Fruit: Fruits in Colonial America

European settlers brought with them the fruits familiar in their homelands, including apples, pears, quinces, peaches, nectarines, apricots, cherries, and plums. There were some grafted trees in seventeenth-century American plantings, but for the most part the numerous small orchards planted in the colonies consisted of seedlings. (For most species, seedlings bear inferior fruits that are not true to the type of the parent tree.) In the beginning most of the named varieties that were grown were imported from Europe, but over time more and more varieties of native origin, such as Roxbury Russet, Rhode Island Greening, and Newtown Pippin apples, were propagated from the few superior seedlings. It is not clear exactly when grafting became common, but by the early eighteenth century varieties were transported from place to place, an indication that grafting and budding were practiced. The southern colonies made more use of grafted varieties than the northern colonies. In the eighteenth century some fruits were shipped to cities such as Boston, Philadelphia, and New York, although to a limited extent. At the same time, the first nurseries for the propagation and sale of named varieties started operating.