The 2026 apple season for both “wild”-cider and orchard-edible fruit looks like it might be even better than expected. One reason is that apple trees usually alternate annually between light crops and bumper crops, and 2025 apparently was a light year.
A more evident reason for optimism is what we’re seeing with our own eyes. The “wild” apple trees, such as this one, are flush with blooms. Yet, they were planted for cider over 100 years ago and their fruit hasn’t been harvested for human use within memory. In addition, the individual blossoms on those trees are plush and heavy:
When the delicate white and pink petals on the blooms drop, the base of the flowers will slowly enlarge into the apples that will fall in autumn and become wildlife food and fertilizer.
I tried an apple from this tree once; it tasted like turpentine smells. Although beauty might be in the eye of the beholder, it’s not always in his mouth. (Images taken in Brooklin, Maine, on May 26 and 29, 2026.)