Press release

September 23, 2026, No. 147

Rediscovered fruit varieties now available as trees

For the first time, trees from the “Apple-Pear-Mountains Project” can be ordered for your own orchard meadow

Bad Tölz-Wolfratshausen District. Unique apple and pear varieties from the Bavarian Alpine foothills are now available for planting: For the first time, trees of selected varieties from the “Apfel-Birne-Berge” project can be ordered from fruit tree nurseries. Anyone who owns or would like to create a traditional orchard can help preserve regional varieties that have become rare.

Since 2015, the leaders of the “Apfel-Birne-Berge” project—led by pomologist Georg Loferer and project manager Eva Bichler—have been working to identify and preserve forgotten apple and pear varieties. The project spans six districts in the Alpine foothills, from the Berchtesgadener Land to Weilheim-Schongau.

It was a long road before the first trees could be offered for sale at the nurseries. First, the discovered varieties—some of which were unknown—were examined pomologically and genetically. They were then propagated to establish a variety conservation garden in each of the six counties. There, interested visitors can learn about these unique varieties during guided tours.

At the Benediktbeuern-Häusern Fruit Tree Ark, a selection of 70 varieties was planted as standard trees—including 33 pear varieties and 37 apple varieties.

Since 2025, the project leaders have been distributing scions—that is, one-year-old shoots—of particularly interesting varieties every spring. These can be used by anyone for grafting their own trees and are also distributed to fruit tree nurseries. Six fruit tree nurseries are now participating in the program to grow ready-to-plant trees of the rediscovered varieties.

Order now for fall planting

The first trees for the fall 2026 planting season are now available. Orders can be placed at the following nurseries:

• Heim Fruit Tree Nursery, Moosburg near Freising
• J. Schmitt Fruit Tree Nursery, Poxdorf
• Available through Ganslmaier Nursery, Rott am Inn – Advance order required

An overview of the varieties available in the fall of 2026, as well as additional information about the “Apfel-Birne-Berge” project, can be found at www.apfel-birne-berge.de/aktuell.

For further information, please contact the district specialists for horticulture and landscape conservation at the Bad Tölz-Wolfratshausen District Office and the Bad Tölz-Wolfratshausen Landscape Conservation Association (Landschaftspflegeverband Bad Tölz-Wolfratshausen e.V.):

Elisabeth Obermüller and Anika Dollinger (Bad Tölz–Wolfratshausen District Office)
Tel.: 08041 505-305 or -309
Email: Elisabeth.Obermueller@lra-toelz.de
Email: Anika.Dollinger@lra-toelz.de

Michaela Berghofer (Bad Tölz-Wolfratshausen Landscape Conservation Association)
Tel.: 08171 4216-61
Email: Michaela.Berghofer@lpv-toel-wor.de

Sabine Schmid
Press spokeswoman
Bad Tölz-Wolfratshausen District Office