When thinking of farming in Colorado, you likely picture crops like wheat or peaches. But the Centennial state has a long history of apple cultivation that dates back well over a century. Here’s a brief look at how a fruit from Kazakhstan made its way all over Colorado and some of the state’s early apples.

A Very Short History of How Apples Got From Kazakhstan to Colorado

According to North Carolina Historic Sites, long before settlers landed on North America’s shores, 8,000ish years or so, the apple was cultivated in what is now modern day Kazakhstan. Over time, these apples eventually cross pollinated with European species and gave rise to the Malus domestica pumila, which are most of the wild and cultivated apples found today, according to “American Cider: A Modern Guide to a Historic Beverage” by Dan Pucci and Craig Cavallo.

Fast forward many, many centuries to the year 1620, when the Mayflower embarked on a 66-day journey across the Atlantic carrying 102 Pilgrims to the New World. And what did many bring along to help start their life in America? Apple seeds that became bearers of a fruit Americans enjoyed for decades.

In the 1860s  a mass migration to the Western portion of the country, including Colorado, brought apples to our state, according to Pucci. Many of the settlers traveling to the state were looking to start their own farmstead, get involved in the fur trade, or strike it rich during the gold rush. And like the Pilgrims before them, they brought apple seeds.

It wasn’t long until Colorado became one of the largest apple producers in the young country, thanks in part to counties like Boulder, according to The Boulder Apple Tree Project, which aims to find and revive Colorado’s lost heritage apples. Later, during the industrial revolution, more laborers moved off farms to work in factories, and during the prohibition years, orchards declined partially as the result of the country’s 13-year zero-booze fest. Law enforcement often destroyed apple orchards as they were still more associated with cider than the healthy eating they’re known for today.

Michael Pollen, in “The Botany of Desire” explained that “ Up until Prohibition, an apple grown in America was far less likely to be eaten than to wind up in a barrel of cider.” Many of these historic orchards fell into disrepair and, as they did, the country lost quite a bit of apple species.

Yet as hard cider has taken more of a hold in the culture, and organizations like the aforementioned Boulder Apple Tree Project and the Montezuma Orchard Restoration aim topromote and educate the public about the growth of heritage apple trees in Colorado, there’s been a revived interest in apple production.

What Are Heritage Apples, Anyway? And Which Are Colorado’s? 

Defining heritage apples isn’t a straightforward proposition. Any consideration of heritage apples needs to take into account that  the crab apple is the only apple species native to North America. When we label an apple as heritage, we are only referring to varieties that are a hundred or so years old.

Complicating things further, historic apple species can be hard to pin down because apple trees need to cross pollinate in order to produce. Sharon Perdue, owner of YA YA Farm and Orchard in Longmont, explained that “These old trees aren’t going to be the same as they were 100 years ago. For example one of my old trees has three or four different types of apples growing on it.”

To make matters a bit more confusing, there isn’t a clear cut definition of heritage apples. But as Susan Lundy wrote in “Heritage Apples: A New Sensation,” we typically call apples heritage if they were bred and cultivated before the 1950s. The history and definition of heritage apples are fascinating, but what does that mean for someone looking for heritage apples in 2024? Here are a list of some of Colorado’s more prominent, currently available, heritage apples.

5 of Colorado’s Heritage Apples

Winesap Apple 
These apples were likely cultivated in the seventeenth century New Jersey, according to “American Cider.” And we know they were in Colorado by the 1800s. “Winesaps are just full of all kinds of flavors,” said Perdue. “It’s one of those apples that’s a whole meal—not a snack—on its own. And it makes the most amazing apple pie.”

Maiden’s Blush
A beautiful golden fruit with a touch of pink blush, this apple was also found in Colorado in the early 1800s stated Pucci in “American Cider.” According to Trees of Antiquity, a nursery that grows and ships organic fruit trees around the U.S., Maiden’s Blush trees grow well and bear fruit young.

Pewaukee
The Pewaukee is known for its golden yellow and red skin as well as slightly heavy flesh that’s sweet with “hints of vanilla” according to New England Apples, an organization that helps growers decide what to plant.

Jonathan 
According to Perdue this red-skinned apple does not get nearly enough credit. Along with having lovely sharp and sweet flavors, Perdue says it’s the best apple for making pies.

Colorado Orange Apple 
No, it’s not an orange hybrid. Its skin just has an orange blush according to The Colorado Sun. Initially, the same story reports, apple enthusiasts thought this once popular fruit was gone forever. But it was rediscovered in 2019. And after DNA testing (and hunting down old wax models) the Montezuma Orchard Restoration Project determined with almost 100% certainty this is the apple they previously thought went extinct.

apple diagrams from the USDA Pomological Watercolors

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