[NAFEX] ? Baldwin & Minn 447 Zone 6 Idaho
Naomi
dragon-star at cableone.net
Sat Feb 17 09:35:46 EST 2007
Wow. I could be very delighted if it were pest resistant also. We have
intense coddling moth problems here. That was a major part of my interest in
Baldwin. The tough skin might give it some bug protection.
As a rule I am very taken with crisp hard flavorful apples.
Thank you for the wood offer. If you ever need a goat I could send
you.Never mind. Lol
But I do have some nice dairy and meat goats and I am working with polled
genetics.
Naomi
Payette Idaho Zone 6
_____
From: nafex-bounces at lists.ibiblio.org
[mailto:nafex-bounces at lists.ibiblio.org] On Behalf Of loneroc
Sent: Saturday, February 17, 2007 6:31 AM
To: North American Fruit Explorers
Subject: Re: [NAFEX] ? Baldwin & Minn 447 Zone 6 Idaho
Naomi,
I grow MN447 in SW WI and find that it is one of my finest
apples--magnificently flavored, pest and disease resistant and a pretty good
grower (it's a bit broomy). It is still crisp in storage in mid February.
I get somewhere between 5 and 15 >90F days in a summer but very rarely reach
100F.
The single major flaw I've noticed is a tendency to form small star-shaped
cracks around the stem. I'm told that this is due to uneven water supply
and plan to mulch and water my tree more this summer. The cracks do dry and
seal over (I'd use the word callus but that means something else to us apple
grafters) but the cracking is probably a fatal flaw for commercial use of
the variety. The apples that have cracks shrivel more in storage and if rot
sets in it's around the stem. I suspect that you'd want to plant the tree
in a soil that retains even moisture to help prevent or at least minimize
the cracking flaw. My soil here is alkaline sand--prickly pears abound on
the prairies and sand dunes here.
I've heard that the University of MN is thinking of naming 447, but I don't
know if it's true. Perhaps if they named it 'Christmas Star' it would
create a marketing niche and an explanation for the cracking in one fell
swoop. You may, of course, have all the budwood you want. Contact me off
list.
Steve Herje, Lone Rock, WI Zone 3/4
PS: Ginda--I've got your Wickson scions cut and in the fridge (cut before
our last cold spell to -25F or so). Is there any time that I should not
mail them to you? Perhaps you are heading off to Bermuda? loneroc at mwt.net
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: http://lists.ibiblio.org/mailman/private/nafex/attachments/20070217/31e405dd/attachment.html
More information about the nafex
mailing list