Hi Colin, Whatever tree it is, it will most likely not breed true, even if you were able to collect some seed. If you have access to the tree in late winter (about 6 weeks before it starts to bud), the best thing would be to get yourself some rootstock, and try your hand at grafting. (There are many...

Hi PA_Docent, I'm going to try Bordeaux next year (2017); either the copper soap is not the right thing, or I'm using it wrong. I've read intensively on this, but am still uncertain as to when to apply the Bordeaux. I watch the rains and see the galls on the cedars swell and start sending out the ne...

On http://www.orangepippintrees.com, there is a really nice fruit tree pollination compatibility checker https://www.orangepippintrees.com/pollinationchecker.aspx. I just put in Liberty, and it comes up with 42 options. One thing to watch out for, since Liberty is a triploid, is that it can not poll...

I've read that one should not fertilize a cider orchard if one wants residual sweetness and fruitiness after fermentation. My question is, for young trees in a new orchard prior to their productive years, is some degree of fertilizer ok to get better growth of the trees themselves, or will this have...

Stephen's reply about allowing them to continue to mature after picking reminds me of an article I read online back at the beginning of (web) time in the mid 90's. I did not print or save it, and efforts to find it online since have been futile for reasons that are obvious. In short, this was a rece...

I don't know about spraying Bordeaux during the growing season, but I've been using copper soap on a weekly basis to (try to) keep the cedar apple rust in check. Used at proper strength, it doesn't seem to be injuring the trees that I can see.

You can buy sprays at a hardware store or nursery, and most of them are pretty innocuous. You can also make your own: take a few cloves of garlic and peel the paper off, an egg or two, and a cup or so of milk, and throw it into the blender and liquify it. Then dilute it out with some water (a pint o...

I absolutely second keeping notes! Pay attention to general taste, sweetness, aroma, texture. If you're just exploring, there are no failed experiments, just ones that show you things that are not at the top of your list. Don't be afraid to retry something that you did not like the previous season o...

Why not give it a try and report back?

Call it a scientific experiment, it won't cost much, and might be interesting!

Just a note on increasing the alcohol concentration by freezing out the water (a.k.a. freeze distillation and fractional crystallization): Aside from the fact that in the US the federal government frowns on people making high proof products without paying the proper taxes, there is a bit of science ...

I don't know if you are still making your selections, but another option would be Gravenstein. OrangePippinTrees.com lists it as a "low chill" variety, and I know that it is / was heavily grown in the coastal area north of San Francisco which has mild winters also. My reading indicates tha...

I can't comment directly on the use of netting on apple trees, but I do know that bird netting can be quite effective for some fruits. There is a farm nearby that has two, one-acre fields of blueberries, and they have a heavy frame around each field, and then use bird netting to enclose the entire a...

I've been quite troubled with rust this season, and am wondering if it is just me, or if this is a more general event this year? I have just transplanted all of my trees to their final locations, so I'm sure that could be stressing the trees and leaving them more susceptible, but I'm seeing this not...