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About Cummins NurseryAbout Cummins >> A family business >> Stories >> Dad's Corner About Cummins Nursery
Cummins ...first, a family business... Cummins Nursery is first, a family business.
In a small city by a lake in a land far far away lies a fruit tree nursery lost in a morning mist. That's us--Cummins Nursery. For those of you who are not acquainted with Cummins Nursery.--We are a family- run nursery located just outside Ithaca, New York -- we are, literally, "High above Cayuga's waters". We have one of the best fruit-growing soils in the world -- Howard's Gravelly Loam-- and we're blessed with a neighbor who is desparate to dispose of hundreds of tons of bull manure each year (yes, he even spreads it for us!). Our specialty is Custom Grown Trees, 2 year budded or 1 year grafts.
Our specialty ... Custom-Grown trees .... Call Dad or Stephen Apple varieties from long ago are making a major comeback. We grow a lot of Ashmead's Kernel, Golden Russet, Roxbury Russet and the like. Esopus Spitzenburg has been a perennial favorite, and a few commercial growers are planting it now.
Then too, we're offering some "exotic" varieties. Cox's Orange Pippin, the long-time favorite of the English, and a raft of Cox derivatives -- daughters like Tydeman's Late Orange, Ellison's Orange, Karmijn de Sonneville. Flavors that most Americans never get to sample. Sansa -- Pixie Crunch -- Winecrisp -- the list goes on.
We've been surprised to be selling so many Asian pear trees -- Hosui and Olympic the most popular, Shinsui, Shinko, Shinseiki. There have been some research reports indicating that on Pyrus betulifolia these varieties attain better fruit size; since fruit size seems to be all-important, we have been using mostly this rootstock.
For the European pears, we are gradually shifting to Old Home x Farmingdale crosses, mostly OHxF 333 and OHxF 87. The OHxF stocks are virtually immune to fire blight and crown rot and seem quite winter hardy, besides giving considerable reduction in tree size and better production than the standard Bartlett seedlings. The list of blight-resistant pears keeps growing; the older Magness and Moonglow continue to be much in demand, and now Potomac, Harvest Queen and Blake's Pride are added to the list.
We are a small nursery (~ 25,000 liners/yr.) and we want to stay small. When you write or call you will be in contact with either my Dad or myself (although it may take some chasing to get one of us to the phone!!). I also personally grade every tree each winter. A healthy, well cared for and carefully graded tree delivered to you is my goal. Judging by our customer letters, I would say that we have been successful.
Our trees are guaranteed to be healthy, and our orchard advice comes from experience. If you have any questions, please feel free to call or write. Thanks again to everybody, customers, friends and family, who helped to make this past year enjoyable. And once again, special thanks go to my Mom and Dad. They just keep amazing me. Sincerely,
Stephen Cummins |
