aroostook sunset

This Maine heirloom from the late 19th c is thought to have originated on the farm of Silas. S. Stiles near Mapleton in Aroostook County. This may be the apple John Wesley Dudley was referring to when he wrote in 1889, “I have several other varieties that I am testing, among them is a sweet russet, an apple of very fine quality and a good keeper.” There has been some confusion about the cultivar, and we will need to do more DNA and phenotypic work in the coming years to sort it out. There may be two different apples competing for the name. One is highly russeted and the other only partly so. The one we have growing at Super Chilly Farm is the more russeted apple. We obtained our scionwood from Leslie Gardiner of Mapleton. As we sort this out, we’ll update here. Will the real Aroostook Sunset please stand up?