Tucked away from view at the Red Point Park in Lubec is what apple enthusiasts call a "great-grandmother tree." Her origin is most likely linked to the cellar hole right next door and the farm that was at one time owned by the A. Knight family. Todd Little Siebold, a professor of history at the College of the Atlantic who has been mentored by Maine apple guru John Bunker, believes the tree could be either from the early 19th century or late 18th century. While it's not the oldest apple tree in the state, it's in the top tier of "ancients," says Little Siebold.
     "When I first saw it, I knew instantly this was an important tree," says Bunker. The apple expert has worked for most of his life on identifying and rescuing the state's early apple heritage. To help with that work he spearheaded the Maine Heritage Orchard at the Maine Organic Farmers and Gardeners Association campus in Unity. There are now young trees at the orchard with grafted scion wood taken from the Red Point tree to ensure its continued success as an apple in Maine.
     "Through the apple we gain over time a much clearer sense of agriculture and human history," Bunker explains. The tree at Red Point, he points out, is a living object that is at least 100 years older than any human on earth, and unlike a manmade object of historical interest, the tree is not static but alive as it gradually reveals its history through modern means.
     Bunker and Little Siebold have sent tissue samples of many of Maine's oldest trees to a DNA lab out of state where an inventory of the state's heritage apples is being compiled. There is a basic $100 test, but the more useful one is a more elaborate test that can tell the apple's background ancestry. "We can discover where apples were coming from with people," explains Bunker. Eastern Maine is where some of the state's oldest trees are found, since it was the site of the earliest European settlements, whether it was the Basques, French or Jesuits, he adds. "A lot of that early history is not clearly understood, so the DNA testing for ancestry can tell about where they came from."
     Cobscook Shores Park Land Steward Artie Smallidge remembers when he first saw the tree during a survey of the Red Point property in late 2016. "It was pointed out to me by the CES surveyor." In his past life he was a groundskeeper for a large estate at Somes Sound on Mount Desert Island with an apple tree close to 300 years old. He appreciates an old apple tree when he sees one and immediately took note.
     The Red Point tree was surrounded by conifers and out of sight, but offspring exist in an orchard not far away that is clearly visible from the park's trail system. When Smallidge first met the great-grandmother tree it was November and it still had apples on it. It was "a good tasting apple," he remarks. But then it had no fruit for the next two years. He kept an eye on it, and in 2019 it had fruit. "It had quite a few, but they were noticeably smaller and not very good." This year the tree was back to no fruit, which is not uncommon for apples. They usually fruit biennially.
     With a trunk circumference of almost nine feet, portions of its trunk rotted and evidence of large lower branches having broken away, the tree needs careful attention, says Bunker. "We've thinned out around it selectively and carefully opened it a little more to let the southern exposure get to it," says Smallidge.
     "Probably the most challenging issue for these old trees is they get shaded out. Competition does them in," explains Bunker. "What they really like is the edge of forest intersection with field. That's where you often find the best seedling or remnant trees."
     As an apple reaches ancient status it begins to shed its lower branches when it is either shaded out by other trees or by its own canopy. Bunker says, "Looking at this tree, there are right now several remnants of huge lower branches where they broke off. I'm one hundred percent certain that was because of lack of sun, but also because it's very old."
     Apples are amazingly resilient, adds Little Siebold. They can fall over and continue leafing and fruiting from a branch down on the ground. But to keep the Red Point tree from such a fate, Bunker advises that an arborist cut back the surrounding conifers to leave a 50 foot circle around the tree and "neatly cut off apple deadwood back to live wood." Little Siebold explains that part of the intention is to bring the tree's center of gravity down so that the tree can hold its own against wind.
     "Great-grandmother trees can live much longer. They're amazing," says Little Siebold. He's thrilled to think how she's been sharing her genetic material through the pollinator world busily going back and forth from the "extremely unusual apples" found nearby at the Pike Lands preserve in North Lubec. Back in the mid 20th century, naturalist Radcliffe Pike, a native of Lubec and professor at the University of New Hampshire, planted crab apples there from all over the world, among other unusual trees. "It's probably the most diverse collection in Maine for sure," says Little-Siebold. "And it could be the most genetically diverse collection of apple trees in the country." Some of the fruit from the apple orchard at Red Point, with trees in the 60 or so age range, have red flesh and a conical "sheep nose" shape. Both are unusual traits that he attributes to Pike Lands apple parentage. He has collected samples from about 80 of the Pike Lands apples to send for genetic fingerprinting as well.
     Charlie Howe, project manager for Cobscook Shores and the Butler Conservation Fund, remarks, "It is incredible to think that the tree may date back to the first settlers in Lubec and could predate the incorporation of the town. Through all the events that shaped the town the tree grew and provided fruit."
     "There's a romance with an apple tree" this old, says Smallidge with appreciation. "It has a lot of stories to tell."
     The tree can be visited at the Red Point Park in Lubec by following the small apple marker trail near the start of the main trail.
     For more information about both parks visit www.cobscookshores.org. For more information about the Maine Heritage Orchard visit www.maineheritageorchard.org.