Silver Creek Nursery Ltd.

Trail (aka Bilodeau) Crabapple Bareroot

For the most up-to-date information see Claude Jolicoeur's website here!

History: This particular iteration of Trail, previously referred to as Bilodeau, has a bit of a messy history. A Trail crabapple tree was mislabeled at a Quebec nursery in the 1980s and sold to an unknowing customer named Claude Bilodeau who thought he was purchasing a pear tree. Later on Claude Jolicoeur, well-known Quebecois cider-maker and pomologist, took a cutting from this tree and found that the fruit (definitely not a pear!) was excellent for making cider. Since it was still a mystery what the original variety was, the crabapple was named Bilodeau by Jolicoeur after the owner of the tree - only for Paul Kron from the University of Guelph to confirm that it was actually Trail via DNA testing in 2022. The Trail crab was bred at Ottawa from a cross of Northern Queen x Rideau, it was selected in 1913 and introduced in 1920.

Why We Grow It: Despite the confusion, we are regardless happy to have this apple in our catalogue! This bittersharp cider apple has excellent cider-making qualities and, unlike most crabapples, is also great when eaten fresh or made into jelly! 

$56.50

Rootstock
Size

Out of stock

Fruit Traits:

Recommended Use: Cider, jelly, fresh eating

Fruit Size: Small

Storage:

Harvest: September - Early

Cider Class (if applicable):

  • Bittersharp

Class: Bittersharp
Sugar: Very High, SG 1.070
Acidity: Very High, TA 12.8 g/L
Tannins: Low, <1.5 g/L
Juice Yield: Medium to High
Recommendations: Pairs well with Douce de Charlevoix, can be made into a single-variety cider in years where the acidity is lower
*Information based on Claude Jolicoeur's The New Cidermaker's Handbook

Tree Traits:

Canadian Hardiness Zone: 4

Soil Preferance: Sandy loam, loam, clay loam. Prefers average to moist conditions, avoid planting anywhere that floods for more than two weeks in the spring. Generally quite adaptable to different soil conditions.

Flowering Time:

Bloom Colour: White

Pollination Requirements: Triploid. This variety is sterile and cannot pollinate other trees. Requires a pollinator of a different apple variety that blooms around the same time in order to produce fruit.

Sun/Shade Requirements: Full sun (approx. 8-10 hours of sun daily)

General Growth Habit: Vigorous and hardy. Scab resistant.

Overall Disease Resistance Rating*: Medium

*this rating is combined with our experience growing in our test orchards combined with already available information on the cultivar.

Shipping: Every year we ship thousands of plants across Canada. We carefully bag roots in damp sawdust, then box them and send them out via courier. CLICK HERE to see our shipping policy.

Pick-up: We also have thousands of trees picked up from our nursery each year. The pick-up options is free, though you must wait until you have been emailed a confirmation that your order is ready to pick up, which will have further information such as hours, locations, etc.

We have simplified our crop inventory for grafted fruit trees into two sizes:

1m+ Grade: this often has some feathering, and is measured including the rootstock.

50-80cm Grade: this is like a 'b-grade' tree, sometimes with minor scaring or bent, these trees are priced accordingly.

Trail (aka Bilodeau) Crabapple

Trail (aka Bilodeau) Crabapple Bareroot

$56.50

$56.50

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