All Fruit Trees

History: Tsugaru is another apple that was created at the Aomori Apple Experiment Station in Japan and released in 1975. It was likely named after Tsugaru, a nearby city, or the Tsugaru samurai clan that controlled the area during the Edo period. This variety is quite popular in Japan and represents the sweetness that is coveted among Japanese apple fans. 

Why We Grow It: If you love sweet apples, you need to give Tsugaru a try. It has a very mild flavour with virtually no acid. It is performing very well in our test orchard, providing an abundance of nice clean fruit. It is one of Steph's favourites.

History: Twenty Ounce (aka Cayuga Redstreak) was discovered sometime in the early 1800s in Cayuga County, New York. It was first officially described in an 1844 issue of "The Magazine of Horticulture" by C.M. Hovey who called it Twenty Ounce due to its notable size. 

Why We Grow It:  These very large apples are excellent for cooking and make wonderful pies and applesauce. Save time with peeling and coring! They are a little tart for eating fresh, but makes an exceptional ingredient that keeps its shape when cooked. 

Species: Carya illinoinensis or hybrid. Our seeds are collected from trees that may have been cross-pollinated by closely related species so the resulting seedlings may be hybrids. 

History: Pecan enthusiasts John Gordon and Gary Fernald, determined to get pecans to ripen regularly in Ontario, collected nuts and and grafting material from the earliest ripening pecan trees along the northern edge of their range in Iowa and Missouri. These were grown and tested at Grimo Nut Nursery and the best were chosen to form the Ultra Northern pecan strain.

Why We Grow It: Considering the amount of hard work that went into bringing these trees to Ontario, it's hard to turn down the ability to have a pecan tree in your own backyard. Like a regular pecan, the nuts can be used in a variety of ways for cooking and baking, such as the persimmon and pecan cookies Steph made (see pictures)!

History: Valentine was developed at the University of Saskatchewan and released in 2002 as part of the Romance series. Valentine stands out amongst the Romance series as having the reddest fruit and the highest vigour. 

Why We Grow It: Valentine produces tart bright red cherries that are great for drying due to their colour. They are also excellent for baking, especially if you love cherry pie! If you prefer a sour flavour, pick the cherries as soon as they turn red on the bush. Otherwise, wait a week or so until the colour deepens and they will be a bit sweeter. Valentine gets taller than some of the other dwarf sour cherry bushes but has higher overall yields as a result. 

Check our our blog post with some tasty sour cherry recipes!

History: Veecot apricots were one of several developed at Vineland, Ontario to survive in a southern Ontario climate. 

Why We Grow It: This apricot is an intense dark orange colour when ripe and the flesh is juicy and smooth-textured. It has a pleasant sweet taste that is good for fresh eating and preserving. 

History: Velvaglo was one of several varieties developed in Vineland, Ontario, in an effort to create apricots that could survive in our southern Ontario climate.

Why We Grow It: Velvaglo produces high quality fruit with juicy, flavourful flesh. This variety is a good choice for farmer's markets or roadside sales as well as canning.

History: Veteran peaches were developed in Vineland, Ontario and released in 1928.

Why We Grow It: Very hardy and of Canadian origin, Veteran is perhaps the most cold-hardy peach we offer. The freestone fruit is large with yellow flesh and an easy-to-peel skin. Although it has slightly mealy flesh, it boasts an excellent flavour and makes a great pie! This is the best preforming peach in our test orchard.

History: Discovered around the 1680s in Versailles, France, though thought to originate in Spain.

Why We Grow It: Deep purple-black skin over dark red, with very rich sweet flesh - one of the best tasting varieties around! The flavour intensifies if let to dry/shrivel slightly on the tree. Adaptable, excellent cropper and flavour, and a great choice for backyard growers.

History: Vista Bella was created at Rutgers University in New Jersey in the 1950s and released in 1974. Although its poor keeping ability prevents it from being a commercial success, this early ripening variety is still a nice way to herald in the apple harvest season every year. 

Why We Grow It: Vista Bella is the first red apple of the season. The flavour and texture are of better quality than other early apples, making Vista Bella an excellent choice for early farmer’s market sales and roadside stands. The flesh is crisp and juicy, although it softens quickly and, like other early apples, does not keep long.

History: Viva originated in 1935 as a possible hybrid of Hedelfingen and Victor.

Why We Grow It: Viva produces medium-sized, dark red cherries with good flavour. They are suitable for many uses including fresh eating, cooking, and preserving. They are one of the first cherry varieties to ripen, creating a pleasant start to the cherry season.

History: Wagener apples come from a seed that was planted by George Wheeler in the Finger Lakes area of New York in 1791. In 1796, Abraham Wagener purchased Wheeler's property and planted the seedling on his own property in Penn Yan village where the tree was known for producing attractive, tasty fruit in abundance every year. The variety was named after Wagener and became popular for its excellent storage qualities.  

Why We Grow It: Wagener is ideal for the self-sufficient homesteader who values a late keeper, lasting until April in an ordinary cold cellar. When first picked they have a sharp, acidic taste and are great for cooking. In storage, they mellow to an excellent sweet, crisp apple that is perfect for fresh eating.

History: Waneta is a hybrid of Japanese plums (Prunus salicina) and American plums (Prunus americana) developed at the South Dakota Experimental Station by NE Hansen and introduced in 1913. It was developed at a time when hybrid plums were more important as a commercial crop. It was named after a Yanktonai man who played a prominent role in the War of 1812 and later became chief. 

Why We Grow It: Waneta is a juicy and sweet clingstone plum with tart red skin. The flesh is a yellowish colour. The tree naturally stays a little smaller and has good crops, paired with decent cold hardiness.  

History: Waxing Moon was discovered by Steph's cousin Liam Younger who has spent many summers working here at the nursery! He found it growing as a chance seedling on his family farm in 2023, drawn in by the apple's pale white skin. Naming the variety Waxing Moon for its moon-like appearance, he grafted a small number of the trees here and we are happy to introduce the variety in 2024!

Why We Grow It: Waxing Moon produces an exceptionally pale yellow apple that is nearly white! While one would think it is a Yellow Transparent apple, its mild sweet flavour lacks any of the tartness. Like Yellow Transparent, this variety is good for fresh eating and sauce. It appears to be relatively disease resistant, having produced clean fruit with no care whatsoever.  

Since this is a new variety, there is still a lot for us to learn about it! If you grow this variety and have any observations or find any fun uses for the fruit, we'd love to hear from you!

History: Wealthy apples were created by horticulturalist Peter Gideon after spending years trying to breed an apple variety that could survive Minnesota's harsh winters. With the very last of his money, he purchased seeds and scions in 1868 in one final attempt and was able to produce the Wealthy apple which he named after his wife, Wealthy Gideon. He gave scions away freely and Wealthy became one of the top five apples grown in the US.

Why We Grow It: A medium to large sized apple, Wealthy makes splendid applesauce, but is also very good for fresh eating with a balanced sweet-tart crunch. The tree is scab resistant and cold hardy, makes an excellent pollinator for other apples, and is well-suited for organic orchards.