained the case and wrote things on the board, after which she declared “Jack, CCTV in the area, Anna finger prints, Brendan talk to all the neighbours. Let’s not be lazy about this. Let’s not assume that Avril and Brett are simply wrong and that the tree is grafted like any other apple tree with two varieties would be. Go and collect as much evidence as we can, and THEN we can draw conclusions based on real evidence rather than lazy conjecture.”

Meet the tree at the centre of the mystery - as it was in spring of 2022 ……

Looking at the tree at that point in time I found …..

• The tree does not have one main trunk. It has six main branches that all seem to come out of the centre and that are all starting at ground level. Unusual!

• It is an older tree, but the branches are not very thick. They might be 40+ years old.

• There is no obvious point on any of the branches where it is clear that a graft has been applied.

• The two apple varieties clearly blossom at the same time because all branches have flowers.

• The leaves and blossoms all look very similar. There is no way of working out at this point in time which branch will produce which apple variety later in the season.

I promised Avril and Brett that I would be back when there was ripe fruit on the tree in the hope that at that time it would be clearer what the structure of the tree was and answers could be provided.

This is what I saw in autumn of the same season (March 2023). Here are the two apple varieties that were on the tree. One was clearly Golden Delicious (the photo on the left) and one was (let’s call it for now) Variety X (photo on the right).

 

It was clear that .....

• Variety X is a much larger apple than the Golden Delicious. It is a white-fleshed apple that is juicy and crunchy, with a very nice sweet/sour taste. Delicious, but clearly not golden delicious. It is an apple variety worth having in anyone's garden!

• Variety X is on just one branch from the base - the closest branch in the photo (I marked it black with a marker). It is the thickest branch in the tree. All the other branches have Golden Delicious apples on them.

 

Before we continue, some grafting terminology for those who are not familiar with the subject:

Grafting is attaching a twig of a variety that you have chosen for its superior fruit (these twigs are called scions) to a tree (called rootstock) that has been chosen for its health and vigour or disease resistance or tendency to remain small (this is called dwarfing) or drought tolerance. 

When root stock develops its own branches, flowers and fruits, it is said that the rootstock has escaped. If you ever see branches developing on a fruit tree below where it is grafted, please remove those branches. Fruit coming from root stock varieties is in nearly all cases totally inferior, so don’t let a tree waste energy developing root stock branches and fruit because that will go at the expense of the variety that was grafted onto the root stock for its superior fruit.

There are many ways of grafting scion wood onto root stock. One method is called top-grafting. In top-grafting a tree trunk is sawn off or large branches are almost completely removed and scions are inserted just under the bark of what remains. Here are two pictures of top grafts:

 

 

Now let's go back to Avril and Brett’s tree:

When our group visited Avril and Brett’s garden in the spring we brainstormed how there could be two apple varieties on this tree and what the second variety could be. The group came up with three theories. We now have so much information that we should be able to determine which of the three theories applies here, don’t you think?

The top-graft theory:

The six branches all start at ground level. When a tree is top-grafted, it is not normal to saw off its trunk at ground level. Why would you? Much easier to work a bit higher up, and if you applied grafts at ground level the risk of damaging the grafts or earth getting into them, would be much higher. Also, if these branches were top-grafted you would expect to see in the centre the top of the trunk of the tree to which these top-grafts were applied (see right-hand photo). There is no evidence of this. 

Conclusion: this tree was probably not top-grafted.


The escaped root-stock theory:

The fact that the Golden Delicious branches start at ground level does not support the theory that this is a stock-standard grafted Golden Delicious tree, as you would buy it from a nursery, from which the root stock ‘escaped’. 

Also, the branch that produces Variety X is the thickest branch. If this was escaped root stock, wouldn’t you think that it would be smaller than the Golden Delicious branches because it would have escaped after the Golden Delicious – grafted tree was in the ground for a few years? On the other hand, root stock varieties are vigorous, and this branch certainly is, so it may have begun to dominate the Golden Delicious branches. 

Conclusion: there is no convincing evidence that this is escaped root stock.


Duo-planting theory:

In duo-planting two apple varieties that go well in terms of vigour and that flower at the same time are planted in one wide hole 10-15 centimetres apart. The two trees will pollinate each other and the result will be more fruit. The advantage of duo-planting over grafting is that in duo-planting each variety has its own trunk and roots and that may create healthier trees. The fact that the trees are really close together means that they often become less tall and wide, and that can be an advantage too.

It would seem to me that Avril and Brett’s tree is not an example of duo-planting because you would have two main stems, with Golden Delicious grafted onto one, and Variety-X grafted onto the other, both well above ground level. We are not seeing two main stems here.

Conclusion: Avril and Brett’s tree is not an example of duo-planting 

 

Sarah paced around the room, not happy, not happy at all! No one dared to say a word just in case she would vent her anger on them. “Don’t think that you will be going home tonight before we make some progress here” she vented. “This is ridiculous. We are getting nowhere. Think people! Think! What is going on here? What have we overlooked?”

It might have been that last remark that gave Jack a glimpse of what was going on here. Like an obedient school boy eager to please his demanding teacher he raised his hand and said “perhaps we overlooked that there was a boundary change”. “Go on, go on” Sarah replied, not comprehending what he was on about.

“Well, when I talked to Avril, she told me that there was a boundary change only a few years ago. The tree used to be just inside the neighbour’s garden. Then Avril and Brett bought that property, and changed the boundaries to make their garden a bit bigger on that side of the house, so the tree is now just within their garden.”

“So what does that have to do with anything” Sarah replied, angry about Jack’s attention-grabbing nonsensical observation.

“None of our three theories make any sense” Jack continued unperturbed, until you realise that Avril and Brett’s garden is on a fairly steep hill and that the tree used to be on the bottom edge of the neighbouring property. A bulldozer must have levelled that hill to build the house next door and must have pushed soil down-hill up to and past the apple tree that was there at the time. The way it is now, the tree is in the middle of a small bank where the level of the land suddenly changes. The trunk from which the branches sprung that we see today, is still there, but it is in the ground! It is covered by a  thick layer of soil!”.

For a moment the room was silent. Then everyone started talking all at once because they realised what the implications were. “Quiet, all of you” Sarah shouted. “Jack, I think you have hit the nail on the head”. We can now look at our three theories with new eyes.”

 

What is the real name of Variety X apple?

Avril had given me two of the large Variety X apples, and I took them to Food Garden Group member Max K. who is now retired, but he worked in the Tasmanian apple industry all his working life. We sat down, opened one of the Variety X apples, tasted it, declared it delicious, and then Max K. said that he had no idea what this apple was. That was disappointing of course, because I had hoped that he would instantly recognise this apple. However, this reply told me:

• Variety X is not an apple that is commonly grown in Tasmania.

• It is definitely not a Gravenstein apple. I already thought that it wasn't, but in photos Variety X looks much like a Gravenstein. Gravenstein is a sour cooking apple. There is no doubt. Variety X is a beautiful apple. It is nothing like a Gravenstein.

Max K. sent me to the Apple Museum at Willie Smith’s Apple Shed in Grove. More disappointment there: the wall of apples that used to show many Tasmanian apple varieties and their names, is no longer maintained. There was nothing relevant to see.

 

 

Why are Golden Delicious and Variety X together on this tree?

In October I had seen that all branches had flowers at the same time, so could it be that the two varieties were put together to get good cross-pollination, and could this point towards what the variety of this apple was? - putting together two varieties that cross-pollinate well is a common practice to get more fruit.

There are lists on the internet of apple varieties that flower at the same time and are good cross-pollinators. One such list can be found at the Royal Horticultural Society’s web site at https://www.rhs.org.uk/fruit/apples/choosing-cultivars (download a pdf named Apple pollination groups). It is a very comprehensive list! Some people are obviously really into apples.

I found Golden Delicious in the list, looked at what varieties are considered a good combination, and did not find a variety that looked and tasted like our Variety X and that is available in Tasmania.

 

 

Could Variety X be the root stock onto which the Golden Delicious was grafted?

Maple Grove Nursery at Grove, Tasmania has a good page about apple rootstock here: https://www.maplegrovenursery.com.au/apple-rootstock.

 

The apple varieties that are described here are used for grafting in Tasmania.  They have exciting names such as M27, B9, M9, MM102, and so on, because they are only of interest to professionals that create and sell grafted trees and a few dedicated amateur grafters. These root stocks are not meant to produce fruit and if they do it will be inferior. This is why it is hard to believe that the delicious large crunchy Variety X is root stock.

Conclusion: Variety X is not a root stock variety that is in use today.

 

Once again Sarah was close to losing her patience. “This is so frustrating” she shouted at no one in particular. 

“Maybe it is time to involve the real experts” Jack blurted out before he had a chance to realise how this would sound to his boss. 

Sarah gave him a foul look, but then changed her mind. “Hmmm, well, yes, perhaps” she grudgingly admitted. “I might have a chat with my contact in Scotland Yard”.

 

 

The Heritage and Rare Fruit Network (Tasmania)

 

Okay, so I decided that I needed more help - help from people with good knowledge of Tasmanian apples, so I joined the Facebook page of Heritage and Rare Fruit Network (Tasmania), posted photos of the Variety X apple, describing it as a delicious white-fleshed crunchy sweet/sour larger apple that possibly was escaped root stock from a tree that also has Golden Delicious. I waited. Would anyone be interested? Would anyone come up with anything that would send me in a new direction? 

This time I was not disappointed. After the Tasmanian apple industry collapsed in the 1970s Tasmanians were for decades not very interested in apples, but that has clearly changed. A new generation is enthusiastically developing new orchards and showing a real interest in apple varieties, new and old.

There were many guesses, all eventually failing the test when I looked for more details on the variety. Someone observed that just a photo or two of an apple makes it hard. You may need to see and taste a dozen apples of a variety to know what you are dealing with the person commented, and that made sense.

And then there was member of the group (Lois L.), who observed ‘just a guess, but Northern Spy was used a lot as root stocks, yet it seems it was a multi-purpose apple.’. Thank you, Lois! 

I searched for info on the Northern Spy apple variety and found: 

The flesh of the Northern Spy is crisp and mildly sweet, with a rich aromatic flavour. Large size apple. Its skin has a yellow-green background and red flush. Uses: fresh eating, juice, drying and great for baking. Developed as a rootstock in New Zealand and Australia pre-1930s because of woolly aphid resistance. Used as a dessert variety in USA - (‘dessert variety’ means eating apple).

For more info about Northern Spy apples see for instance here.

 

Sarah Stronghope had a smile on her face and her team was jubilant! They had brought this case to a good end in spite of the fact that everyone in the building had been saying that this mystery was well beyond the capabilities of Sarah’s team! 

A press release was sent to all the news agencies. The local newspapers and even the London press reported on the successful resolution of the case of the mystery apple tree!

 

 

Conclusion

I concluded that Avril and Brett’s apple tree was once a completely-standard Golden Delicious apple tree. Golden Delicious was grafted onto a root stock, perhaps Northern Spy. 

Then the block was levelled. Soil was pushed down the hill where the tree is. This put the bottom part of its trunk well below ground level. Whatever still showed above ground may have been removed, and the tree was forgotten. 

A house was built a few metres away and for quite a few decades no one was interested in what was the bottom corner of that block of land. 

The tree was forgotten, but it was not dead. Both root stock and Golden Delicious graft or grafts gradually emerged above ground. Many years later the result is the tree we see today.

 

 

And here is the bigger picture

Avril and Brett’s garden is along Lipscombe Avenue in Sandy Bay.

1831: Frederick Lipscombe arrives in Tasmania. He is from a family of nurserymen that grow apples in Kent, South East England.

1838: Frederick purchases land on the slopes of Sandy Bay together with his two brothers. They develop the best orchards in the colony and also establish two local nurseries.

Frederick establishes a reputation as the father of the fruit industry in Tasmania. His contributions to horticulture in Tasmania are described in a number of books, for example, Gardeners, Plant Collectors, Friends -Hobart Town and Beyond by Ann Cripps and Sandy Bay - A Social History by Nicola Goc.

Also in 1838 the Lipscombe nurseries announce that they have apple trees for sale in the local newspaper: Forty two different sorts of the most approved varieties in Britain and many raised from seed in the colony.

Early 1950s: a woman who was born in 1942 and lived in the area as a child told Avril that they loved to roam the orchard, eating apples. That takes proof of apple orchards in the area to the early 1950s.

1973: The Apple Isle’s very lucrative apple exports to the UK come to an overnight halt when England joins the European Common Market. The exports never resume and the result is utterly devastating. To ease the financial ruin of growers the Tasmanian Government sponsors a massive tree pull scheme that pays orchardists to bulldoze their apple trees. It sees the life’s work of many orchardists destroyed.

1977: The house next door to Avril and Brett is built this year.

 

There was a follow-up to this story

I showed a draft of this blog post to Food Garden Group member Steven F. , who I thought had a special interest in stone fruit trees, but as it turns out, also knows a lot about apple varieties. He suggested that Avril's unknown apple variety might very well be a Peasgood Nonsuch.

What an unusual name for an apple! Its history is that in 1858 a Mrs. Peasgood planted five apple seeds from an open-pollinated apple in her garden in Lincolnshire, UK - open-pollinated means that she did not know what apple variety had pollinated the tree that produced the seed. 

Just one seed came up, grew into a tree, and its apples were large and absolutely delicious. In 1872 she presented this handsome apple to the Fruit Committee of the Royal Horticultural Society in London and received a First Class Certificate. 

The description of the apple is very close to what Avril's unknown variety are. The Nonsuch part of the name translates as "without equal". You can find more info about the Peasgood Nonsuch for instance here. 

Thank you, Steven, for this great contribution to the story!   

 

This is as close to a definite answer as we will ever get, I think. 

Thank you Avril and Brett, Stephen, Max K, Lois, and of course Sarah Stronghope for contributing to this blog post.

 

Cheers,

Max Bee