Monarch Apple

My first apple arrived this spring. Kind of sad and lonely, single child and all. It's a Monarch (from England, where the monarchs are, Trump's royal delusions notwithstanding), one of the heirloom apples I purchased from Seed Savers Exchange in Deborah, Iowa. I first ordered five varieties in December of 2014 and reported about it on this blog in January, 2015. Seedsavers grafted the trees on M-7 dwarf apple tree stock, so they will only be 12-15 feet tall when mature. The trees arrived in the Spring of 2016 and that's when I planted the Monarch. The original plan was to plant them in parking (the strip of land between the sidewalk and the street), but I cut down our Douglas fir in the front yard so I had space for these trees, eventually planting four varieties: Monarch, Brown Sweet, Black Twig, and Knobbed Russet. I also planted a semi-dwarf peach tree. The Woodard was D.O.A., and of course Seed Savers refunded my money.

About M-7 rootstock, from Extension.org:
Formerly known as EM VII. Selected in 1912 from unknown parentage at the East Malling Research station in Maidstone, Kent, England. Trees on M.7 EMLA produce a semi-dwarf tree about 60 to 70% as big as seedling. Trees are moderately precocious and may lean with some cultivars and may require trunk support. Trees tend to produce many rootsuckers. M.7 EMLA has been widely planted since the 1960s with cultivars such as ‘McIntosh’, ‘Empire’, ‘Cortland’, ‘Golden Delicious’ and spur strains of ‘Delicious’. Trees with cultivars such as ‘Gala’, ‘Stayman’, and ‘Granny Smith’ tend to lean excessively and require support.

This is what this apple will look like one day, God willing and the creek don't rise. 

Here is the description from Seed Savers:

Apple Tree, Monarch 0076 Essex, England, 1918 introduction. Large, flattish shaped apple. Flesh is crisp, tender, white, subacid to sweet. It has been a very reliable, annual bearer and an excellent pie apple at Heritage Farm. Ripens early September - October.