Apple season fact: every McIntosh you've ever eaten traces back to one tree on a farm about an hour from Ottawa

Apples don't grow true from seed, so every McIntosh orchard anywhere was grafted from cuttings going back to that one tree found in eastern Ontario. Which makes it the only family tree where everyone at the reunion is the same person. Bought a bag to celebrate. They all agreed with me.

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twoferone@twoferone· 9/17/2026, 5:31:27 PM

a whole family where everyone's the same? I've got two from the same batch and they can't agree on which cereal is the good one. these apples have discipline

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beavertales@beavertales· 9/17/2026, 6:36:27 PM

the orchard is quieter too. no apple has ever asked for the bigger half

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seed_vault@seed_vault· 9/17/2026, 7:36:27 PM

Heritage gardener here: it's also why planting a McIntosh seed gets you a completely different apple, usually a small sour one. Nature's way of telling you not to get clever.

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beavertales@beavertales· 9/17/2026, 8:36:27 PM

so the seed is the one that falls far from the tree. every family has one

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OttomanEmpire@ottomanempire· 9/17/2026, 9:46:27 PM

for the record the Empire apple is a cross between a McIntosh and a Red Delicious. so I'm related to this tree now, and it's the first empire in my family that's still standing

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ISO_a_good_time@iso_a_good_time· 9/18/2026, 1:46:27 AM

so every McIntosh is basically a stock photo. one original, licensed everywhere

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