Last fall, travelling through the fruit growing areas of Alsace I got acquainted with the climatic constellation of this picturesque region of France. The Rhine Valley with mountain ranges on either side and partially plugged at one end by the Swiss Alps often acts as a collecting trap for heat (to 90 F.) as well as for extreme cold (to 20 F.). Late spring frosts are a particular threat, they happen every year and at unpredictable dates. Apples with both frost bites and heat scald are not uncommon. Fruit farmers and home orchardists counter the late spring frost hazard by planting variety assortments with long blooming seasons extending over approximately three weeks. Growers select varieties from each of the following groups:

Apples

Early: Yellow Transparent, Gravenstein

Mid-early: Boskoop, Cox Orange, Jacques Lebel, Canada Reinette.

Mid-late: King of the Pippins, Golden Delicious, Red Delicious, James Grieve, Jonathan, Ontario.

Late: Reinette de Champagne, De Mai (Maiapfel), Noel, Rambour d'Hiver.

Very Late: Belle Fleur Rouge, Loir, Pomme du Rhin, King's Apple (Citron d'Hiver).

Pears

Early: Juillet, Paris, Angouleme, Clairgeau, Trevoux.

Mid-early: Conference, Brabant, Souvenir, Diel, Passe Crassane.

Mid-late: Hardy, Guyot, Vienne, Bartlett, Le Lectier, Louise.

Late: Bosc, Clapp, Poiteau, Hardenpont.

Wherever possible the above listing uses the English synonym for cultivar identification. For apples the authority is M.W.G. Smith's National Apple Register of the United Kingdom. For pears it is W.H. Ragan's Nomenclature of the Pear.