The Ratsburg

The Ratsburg is an apple you would want. There are only a handful of people that know about this apple. The first year this tree fruited it was reported that the tree produced 23 apples that weighed 25 pounds! 

The finding of this apple is quite interesting. So one day when I was researching heirloom apple varieties, I realized that there are probably apple varieties that originated in my area. I found a historical document of the Wisconsin State Horticultural Society that listed a few of these varieties. The list included the Wolf River and Northwestern Greening which are very common heirloom apples. The list also included the apple called the Ratsburg and several other apples. I remember my dad telling me about this apple because he had mentioned that I am interested in apples to a family friend. The family friend then told him that she knew of an apple called the Ratsburg. Now keep in mind that this was before all my researching had started. I pushed away this comment and kept looking at some of the common heirloom varieties. When I finally came to my senses and realized this was an ordeal. I told my dad to set up a meeting with our family friend to visit the tree and get cuttings to propagate the tree. The tree is massive and still healthy! Several people have said it looks more like an oak tree than an apple tree. The tree is 40 feet tall and still produces bushels of fruit each year. The tree is located in Fremont, WI. The day after I got the cuttings, I went to a fruit tree grafting class in Green Bay. I grafted 2 cuttings and grafted another 2 cuttings at home. Unfortunately, all of the cuttings died. A week later after the grafting class, Dan Bussey who is the Orchard Manager of Seed Savers Exchange contacted me. He said he knew that the Ratsburg existed but did not know there was a tree left. I sent him some cuttings. Later that month he told me that they cuttings got lost. I was really disappointed because he would be the one to save this variety. A week later, he contacted me again and said that he found the cuttings. The cuttings were fine and still alive (Meaning the cuttings were still green). All of the cuttings he grafted have taken and are now growing. This has pushed me into making this Project. I want to save as many local varieties as possible so future generations get the chance to be able to eat and use them.