Cultivar 524: Anoka

Anoka is a standard-sized apple. It appears to be a seedling of Mercer wild crab, or an open-pollinated seedling of Mercer top-grafted on Duchess of Oldenburg. N. E. Hansen selected it in South Dakota and introduced it in 1918. It was first circulated as South Dakota No. 2, then named Anoka in 1920. Hansen presented it as an unusually precocious prairie apple. Later prairie references kept it in circulation as a hardy northern sort for quick returns. [S2] [S5] [S6]

Its origin is tied to Hansen's South Dakota work introducing hardy northern fruit. A 1927 bulletin says the tree had already borne heavily in 1918 and 1919, before it was formally named. Later reports from Fargo and South Dakota were used to promote its very early bearing. The name Anoka was said to be a Sioux word meaning "on both sides," but this is presented as a note rather than a fully documented naming history. [S2] [S5] [S7]

Sources describe the fruit as medium sized, about 6 cm or two and one half inches across, red or Duchess colored, and round to somewhat oblong, with white flesh and a subacid taste. Several prairie references judged the quality only fair or poor. They called it coarse, dry, and lacking flavor. Other nursery language sold it as an early summer eating apple and even a pie fruit. The sources overall point to a useful early apple valued more for earliness and bearing than for dessert quality. [S2] [S5] [S6] [S7]

Its season is early, but the exact window varies by source. Hansen's 1927 account says it begins ripening around August 15. A 1937 nursery catalog places it around the first of August. Later prairie references simply list it as September or among summer apples. Sources disagree on whether it is best understood as very early autumn or late summer. [S2] [S3] [S5] [S6] [S7]

The tree is described as a moderate grower, very early bearing, and productive. Multiple sources emphasize its unusual habit of bearing on one-year wood, or on the previous season's growth, with fruit often set from lateral buds. Extension and nursery sources stressed this trait, saying it could bear in the nursery row the year after transplanting, or on very young orchard trees. Reports from Fargo described small trees carrying crops while still under head height. A 1925 South Dakota fair exhibit was said to represent part of a 60-pound crop from a young tree about seven feet tall. [S2] [S3] [S5] [S6] [S7]

Hardiness evidence is mixed but clearly northern. Prairie Canada lists it as borderline hardy. A Canadian prairie bulletin calls it medium in hardiness. South Dakota extension tables recommended it for quick returns in all three state zones, including the plains and level prairie zone. Later references note testing at Rosthern and nursery sale at Lacombe. This places Anoka in a broad northern Great Plains and prairie context, even if the exact modern zone value is not stated. [S2] [S3] [S4] [S6]

In broader lineage context, Anoka belongs to the early twentieth century effort to push apple culture farther into northern prairie conditions using wild crab background and hardy topworked material. Its reported parentage remains tied to Mercer wild crab and Duchess of Oldenburg stock. The cultivar's main historical importance lies less in flavor than in how strongly it challenged the usual wait for first fruit. That made it memorable in prairie fruit literature even when better apples were preferred for eating quality. [S2] [S5] [S6] [S7]

Summary source basis

• S1: New Hardy Fruits for the Northwest
• S2: Edible Apples in Prairie Canada
• S3: South Dakota Fruit Garden
• S4: Nursery Plants Available from South Dakota Nurseries
• S5: Plant Introductions
• S6: TreeFruitsGrownInPrairieOrchards WRLeslie 1946 HQ
• S7: Hardy fruits for Northern planting, trees, shrubs, 1937

This summary currently draws chiefly from Plant Introductions, with 6 additional supporting sources linked below.

Featured source descriptions

“Reference points to Bulletin 224, pages 6 and 2 as printed in the index.”
— ^[4]

“Subacid.”
— ^[1]

“Usually comes into bearing the year after transplanting, practically as early as berries.”
— ^[5]

“Productive and bears at an early age.”
— ^[1]

Direct parent cultivars

• No direct linked parent cultivars promoted yet.

Parentage claim text

• No direct breeding_cross claim text yet.

Derived or downstream cultivar links

• No derived or downstream lineage links yet.

Source-story quotations

• Anoka (op sdlg of Mercer grafted on Duch. of Oldnbg.) Hansen (1918) Fruit 6cm, red. Subacid.Edible Apples in Prairie Canada, p15
• Anoka (op sdlg of Mercer grafted on Duch. of Oldnbg.) Hansen (1918) Fruit 6cm, red. Subacid.Edible Apples in Prairie Canada, p15
• Anoka has a characteristic possessed by no other Apple—the uncanny ability to bear on one year wood.Hardy fruits for Northern planting, trees, shrubs, 1937, p6
• Anoka has a characteristic possessed by no other Apple—the uncanny ability to bear on one year wood.Hardy fruits for Northern planting, trees, shrubs, 1937, p6

Taxonomy context: No family-tree context surfaced yet.

Related cultivars mentioned in source context