Poland origin apples and rootstock

I am an American in Southern Georgia. And growing Apples are one of my passions. I've found Georgia and Poland have a lot of sandy soil in common. And appreciate most Polish P-series rootstock have big trunks and very big root systems. Which means they will probably do well here in our heat. Anyway I have P.1. P.2 and P.22 should arrive soon. And in November I should get P.14 as well. The only Polish apple variety I have comes from Poland but was apparently brought in by the Soviets as part of their command economy. Piervomaiskoie. I was wondering what people thought of this big intensely dark purple apple if anyone recalls it. I'm guessing it was not real popular. But also; please mention your favorite Apple varieties from Poland. I hope to collect ones I can find here in the USA. I'm attaching a photo of the big purple Soviet invader.

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You should read the posts from a poster who goes by the username pawian (which means baboon in Polish).

He is always on here and to date has posted nearly 24,000 tales and opinions including apples.


Pawian was also raised in a communist household and has shared many stories of his halcyon days during Poland's PRL era.

Antonowka are very traditional in Poland. They're quite nice.

Yes, that's what I expected.

Reneta (reinette) are kind of traditional and very underrated. I like softer apples and not the bright red little stones that supermarkets tend to sell...

A very safe option for Boomers with dentures.

And it won't be long before you will be enjoying it as apple sauce served up on a plastic tray in a nursing home.



What is so great about apples is not only their variety but versatility.

I tend to go for the more acidic ones.

And also cook with apples a lot. Not just baked apples (if you've not had Friar's omelette, I recommend it) but also main courses. Chicken with apples, a bit like coq au vin, is a staple.

Not many cooking apples in Poland though that's not a problem because the sharper eating apples are often better, especially for racuchy.

Many varieties are grown in Poland but are not originally Polish. One of the few that originates from Poland is Ligol. Very popular, you'll see it in all the supermarkets. Unfortunately rustic Polish varieties are often just labelled 'Polish apples'.

Have you ever tried a Honey Crisp ?
My favorite for a hard sweet crunchy apple.
As for a hard tart acidic apple I would choose a Granny Smith.
I prefer hard apples over soft apples, except for making apple pies.

From my youth I remember a delicious
apples called Starking. I don't know if they are still available.

Oh the irony. Here in the USA from where it came; no one has Starking scion wood for sale. But it seems to grow all over Eastern European orchards....lol

Starking is one of the parents of the the hot new EU apple sold as Kizuri/Morgana.

Well I was out grafting trees yesterday and did a number of Piervomaiskoi on P.2 trees. I'm going to put them in a row of all Polish trees. I see I can add Witos, Fantjza, Ligol, Siremko Reinette and others.

Do you know James Grieve apples? Specially cultivated for growing in Scotland. When I was a kid we had a couple of dozen of them (not in Scotland but on a windswept hill in Yorkshire so they were a good choice).

UK Apples? I have a number targeted with other EU apples. Large Cooking apples and long storage apples are going to be my focus. I'm going to find niches in the markets. As well as using some in breeding. Grieve is a very popular apple.

So my Piervomaiskoie apple grafts are growing quite well. As is my Pionier from Romania

I still remember pulpwood apples from Poland, very delicate with a unique taste.

Got a link to the variety of apple you are talking about? I'm not familiar with that one.

In Polish it is called "papierówka". Currently a very rare apple tree