Esopus Spitzenburg or Aesopus Spitzenburgh is a variety of

apple An apple is an edible fruit produced by an apple tree (''Malus domestica''). Apple trees are cultivated worldwide and are the most widely grown species in the genus '' Malus''. The tree originated in Central Asia, where its wild ancest ...

. It was discovered early in the 18th century near

Esopus, New York Esopus ( ) is a town in Ulster County, New York, United States. The population was 9,041 at the 2010 census. The town was named after the local indigenous tribe and means "small river" in English. They were one of the Lenape (Delaware) bands, b ...

and is reputed to have been a favorite apple of

Thomas Jefferson Thomas Jefferson (April 13, 1743 – July 4, 1826) was an American statesman, diplomat, lawyer, architect, philosopher, and Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father who served as the third president of the United States from 18 ...

, who planted several of the trees at

Monticello Monticello ( ) was the primary plantation of Founding Father Thomas Jefferson, the third president of the United States, who began designing Monticello after inheriting land from his father at age 26. Located just outside Charlottesville, V ...

. In 1922, Ulysses Hedrick described Esopus Spitzenburg (sometimes simply called "Spitzenberg") as "one of the leading American apples ... out the best to eat out of hand, and very good for all culinary purposes as well." In particular, it is a good apple for baking pies and is also valued as a cider apple. It is fairly large, oblong and has red skin and crisp flesh. Like many late-season apples, it improves with a few weeks of cool storage, which brings it to its full, rich flavor. Hedrick praised this apple as attractive and keeping well in cold storage, but added that it was imperfect in that the trees lack vigor and are vulnerable to

apple scab Apple scab is a common disease of plants in the rose family (Rosaceae) that is caused by the ascomycete fungus ''Venturia inaequalis''. While this disease affects several plant genera, including ''Sorbus, Cotoneaster,'' and ''Pyrus'', it is mos ...

. This cultivar is suitable for

hardiness zone A hardiness zone is a geographic area defined as having a certain average annual minimum temperature, a factor relevant to the survival of many plants. In some systems other statistics are included in the calculations. The original and most wide ...

s 4–7 and should be grown in full sun. However, the trees grow unevenly and sometimes the upper branches shade out the lower ones, which can be frustrating to the orcharder. It also has a

biennial bearing Biennial bearing (or alternate) bearing is a term used in pomology to refer to trees that have an irregular crop load from year to year. In the "on" year too much fruit is set, leading to small fruit size. Excess weight in the main branches can be ...

tendency, and is susceptible to any available apple disease.

Herman Melville Herman Melville ( born Melvill; August 1, 1819 – September 28, 1891) was an American novelist, short story writer, and poet of the American Renaissance period. Among his best-known works are '' Moby-Dick'' (1851); '' Typee'' (1846), a ...

mentioned this apple in "

Bartleby, the Scrivener "Bartleby, the Scrivener: A Story of Wall Street" is a short story by the American writer Herman Melville, first serialized anonymously in two parts in the November and December 1853 issues of '' Putnam's Magazine'' and reprinted with minor tex ...

: ''Bartleby, the Scrivener'', Putnam’s Monthly Magazine 2, November 1853
p. 549
/ref>

References

External links

* {{Monticello apples Cooking apples

See also

References

External links