Cultivar 504: Alexis

Alexis is a small hardy crabapple introduced by N. E. Hansen in 1919. Sources describe the fruit as 3 cm, bright red, with yellow flesh and a sharp acid flavor. It was used mainly for jelly, not for fresh eating or storage. One detailed description says the fruit is much like Dolgo: long-conical, polished, dark cherry red, and covered with an attractive blue bloom. [S2] [S3]

Hansen wrote that Alexis was raised from seed from the old Imperial Botanic Gardens at St. Petersburg, Russia. The seed was received in 1897, and the named introduction was released in 1919. He also noted that Alexis is a Russian man's name. Later prairie references place it in the same general origin stream as Dolgo, and one Manitoba source says it is almost identical to Dolgo in both tree and fruit characters. [S2] [S3] [S4]

Sources consistently describe the fruit as small, bright red, acid, and yellow fleshed. It was considered good for jelly but a poor keeper. Hansen's earlier account gives a more ornamental description, calling it a brilliant dark cherry crab with blue bloom. Later prairie directory notes describe it more simply as a utility crabapple similar to Dolgo. [S2] [S3]

Tree notes are brief but useful. Hansen described Alexis as very productive and free from blight so far. An earlier South Dakota bulletin grouped it with Amur, Beauty, and Dolgo as making good rootstocks. This makes Alexis notable not only as a fruiting crabapple but also as part of the hardy stock material used for northern apple growing. [S1] [S3]

Hardiness evidence is prairie based rather than fully explained in zone terms. A Prairie Canada directory records it as H1-2 and notes testing at Rosthern in the 1930s. This places it among the hardier crabapple material circulated for the Canadian Prairies. South Dakota sources also place it within the Siberian crabapple breeding and introduction stream aimed at severe northern conditions. [S2] [S3]

Its exact taxonomic placement is not fully clear in the sources. One source calls Alexis a robusta seedling, while Hansen's own bulletin lists it among Siberian crab seedlings and ties it to Russian crabapple material from St. Petersburg. What is clear is its place in the hardy northern crabapple tradition alongside Dolgo, Amur, and Beauty, where blight resistance, productivity, ornamental color, and use for jelly or rootstock all mattered. [S2] [S3]

Summary source basis

• S1: New Hardy Fruits for the Northwest
• S2: Edible Apples in Prairie Canada
• S3: Plant Introductions
• S4: TreeFruitsGrownInPrairieOrchards WRLeslie 1946 HQ

This summary currently draws chiefly from Edible Apples in Prairie Canada, with 3 additional supporting sources linked below.

Featured source descriptions

“Raised from seed obtained in 1897 from St. Petersburg.”
— ^[1]

“Tested at Rosthern in the 1930s.”
— ^[1]

“Reference points to Bulletin 224, page 8.”
— ^[2]

“Similar to Dolgo.”
— ^[1]

Direct parent cultivars

• No direct linked parent cultivars promoted yet.

Parentage claim text

• No direct breeding_cross claim text yet.

Derived or downstream cultivar links

• No derived or downstream lineage links yet.

Source-story quotations

• Alexis (robusta sdlg) Hansen (1919) CREdible Apples in Prairie Canada, p14
• Alexis (robusta sdlg) Hansen (1919) CREdible Apples in Prairie Canada, p14
• Alexis (robusta sdlg) Hansen (1919) CREdible Apples in Prairie Canada, p14
• Alexis (robusta sdlg) Hansen (1919) CREdible Apples in Prairie Canada, p14

Taxonomy context: No family-tree context surfaced yet.

Related cultivars mentioned in source context