Jonathan

In a very real sense, every apple tree—whether a recognized variety or a feral

seedling without an official name—is capable of creating a large “family tree” of its

own. That’s because each individual apple seed can be fertilized with pollen from a

different parent, depending on which other apples the pollinator has visited

previously.

However, there’s another, more controlled way in which apple trees pass

their characteristics along to their “progeny”: intentional cross-pollination by

humans (scientists and orchardists), aimed at creating new named varieties with

desirable qualities.

Jonathan is one of a select group of American apples that have been used

extensively in plant breeding. In some cases, it’s easy to guess which newer varieties

and strains have Jonathan as a parent just based on their names. There’s ‘Jonadel’,

‘Jonafree’, ‘Jonagold’, ‘Jonagram’, ‘Jonalicious’, ‘Jonamac’, ‘Jonwin’, and ‘Spijon’.

for instance. But there are other fairly common varieties related to Jonathan as

well: ‘Akane’, ‘Idared’, ‘King David’, ‘Melrose’, and ‘Monroe’ come to mind, and I

am doubtless forgetting others. The point being that, over and above its own

virtues, Jonathan historically has been an important apple for creating new and

popular varieties for home and commercial orchards, both in the U.S. and abroad.

Long considered a seedling from the classic Esopus Spitzenburg apple,

Jonathan also hails from Ulster County, New York, discovered on the Woodstock

farm of Philip Rick. It was first mentioned in 1826 by Judge J. Buel and named for

the man who first found it and brought it to attention, one Jonathan Hasbrouck.

Some orchardists in New England do still grow Jonathan, but the general

consensus is that the fruit grows larger and better in soils that aren’t as poor, thin,

and stony as those common to our region. In the Ohio Valley and Upper Midwest,

though, Jonathan is still very popular and widely grown.

The main rap on Jonathan, wherever it’s grown, is its sensitivity to diseases,

especially fireblight, a pernicious bacterial infection that affects many varieties in

the Jonathan family tree, including Esopus Spitzenburg. Only vigilant observation

and prompt cutting and removal of infected branches, which appear “burnt,” will

keep fireblight from spreading to other trees, and sometimes even killing a whole

tree if left to its own devices. If this disease is a problem in your area, perhaps

explore one of Jonathan’s descendants, some of which have greater resistance to

blight.