Northern Spy
Encyclopedia
The Northern Spy apple
(Malus ‘Northern Spy’), sometimes known as "Northern Spie" or "Northern Pie Apple" is a variety of apple native to the Northern East Coast of the United States
and parts of Michigan
and Ontario
. It is popular in upstate New York.
Skin color is a green ground, flushed with red stripes where not shaded, and it produces fairly late in the season (late October and beyond). The white flesh is juicy, crisp and mildly sweet with a rich, aromatic subacid flavor, noted for high vitamin C content. Its characteristic flavor is more tart than most popular varieties, and its flesh is harder/crunchier than most, with a thin skin.
It is commonly used for desserts and pies, but is also used for juices and cider. Further, the Northern Spy is also an excellent apple for storage, as it tends to last longer due to late maturation.
The Northern Spy apple tree is known for taking as much as a decade to bear fruit unless grafted to a non-standard rootstock
, while the native Spy root makes an excellent stock for grafting other varieties to a standard size tree. It was discovered around 1800 in East Bloomfield, New York
, south of Rochester, New York
, as surviving sprouts of a seedling that had died and was cultivated with stock brought in from Connecticut
. The Wagener apple is believed to be one of its forebears. It fell somewhat out of favor due to its dull coloration, irregular shape, tendency of the thin skin to allow bruising, and lack of disease resistance, specifically subject to bitter pit
and blossom fireblight
, but resistant to woolly aphid and somewhat to scab
. It is not widely available at retail outside its growing regions but still serves as an important processing apple in those areas.
A Northern Spy apple tree figures in the poem "Conrad Siever" in Edgar Lee Master's Spoon River Anthology
.
Apple
The apple is the pomaceous fruit of the apple tree, species Malus domestica in the rose family . It is one of the most widely cultivated tree fruits, and the most widely known of the many members of genus Malus that are used by humans. Apple grow on small, deciduous trees that blossom in the spring...
(Malus ‘Northern Spy’), sometimes known as "Northern Spie" or "Northern Pie Apple" is a variety of apple native to the Northern East Coast of the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
and parts of Michigan
Michigan
Michigan is a U.S. state located in the Great Lakes Region of the United States of America. The name Michigan is the French form of the Ojibwa word mishigamaa, meaning "large water" or "large lake"....
and Ontario
Ontario
Ontario is a province of Canada, located in east-central Canada. It is Canada's most populous province and second largest in total area. It is home to the nation's most populous city, Toronto, and the nation's capital, Ottawa....
. It is popular in upstate New York.
Skin color is a green ground, flushed with red stripes where not shaded, and it produces fairly late in the season (late October and beyond). The white flesh is juicy, crisp and mildly sweet with a rich, aromatic subacid flavor, noted for high vitamin C content. Its characteristic flavor is more tart than most popular varieties, and its flesh is harder/crunchier than most, with a thin skin.
It is commonly used for desserts and pies, but is also used for juices and cider. Further, the Northern Spy is also an excellent apple for storage, as it tends to last longer due to late maturation.
The Northern Spy apple tree is known for taking as much as a decade to bear fruit unless grafted to a non-standard rootstock
Rootstock
A rootstock is a plant, and sometimes just the stump, which already has an established, healthy root system, used for grafting a cutting or budding from another plant. The tree part being grafted onto the rootstock is usually called the scion...
, while the native Spy root makes an excellent stock for grafting other varieties to a standard size tree. It was discovered around 1800 in East Bloomfield, New York
East Bloomfield, New York
East Bloomfield is a town in Ontario County, New York, United States. The population was 3,361 at the 2000 census.The Town of East Bloomfield is in the western part of the county, south of Rochester, NY.- History :...
, south of Rochester, New York
Rochester, New York
Rochester is a city in Monroe County, New York, south of Lake Ontario in the United States. Known as The World's Image Centre, it was also once known as The Flour City, and more recently as The Flower City...
, as surviving sprouts of a seedling that had died and was cultivated with stock brought in from Connecticut
Connecticut
Connecticut is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, and the state of New York to the west and the south .Connecticut is named for the Connecticut River, the major U.S. river that approximately...
. The Wagener apple is believed to be one of its forebears. It fell somewhat out of favor due to its dull coloration, irregular shape, tendency of the thin skin to allow bruising, and lack of disease resistance, specifically subject to bitter pit
Bitter pit
Bitter pit is a physiological disorder believed to be induced by calcium deficiency in apple fruits.The incidence of bitter pit usually occurs during storage, but in some cases it can also develop at harvest. This disorder has been studied for more than a hundred years and many approaches have...
and blossom fireblight
Fireblight
Fire blight, also written fireblight, is a contagious disease affecting apples, pears, and some other members of the family Rosaceae. It is a serious concern to producers of apples and pears...
, but resistant to woolly aphid and somewhat to scab
Apple scab
Apple scab is a disease to Malus trees, such as apple trees, caused by the ascomycete fungus Venturia inaequalis. The disease manifests as dull black or grey-brown lesions on the surface of tree leaves, buds or fruits. Lesions may also appear less frequently on the woody tissues of the tree. Fruits...
. It is not widely available at retail outside its growing regions but still serves as an important processing apple in those areas.
A Northern Spy apple tree figures in the poem "Conrad Siever" in Edgar Lee Master's Spoon River Anthology
Spoon River Anthology
Spoon River Anthology , by Edgar Lee Masters, is a collection of short free-form poems that collectively describe the life of the fictional small town of Spoon River, named after the real Spoon River that ran near Masters' home town. The collection includes two hundred and twelve separate...
.