NPS Photos Credit K Jones
It's a Wolf River Apple Tree!
The apple tree we’ve known as tree #1 for over 15 years has been grafted, reared, and now fruited in the park’s McKenzie orchard. The beautiful red and yellow apples were sent away to get a “best guess” as to varietal identification and the results showed -- it's a Wolf River variety!.
When the park opened in 1998, the historic apple trees were losing ground to age and succession. The original trees are now mostly gone, but in their place are new trees grafted onto “standard” rootstock in the hopes of slowly growing new, large apple trees from the originals. Apple trees don’t grow true to variety from seed, so grafting is necessary. With the help of John Bunker of FEDCO trees, we have identified the varieties Hurlbut, Fameuse (aka Chimney Point), and Pewaukee. We are looking forward to having a new name for tree #1!