Apple Oddity

[Brush farmer]

I’ve got a very old apple tree that in years past had completely fallen over. I discovered that while the top was dead it had a couple arm sized shoots growing vertically off of the lower trunk. I cut the dead top off and left the shoots to give it a chance.
Later that year I learned it produced a red / green striped summer apple that makes really good applesauce!
Now, here’s where the strange part comes in: This past weekend I noticed a single apple on the tree, keep in mind this is mid September and the apples are normally long gone. Even stranger, it was a yellow apple. It seemed ripe so I picked it and had a taste. It was very similar to a Grimes or Golden Delicious in taste although the apple itself was small like Grimes (maybe smaller).
I highly doubt that old tree was grafted. I had wrote it off as one of the early apples many old timers around here planted from seed. Even if it was, how could only one limb make a different apple on the new shoots? Is there any way that one limb is producing a sport? I could see it being a little different, but this is an entirely different type and seems impossible. If I take a scion from the limb that apple was on will it produce the yellow apple?
I was planning on taking some scion off this tree for bench grafting this spring just to have more than one source of the good sauce apples and now I’m certainly going to try a scion off that one limb out of curiosity.
Does anyone know what is going on with this tree?

 

[homerj]

Any chance it has multiple trunks?

 

[Brush farmer]

Any chance it has multiple trunks?

This is just a single tree by itself. The only other apple trees around are wild crabs, which I assume are the pollinators.

 

[homerj]

This is just a single tree by itself. The only other apple trees around are wild crabs, which I assume are the pollinators.

Okay. Sometimes two trees will grow from two seeds and the trunks will grow very near each other, looking like a single trunk. That's about the only solution I can think of. Good luck

 

[Prof.Kent]

Mutations can form from damaged (usually by frost) to a bud.
If you take a scion from the limb the yellow apple was on you should get a clone of the yellow apple's limb. Any limb created from the spur that created the yellow apple should be a clone of the yellow apple.
Also, look very closely at the "average" leaf of each of the two different apple's limbs. If the two remaining trunks are from different apple varieties somnetimes you can see differences in the leaves; size, color, shape, etc.

 

[Brush farmer]

Thanks for the suggestions guys. I’m going to go study the leaves over really well before they go away for the year. I’m not certain I can locate the exact spot where the apple was hanging but I know within about a foot on that limb. I know the limb for sure because it’s one of the few I can reach flat footed. I’m definitely going to try some grafts. It’s going to be a long wait to see what happens. I’ll also be keeping an eye on that limb in the future to see if I get another yellow apple.

 

[Prof.Kent]

Flag the limb!

 

[Brush farmer]

Will do for sure! I couldn’t get along without the stuff

 

[cavey]

I would graft it... no way your going to lose, you get an apple tree no matter what; about the time you wait a year or two to watch it the thing will die and you be out the opportunity. Graft it and watch the tree, you may have a sport, you may not and like homerj said you could have a multiple trunk tree we had one in our yard it was half apple and half crab. The crab was there for years, sprouted only crabs then one year we noticed that an apple tree had grown up side by side the trunks eventually grew together it was like 2/3rds crab and a 1/3 apple but it was hard to tell it was not just one tree.

 

[Brush farmer]

I got my flag in place this evening. As you can see from this picture this old tree probably doesn’t have a lot of time left. I’m glad I picked up some skill in grafting to be confident I can preserve whatever is going on with it. I’ll be keeping an eye on the apples if I get a crop this coming year also.

 

[cavey]

Each trunk coming off that should be the same variety of apple, those or just shoots coming up out of the horizontal trunk no visible graft union, ... I see nothing there that says two different - so a mutation or sport so to speak is a possibility. Either way getrrrrrrr done!

 

[Benja]

I thought of this thread when I came across this interesting sight yesterday. I took a picture intending to show how that this branch has both ripe apples and new blossoms, but now I see that you can't see the apples hanging from this branch. Has anyone seen this before?

 

[Brush farmer]

I thought of this thread when I came across this interesting sight yesterday. I took a picture intending to show how that this branch has both ripe apples and new blossoms, but now I see that you can't see the shoes hanging from this branch. Had anyone seen this before? View attachment 26329

I’ve seen blossoms come out in the fall on an apple damaged by a house fire, but that doesn’t seem to be the case with yours.

 

[chummer]

I would cut everything down around that apple tree. You could be surprised how long it lives. I have brought many trees back from near death and they are now producing lots of apples. It looks like it has a lot of competition.

 

[Bowsnbucks]

^^^^ Yes. Get as much sunlight to it as you can. Less competition means more nutrients for your apple tree.

 

[Benja]

I’ve seen blossoms come out in the fall on an apple damaged by a house fire, but that doesn’t seem to be the case with yours.

That's a fascinating observation. I wouldn't say that this tree was damaged by fire, but a house standing 150 feet away suffered a major fire in late spring of this year. This particular tree is surrounded by fruit trees but I did not notice others blossoming.
I wonder what the connection is between fires and fall apple blossoms.

 

[Brush farmer]

That's a fascinating observation. I wouldn't say that this tree was damaged by fire, but a house standing 150 feet away suffered a major fire in late spring of this year. This particular tree is surrounded by fruit trees but I did not notice others blossoming.
I wonder what the connection is between fires and fall apple blossoms.

It can be a response to any number of stresses, not only fire. The tree I personally observed this in was close enough to the fire to char it’s trunk. I read about it happening not long after with the wild fires in California doing the same thing to commercial orchards. I’m not sure what other stresses cause it or if it sometimes can happen even in the absence of obvious stress. I’ve been told the theory is that a stressed tree doing this is throwing a hail mary attempt at reproducing before it dies when this happens. This only makes half sense because it’s not like the blossoms are likely to be pollinated let alone produce viable fruit and seed.