Montezuma Orchard Restoration Project

10/15/2026

Oh, how kids and trees grow! We will forever cherish these early photos from the start of the Gold Medal Orchard restoration for so many reasons. It’s amazing to look back at our youngest one standing next to those newly planted (and yet-to-be-planted) trees of old genetics!

Check out how much the orchard has grown since then in this CBS Colorado broadcast ( the video is included with the written story:

🍎 The Story: https://www.cbsnews.com/colorado/news/gold-medal-orchard-cortez-apples-colorado/

🍎 The Broadcast: https://www.cbsnews.com/colorado/video/colorados-gold-mountain-orchard-preserves-over-a-century-of-historic-apple-varieties/

10/13/2026

Community Planting & Orchard Resilience Day 🌳🌱
Our c***r press might be quieter than usual due to a spring frost that wiped out the local fruit crop, so we are pivoting from Community Juicing to Community Planting Day. Help us look towards the future by putting roots in the ground – join us at the Orchard Hub to help plant 10 new acres of rare, endangered heritage apple trees. 🍎

We’ll be demonstrating water conservation and drought-tolerant ground cover, and sharing lessons on resilient orchard management and Colorado’s fruit-growing history that you can bring home to your own farms & gardens.

• When: Saturday, October 17 from 10:00 AM to 3:00 PM
• Where: The Orchard Hub, 13729 Road 29, Dolores CO

The Dirt:
• 👕 Dress for outdoor work.
• 🛠️ Bring water, food, and a shovel if you have one.
• 🕒 Join for the whole day or just a part.
• 👶 Kid-friendly. No pets, please.

Made possible with generous support from Seas Of Trees, the Colorado Department of Agriculture Specialty Crop Program, the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), , and MORP members and donors.

Let’s plant for the future. See you at the Hub!
https://montezumaorchard.org/events/community-juicing-day-2/

10/13/2026

Apple and orchard lovers of the Four Corners please join us! October 28th at the Durango Public Library 🍎

Join Durango Botanic Gardens for the last session of the Great Garden series for 2026. They are going out with a bang with Jude Schuenemeyer with Montezuma Orchard Restoration Project on Wednesday, October 28, 2026 at 4:30 pm.

10/09/2026

Over 50 varieties of rare, heritage apple trees 🌳will be for sale this Saturday, October 10th at the Orchard Social! 🍎 Help Montezuma Orchard Restoration Project preserve Colorado's fruit-growing heritage by planting diversity in your own orchards and backyards. It is time to celebrate orchard country!

Where: The Orchard Hub | 13729 Road 29, Dolores, CO
When: Saturday, October 10, 2026
Time: 11:00 AM – 4:00 PM
See you there!

Photo 1: A coast-to-coast historic mystery! This variety is known as "Unknown, Tangerine Group" in Colorado, "Sorrento" in Maine, and "Unknown Fall" in Washington. DNA profiling confirms they are the exact same, historically beloved, semi-forgotten cultivar once popular from east to west. What was its original name? We do not yet know, but we do know that you can grow it to enjoy a delightful subacid apple with a complex, refreshing bite!

Photo 2: Time flies when you grow trees. Plant them young, and grow up together.

09/29/2026

“If we don’t have water,” said Dennis Clark, a fifth-generation Palisade peach grower, “we’re done.”
Due to drought-induced water shortages, this year's irrigation season was cut short. Fruit trees require anywhere from a decade to a century (in MORP's case) to mature and replace their ecological and economic benefits. Protecting Colorado’s historic orchard country demands immediate, innovative water management solutions.
Free Article: wapo.st/4yi9jzc

Like much of the Southwest, the home of the “perfect peach” is facing the greatest Colorado River crisis in recent memory.

09/29/2026

A beautiful, inspiring story featuring our friends and collaborators with the Ark Valley Fruit Tree Network. You too can join these efforts. See link in comments.
"Preserving those trees is now becoming a priority for local fruit growers and enthusiasts. Advocates are working to keep these old varieties from disappearing and potentially giving apples that have survived for more than a century another hundred years."

https://klzr.org/a-lost-apple-may-have-been-found-in-a-historic-fremont-county-orchard/?fbclid=IwY2xjawUooehleHRuA2FlbQIxMQBwZG9mBXNydGMGYXBwX2lkEDIyMjAzOTE3ODgyMDA4OTIAAR4XFBKyZYQ-Dp28VMtVxYZFXAMGSpHq7dO9hoL-3WfiPPvfTOh6R9pHQxJ9jw_aem_hiqT-4V96DhP-k5_YFIGXw

A century-old orchard near Howard is helping preserve Colorado’s forgotten fruit-growing history — and possibly a variety once thought to be extinct.

09/28/2026

MORP loves stories like this! Join the efforts to celebrate and preserve Colorado's fruit-growing history. See link in comments on how to be involved.
"Working with a laboratory in Washington, Wilgenbusch took DNA samples of the trees in his neighborhood. He sent young spring leaf samples in test tubes for analysis. Today he’s growing versions of heritage apple trees in his expansive backyard garden."

Before Lakewood was subdivided to build homes, it was home to dense orchards with hundreds or apple tree varieties.

09/25/2026

Check out the latest news from Orchard Country 🍎
https://givebutter.com/messages/view/2c9111e5-9e17-4626-b122-821062e12c3e

09/25/2026

Why reassemble the genetic history of American apples? "For one thing, apples are valuable...and apples are under threat."
Read this great story highlighting the work of apple friends and collaborators. Do you have old, unknown tree(s)? Check out the recommendations at the MORP website on how to help join these preservation efforts (link in comments).
https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/how-apple-detectives-solved-the-mystery-of-an-ancient-tree-and-rewrote-the-history-of-fruit/?fbclid=IwY2xjawUjbQdleHRuA2FlbQIxMABwZG9mBWJyaWQRMTF4TVZtOUh1MEdHSHdnSGpzcnRjBmFwcF9pZBAyMjIwMzkxNzg4MjAwODkyAAEe0bIY-Y0vAfPzTZP-B3qDQgfINkzfj9xsqR_gCv_o93YmssiPOY_aCM53cZk_aem_Zrz_r8B6MkJB42r7DsSeDg

And how they might have helped save the future of American apples