Frequin Tardive

Frequin Tardive is a French cider apple of uncertain origin. This may not be its true name. Although Bore and Fleckinger (Pommiers a Cidre Varietes de France) includes thirteen Frequins, they do not list any names that include the word “Tardive.” They do include two cultivars that have tardive (late) as their season. These are Frequin Barre and Frequin Rouge Petit. It is possible that Frequin Tardive and/or Frequin Tardive de la Sarthe could be one of these cultivars. Unfortunately it appears as though the names Frequin Tardive and Frequin Tardive de la Sarthe may also have been used interchangeably in the US. The USDA collection in Geneva maintains an apple known only simply as Frequin as well as another labeled Frequin Lacaille. We currently have neither of these in our collection.

We have one tree we labeled Frequin Tardive. Although the records are poor for that tree, I believe we grafted it with scionwood from AeppelTreow Winery in Burlington, Wisconsin. That fruit is an almost entirely red apple. Our Frequin Tardive de la Sarthe which we got from the USDA collection in Geneva, NY is yellow with an orange blush, so for the time being, we are assuming we have two different cultivars. We will continue to do phenotypic comparisons of the fruit and will likely do a DNA profile of our Frequin Tardive in 2025. Currently growing at Super Chilly Farm.