While I love those of the cherry and the pear trees we have, the apple blossoms have really been special to see them emerge, and this one on the Braeburn has me madly in love with a variety I’d never paid much attention to until we moved here late last summer.
It was the Charlie Brown of apple trees we encountered - skinny, almost completely lying on the ground due to its massive number of apples loaded onto just a few branches. So many, in fact, that I ended up giving a whole bunch to the various contractors coming in and out during the month of September because I had too many other projects on my plate to even contemplate preserving!
But I did taste one and it was small but mighty lovely, I gotta say. See, I’m a Granny Smith gal going way back - no time for that weak ass non-tart fruit for me when it comes to making my pies, applesauce and for simple snacking. Braeburn apples are described as both sweet and tart, and that’s right on the button. So glad there was a tag left on this sad little tree to ID it! (One mystery though? We are guessing it may be a combo apple tree, seeing how a couple of the branches are far behind in the blossoming process not to mention the plastic identifier tag that was on it. Who knows!
We’ve done some work to bring it back to standard apple awesomeness, both pruning and staking, and so while there aren’t as many blossoms as I’m sure there were last year, we’re setting it up for future success. Below is how it looked before, in early September just after the stump grinder took out the two stumps it was living between, then just about two weeks ago as it began to leaf, well-staked to help it regain its shape and structure after my husband pruned it this winter.
Next up? Our awesome li’l Granny Smith that I’d potted-but-never-planted at our last place is looking to be within days of showing us her stuff as well, woot woot!
"An apple a day keeps anyone away, if you throw it hard enough.” ~ Stephen Colbert
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