Tag: heritage apples

Unique Unknowns: Heritage orchardists identify and propagate rare apple trees

The Colorado Orange isn’t an orange at all…it’s a remarkable type of apple, a late-ripening golden yellow fruit with a reddish blush and a hint of citrus flavor. And if it weren’t for the efforts of orchardists like Jude and Addie Schuenemeyer, the Colorado Orange and other rare apple varieties might have been lost forever.

The Colorado Orange tree originated in the historic Fremont County orchard planted in the 1860s by Jesse Frazier, the first successful apple grower in the Colorado Territory. The Colorado Orange, nearly forgotten today, was popular and well-known in its heyday. It was featured in catalogs and even sent along in boxes of the state’s finest apples to President Teddy Roosevelt in 1905. And in 2018, there was only one known Colorado Orange tree left.

Jude Schuenemeyer says that the Colorado Orange is not the only endangered strain of apple in the state with an interesting story. He and his wife have found many “unique unknowns,” varieties with just one or two trees left that they send to a lab for DNA testing. The Schuenemeyers co-direct the Montezuma Orchard Restoration Project (MORP), and they are rescuing these rare trees in a cluster of heritage orchards in their care in Montezuma County. “Our mission is to work to preserve Colorado’s fruit growing heritage,” said Jude Schuenemeyer. Read full story at San Juan Skyway Visitor Guide…


By Deb Dion | March 9, 2021

Best Place to Buy a Heritage Apple Tree: Montezuma Orchard Restoration Project

All apples are not alike, as any apple-phile will tell you, and the deeper you fall under the spell of heirloom apple varieties, which number in the hundreds, the more you will hunger to try them. You’ll want to start small if you don’t own an orchard, though, and there’s no better place to begin planting those roots than the Montezuma Orchard Restoration Project. MORP’s mission is to preserve and restore Colorado’s heirloom orchards, and it sells trees to fund the nonprofit’s work. Currently you can choose varieties online at $60 each, but you have to pick them up, by appointment. It’s a long drive to Cortez, but it’s worth it.

By Westword, 2021 Best of Denver

UPDATE: Shop online for both local pickup and shipping options.

Colorado’s Most Endangered Places: SAVED – Gold Medal Orchard

The historic Gold Medal Orchard, located in McElmo Canyon, represents one of hundreds of remnant historic orchards located in Montezuma County and Colorado. First planted in 1890 by James Giles, the orchard soon earned its name by winning a gold medal for the quality of its apples and peaches at the St. Louis World’s Fair in 1904. Time passed, the trees grew into their grandeur, and then slowly faded into the landscape. Over 100 years later, only a few historic trees remain, hardy remnants of the orchard’s former glory. Heritage fruit varieties were lost, and the story of the Gold Medal Orchard and its prize-winning fruits was nearly forgotten. Read more at ISSUU from 2021 Colorado’s Most Endangered Places…

By Colorado Preservation Inc | February 11, 2021

2021_SAVED_the Gold Medal OrchardDownload

The legendary Colorado Orange apple returns

In an interview with KSUT, Jude Schuenemeyer talks about why the Colorado Orange apple is special. He also gives us a few tasting notes. And he delves into the work to reintroduce the apple to consumers. He’s already shared the Colorado Orange with other growers, so they can propagate it and eventually return the storied fruit to kitchens and pantries. Listen to the interview at KSUT’s Open Range News…


By Mark Duggan | October 21, 2020

In Search of the Elusive Colorado Orange

In a broadcast that originally aired on The Food Garden Life Radio Show, we chat with Jude Schuenemeyer from Colorado about the history of apple cultivation in Colorado, his work finding and preserving heritage apple varieties—and the recent “rediscovery” an a variety that he and his wife Addie have been working to track down and identify for 20 years: the Colorado Orange. Listen to podcast at Food Garden Life Show…

By Food Garden Life Show | October 8, 2020

Conservation Project to Bring Heirloom Apples Back to Western Slope

A 36-acre property near Cortez in southwestern Colorado soon will be transformed into a sustainable community apple “orchard hub.” With help from The Nature Conservancy, the Montezuma Orchard Restoration Project was able to purchase the land. Jude Schuenemeyer, who co-directs the project, said they’ll use beneficial insects instead of pesticides to protect the apple trees, and underneath, there will be a range of native wildflowers to create a safe space for pollinators to refuel.


“You start to create an ecosystem there,” he said, “and, within that ecosystem, it’s a place where all the different species of bees can be in there without getting sprayed out and killed.”


Plans for a hybrid water system, using native grasses throughout the orchard with roots up to nine feet long, will create a natural underground reservoir, conserving water in an area prone to prolonged drought. Read more or listen to the full story at KDNK Public Radio…


By Eric Galatas | KDNK | July 21, 2020

MORP Announces Property Purchase for Orchard Restoration Project

Orchard Hub By The Nature Conservancy | July 20, 2020

In the southwestern corner of Colorado, thousands of historic apple trees dot the landscape, producing an estimated 50,000 bushels of fruit that currently go to waste. Montezuma Orchard Restoration Project (MORP) hopes that one day soon all those apples will be turned into juice. This hope is one step closer to reality as they have now acquired a new property to serve the community as an “Orchard Hub”. The property purchase was made possible through a successful capital campaign with major support from The Nature Conservancy, Gates Family Foundation, Kenney Brothers Foundation, El Pomar Foundation, Onward! A Legacy Foundation, and individual supporters of MORP.

The Nature Conservancy (TNC) has partnered with MORP on both the purchase of the property and the restoration efforts. The 36-acre property located just north of Cortez provides a place to launch the on-the- ground efforts MORP began contemplating more than a decade ago. The partners plan to demonstrate water conservation in orchards while saving Montezuma County’s rare and endangered apples and turning them into a value-added product, such as juice or cider. This work will preserve the area’s unique heritage while providing local farmers with a reliable income for their fruit for the first time in a generation.

Montezuma Orchard Restoration Project was started with a goal to preserve Colorado’s fruit growing heritage and restore an orchard culture and economy to the southwestern region. In the early 1900s, apples were a big part of the economy in southwestern Colorado along the Dolores River. In fact, apples were once Colorado’s main fruit crop. But over time, apple orchards gave way to hay, alfalfa and other crops that were more lucrative—and also more water intensive.

“Bringing back apples is not only about preserving the past,” said MORP Co-Director Jude Schuenemeyer. “Apples use less water than other common crops in the area, and historic, wide-spaced orchards provide habitat for native pollinators, wildlife and plants. By testing irrigation strategies and looking into reviving apple production, we can increase the understanding of how to best provide food and manage water sustainably for the area.”

MORP plans to convert their 36 acres from flood-irrigated pasture grass back to an heirloom apple orchard. There, The Nature Conservancy will help MORP improve irrigation efficiency and showcase efficient water use practices, such as drip irrigation and soil moisture monitoring, to local farmers. By planting native grasses between the trees, like buffalo grass and blue grama, the soil will hold in more moisture and the whole area will become more resistant to drought.

The Nature Conservancy became involved in the project as a way to investigate and test options for switching crops to conserve water. Crop switching can be a tool to benefit both rivers and the rural communities that depend on them.

“We are excited to support MORP’s efforts to address water use and community resiliency,” said Celene Hawkins, Western Colorado water project director for The Nature Conservancy in Colorado. “This partnership will enable us to learn more about the benefits of crop switching and what it could mean for water use in southwest Colorado.”

MORP is also involving the local community at every step of the process. By building a classroom, hosting community events, working with Americorps volunteers and partnering with local farmers, the organization is aiming to make orchard cultivation replicable for others in the region. This new property will be a hub to make this work possible.

“I see this as a community-based project that supports local agriculture, while also helping the region think about its options in an increasingly dry future,” added Hawkins.

MORP is also using the historic orchard property to create a genetic bank for the rare heirloom apples they’re saving. All these efforts are pointed toward reviving the apple economy on a broader scale.

Long Thought Extinct, This Rare Apple Was Just Rediscovered

The Colorado Orange apple was thought to be extinct until now

Though Washington state’s apple growers recently made headlines with the introduction of the crunchy new Cosmic Crisp variety, Colorado has a long history as an apple growing state. Now that history has resurfaced with the discovery of the rare Colorado Orange apple, thought to be possibly extinct.
The discovery comes from Montezuma Orchard Restoration Project (MORP), an organization that “works to preserve Colorado’s fruit- growing heritage and restore an orchard culture and economy to the southwestern region.” Co-founders Jude and Addie Schuenemeyer started the organization to preserve the apple-growing history of Montezuma county, the Southwestern corner of the state that borders Utah, Arizona, and New Mexico.


According to MORP, Colorado was a prolific apple producing state starting in the 1860s, winning three gold medals for its fruit at the 1904 World’s Fair in St. Louis, Missouri. Since then the many grown in the state have fallen out of favor in the marketplace; luckily many of those orchards still exist, with 100-year-old trees still producing fruit. Read more in Sunset.com…


for Sunset ELLEN FORT – December 30, 2019