barbed wire

Barbed Wire is an old russet tree nearly girdled with barbed wire (of course) that was discovered by Jason MacArthur of Whetstone Cider Works, in Marlboro, VT. Jason sent fruit to us in 2016 and scionwood in 2017. Our tree fruited for the first time in 2023. We suggest picking the fruit on October 15 in central Maine though some were still hanging on a week later so you could hold off until Halloween.

The fruit is small, roundish/oblate, and varies dramatically in size from not much more than one inch to more than two inches. It’s almost entirely covered with a dark russet, underlain with some red stripes and blush. The flavor is bitter and very high in sugar—as high as 22 brix. We have not yet had enough fruit to give it a proper try in cider, but its intense flavor suggests we’ll find a good use for it. Jason thinks that it may be a grafted tree. At some point we’ll do a DNA profile and see what we can learn. Certainly hardy to zone 4. Currently growing at Super Chilly Farm.