Smitty’s Seedling Apple

SMITTY’S SEEDLING APPLE Don’t let the name fool you. Smitty’s Seedling is a grafted tree from a chance seedling out of central Minnesota. This apple begins dropping during September and continues into October. A large portion of this fruit will be falling during September. The sweet fruit has sizes varying from 2″ to 4″. The tree is cold hardy down to -40 and produces annually with lighter crops in some years. The apple is medium to large, sweet, and firm, with a crisp crunch. This grafted tree is productive and vigorous. This tree has great built-in disease resistance and makes for an excellent tree when planted for wildlife. When looking to put a sweet apple on the ground during this time and attract deer to an early plot. Smitty’s Seedling has resistance to apple scab, cedar apple rust, powdering mildew, and fireblight by watching the tree here and in Minnesota. This tree is suitable for human consumption or adding to your cider mix. Smitty’s Seedling will test anywhere from 13-18 brix, mainly depending on the size of the fruit and how much sun exposure (more red coloring) the fruit had. Hardiness zone 4 – 7. The Smitty’s Seedling apple is made by using plant tissue from the original tree and attaching it to the new roots. This essentially gives you an identical tree to the one you see in the picture and description. TREE SIZE 2-yr 4-6′ (5/8”-3/4” dia.) These two-year-old trees will have an extensive root system and can have multiple branches with a diameter of 5/8” and greater. We will be pruning the trees back to a shipping height of 66” with the roots. Our largest box is 66″x 14″x 15″ and will hold 15 of the 2-yr trees. Free local pick-up is open to the surrounding states of Pennsylvania. 2-yr 4-6′ (select): These two old trees will be the largest available. They will be feathered and have our greatest diameter towards that 3/4”. We will prune the trees back to a shipping height of 66″ with the roots, as our largest box is 66 “x 14″ x 15” and will hold 14 select two-year-old trees. Free local pick-up is available in the surrounding states of Pennsylvania.   STANDARD ROOTSTOCK Smitty’s Seedling apple is grafted to a standard root that is extremely cold, hardy, and vigorous. This rootstock is an excellent choice for wildlife trees because it produces a full-size 20′ to 30′ tree. Producing a full-size tree for wildlife means much more fruit on a given tree. This rootstock will develop deep “Real roots,” making it exceptionally well anchored, penetrating well into the subsoil, pulling up lost nutrients, and making it drought tolerant. This root is an excellent all-around rootstock for wildlife plantings. This standard-size rootstock is adaptable to many soil types and conditions, especially when planted in less desirable locations. Therefore, with its full vigor, it can be used in once-wooded areas that are now food plots, reclaimed land, shale mountain soil, dryer uplands, and ridges. This standard rootstock will also perform well in improved soil in an orchard-style setting. We are only grafting onto the most vigorous roots in a given year. When grafting onto the top 30% of seedlings, you get a 40% more vigorous tree rootstock than many clonal stocks used for wildlife trees today. Smitty’s Seedling apple is very precocious, with many trees producing very quickly anon this standard root making it an all-around excellent rootstock for wildlife plantings. PLANTING INSTRUCTIONS SMITTY’S SEEDLING APPLE Plant at least two apple or crabapple varieties near each other for pollination. Grams Gift crabapple makes an excellent pollinator for both standard-size apples and crabapples. Plant all apples and crabapples in moist, well-drained soil with a soil pH between 5.8 – 7 with adequate nutrient levels for optimal growth. If you have not completed a soil test, click here and improve your soil. I would highly recommend doing so. However, if you are not going to, I recommend mixing 1 ounce for every 3 sq ft of 0-20-20 granular fertilizer in your soil when planting. The first number tells you the percentage of nitrogen contained in the fertilizer. Nitrogen applied directly to the tree’s roots will cause your tree’s death. Make sure the first number is zero. A shovel full or two of compost mixed in the dirt being placed back into the soil will supply your tree with essential nutrients. Nitrogen is very mobile in the soil, and you can apply a small of nitrogen the following year. The 2nd and 3rd numbers are Phosphorus and Potassium. Apply these two nutrients at or well before planting because they are basically immobile in the soil; they must be mixed in through the soil. We recommend completing a soil test and making amendments for the best results. We recommend applying 1 lb of 10-10-10 for every inch of diameter in the spring of the following year and each year after planting. Smitty’s Seedling Apple requires at least 6 hours of sunlight for growth and fruit production. Space trees 20′ apart and use cages of at least 5′ to protect your trees. This will ensure your deer eat your fruit in a few years, not your trees this year. SHIPPING/PICK UP Shipping to Plant Hardiness zones 2 – 8 will begin in early March (you select your ship date) and continue until the last Monday in April. Dormant bare-root trees must be planted in the spring, while trees in your area remain dormant. You can select your ship date when you check out on the website. If you are looking for winter shipping, write me at ryan@bluehillwildlifenursery.com The last week in March or the first week in April is perfect for planting in Pennsylvania. Free local pick-up is also available in the surrounding states. When you check out on the website, you can select your pick-up date for these two weeks. However, if you can not make the selected date, please call or message us to make an appointment.  We are open 8-4 Monday through Friday for tree pick-up.   For More Information, Visit: Apple Trees for Deer Tree Planting Guide Apple Pollination Guide Rootstock Information Shipping and Pickup Info