Description: Late ripening, dual purpose apple, Baldwin was once the most widely grown variety in New York State. Now grown only as an heirloom, this apple is aromatic, with sub-acid flavor, juicy and crisp, especially when eaten directly after harvest. It is a good storage apple and keeps its shape when cooking. An excellent base for cider.
Origin/Parentage: The Baldwin is believed to have originated as a chance seedling on the farm of John Ball, near present-day Wilmington, Massachusetts sometime around 1740. The “discovery” of the apple however, is commonly credited to a man by the name of William Butters, who later came into possession of the farm and named the apple the Woodpecker or Pecker for short, in honor of the man woodpeckers he observed frequenting the tree. Even after its naming however, the apple largely remained unknown until a local surveyor by the name of Deacon Samuel Thomson, encountered the tree and brought the apples to the attention of Loammi Baldwin. Baldwin, a Colonel and an engineer on the Middlesex Canal, took a liking to the apple and is largely responsible for its propagation and further introduction into other parts of New England. The apple held prominence in New England and other parts of the Northeast, including New York, throughout the 19th century. By the early 1900s Baldwin began to loose favor as and eating apple, being replaced by Jonathan. Its plight was not helped by an especially cold winter in 1934/35 that wiped out entire Baldwin orchards in many parts of New England and New York. After this massacre, many of the orchards were either never replanted or were replaced by new cultivars.
Growth Habit: Fairly vigorous and productive, but very prone to biennial bearing.
Bloom/Pollination: Triploid (poor pollination partner), blooms mid-late season.
Disease Resistance: Very resistant to cedar apple rust, some susceptibility to scab, mildew, bitter pit and fireblight
Harvest: Late. Mid to late October Harvest in Finger Lakes Region, NY
Uses: Cider, cooking, fresh eating
Cider Classification: Sharp
Juice Quality: Good cider base. Tannin: 0.059%, T.A. 7.4g/l, pH 3.32 Brix: 15.3