janetha’s yellow

Janetha’s Yellow is our provisional name for an exceedingly old, clearly grafted, early-fall, all-purpose apple from a small orchard in Belgrade, Maine. The farm was the childhood home of Joseph Taylor (1804-1882), orchardist and apple breeder, and the tree is likely something he grew. As of 2025, I believe the tree is still alive. I’ve spent quite a bit of time attempting to identify this fruit. Possible ID’s include Golden Sweet aka Plymouth Sweeting, Golden Pippin aka English Golden Pippin, Orne, and Longstem. DNA profiling (AMHO 300) indicates that two of the most important ancestors of American apples, Reinette Franche and Drap d’Or de Bretagna, are both in its ancestry.

The fruit is medium-sized and roundish but angular. The skin is opaque yellow in color and covered with many pin-point russet or gray dots. The stem is long and thin. The cavity is typically colored iridescent green, although some apples have no cavity at all. Sometimes the cavity edge is slightly furrowed.The calyx is typically open or sometimes closed. We obtained our scionwood from the original tree. Currently growing at Super Chilly Farm.