Robert Frost

Snow Apple

at the

Stone House

The Snow Apple at the Stone House, So. Shaftsbury, VT

Snow Apple - taken from cuttings at the Stone House. This is our most popular apple propagated from cuttings taken off this Frost tree at the Stone House planted in the 1920s. The Snow apple, a parent of the Macintosh, originated in France in the 1600s. The fruit is glossy green with red stripes that mature into a deeper red, with pure white flesh. It is a dessert apple that ripens early - Labor Day in Vermont. We have 40 trees for 2010.

Robert Frost Apples

at Frost's Cabin

Homer Noble Farm

 

 

Frost planted an orchard outside his cabin in Ripton in 1958, at the age of 83. He knew that apple trees take five years to bear, and he may never have tasted the fruit of these trees. We found the correspondence about the Ripton apples in a file at Dartmouth College. He wrote to Ira Glackens, an apple expert:

"Your letter fills my hibernation with springtime dreams. There's nothing I like to think about more than apple trees. I wish I could have an orchard such as yours seems to be. I wonder why Sterns Morse hasn't taken me over to see you. But I can't go into orcharding on any considerable scale. All I was stirring Mr. Abbey up for would amount to no more than 10 - 15 trees. I have 3 or 4 small vigorous young wild trees near the house that I thought we might graft or bud on to in addition. I must leave a good deal to him. The whole thing will be an indulgence on my part and a great revel. Too bad a first harvest can't be looked for sooner." Gratefully RF

There are seven surviving trees at the cabin, although they have gone wild. Thankfully the DNA of apples remains true to the variety, even though these were not propagated from the wild trees at Ripton and cannot be used for propagating. They are a marvelous group that exhibits all the things Frost loved about apples: horticulture, history, geography and humanity, yes humanity, including biblical references. You can Google these apples.

The Homer Noble apple cuttings were taken from heirloom trees at Scott Farms on the Rudyard Kipling estate in Brattleboro, VT and sent to a professional nursery in Aspers, PA, where over the past 2 years they have become saplings of 3 – 4 ft. They are not historically connected to Frost, but are the same varieties that he planted in Ripton. Frost did admire Kipling for The Jungle Book, which was written on his estate in Brattleboro. Frost said, "I can read it as often as I can find a child to read it to." Surely he would be pleased to know we found his favorite apples growing there.

Red Astrakan: This is a very early apple that originated in Russia. It is not a good keeper, but the burst of flavor in early August is sensational! Fruit medium size, skin yellow, flushed crimson. Flesh firm, coarse, greenish-white, quite tart. Makes flavorful dried apples, and August is a good time for drying. Some old-timers rate this best for pie. Frost also grew this apple at the Stone House. It was one of the "thousand apple trees of some unforbidden variety."

Gravenstein: This apple was found in Italy in the 1600s by Duke Augustenberg of Castle Graefenstein in Germany, who took it home to propagate. It is a large oblong fruit having bright yellow skin with a pinkish-orange flush and light red striping. The creamy yellow flesh is tender, crisp, juicy, and aromatic. Ripens early in most areas and is not a good keeper. It is best eaten fresh out of hand.

Sops-of-Wine (Sopsevine): is an ancient English culinary and cider apple. Fruit medium to large, slightly conical, with greenish-yellow skin covered with dark red faint red striping. Flesh is yellow and often stained with pink, tender, aromatic, and not very juicy. There is archival evidence that Frost was concerned about John's Gospel of the Last Supper that mentions the "sop of wine" given to Judas. This is a good example of the apple embedded in religion, not to mention the apple in the Garden of Eden. Hardy to zone 5 - not for northern zones.

Duchess of Oldenburg: Known as the "King of the Ironclads" for its extreme winter hardiness, this is one of many fine old apples of Russian origin. It arose around the upper Volga region of Russia and was introduced into England around 1817. Very popular as a fine-cooking and fresh-eating apple, Duchess is a medium to large fruit with smooth yellow skin overlaid with a red wash, sometimes completely red when fully exposed to the sun. The whitish flesh is tender, crisp and juicy with a tangy flavor. Ripens August to September and is only a fair keeper. Duchess is a renowned, award-winning pie apple.

The trees are fund-raisers for the museum and a part of the price to be determined may be tax-deductible. Our buyers are kept advised from the time of purchase of delivery dates, planting instructions and follow-up care.

All the varieties on this page are now listed on Ebay. Just search for Robert Frost Apple Tree in "all categories." The price includes freight via UPS priority shipment. They will be shipped in spring 2010 at the time proper for planting in your area. We can ship only to the lower 48 states. No exceptions. They must be planted within 3 days of delivery, so be sure you plan to be there to receive it. They can be planted in southern areas but not tropical.