Apple variety advice

[Ergates]

Hello

This topic has come up before but rather than practice the dark art of thread necomancy, I thought I'd start afresh.

I have a pear tree, in the middle of my lawn, that I'm thinking of chopping down and replacing with an apple tree for the following reasons:
1) The fruit are of the type that switch from inedibly rock hard to mushy overnight .
2) I don't actually like pears anyway.

I don't really know much about different apple varieties, so I'm looking for suggestions for what to grow. I like a nice crisp apple - when I buy them from the shops I generally go for something like a Braeburn - but apart from that I'm totally open to suggestions. Preferably something that gives a good crop and doesn't require too much tlc. Appearence isn't an issue. And if it could water the pots, weed the beds and mow the lawn too, that would be nice.

We already have 2 other apple trees. One is a cooker - looks like Bramley but can't be sure). No idea what the other one is (both years we've been here, all the fruit has gone brown and rotten on the branches before it ripens) but it looks like some kind of eater. So that doesn't really help with the pollen groups I suppose - I could always plant a second tree if necessary.

Any suggestions appreciated.

[Alison]

Your best bet is to go to a local apple day (where you can try different types that would grow well round you) in the autumn and then buy accordingly That's how we ended up with our Falstaff as it was one we both liked.

[WrexTheDragon]

If you have a local garden centre, have a look at the variety they sell.

I find that apples can grow well in one location and not another.

I have 3 golden delicious trees and these are nothing like those in Tesco's, supper apples that keep until january.

I am growing 2 Braeburn this year, but so far they look very leggy with poor foliage.

[BFG]

I've a fan of "family" trees. They have multiple varieties grafted on to the rootstock, instead of just the normal one.

That way you get more variety, a longer eating season and improved pollination. Oh and they look funky too (to me at least!) with different apples growing on the same tree.

I got some quad apple trees from Deacons online last year and was very impressed. Very healthy plants that arrived well packaged and they mostly set a good crop this year.

I did pay a little extra for 2 year old trees though.

http://www.deaconsnurseryfruits.co.u...lfamilytrees1/

[Two_Sheds]

this is a useful site: Apple Trees - Fruit Expert (UK)

[FB.]

Personally, I would discourage people from growing the varieties available in shops.
Those varieties are bred for supermarkets and generally depend upon 20+ applications of various chemicals during the growing season to keep the trees healthy and give a clean crop.
Many varieties are grown overseas in warmer climates, so that they can be brought to the shops faster than UK-grown types. That's partly why UK apple growing has declined - ours take longer to ripen.

As I understand it, Braeburn has no particular ability to resist diseases and also requires warmer temperatures than the UK to ripen properly.
A few "hot spots" (such as Cambridgeshire) might be able to ripen them, but not in cool/dull seasons.

There's often a balance to be struck when growing apples.
The varieties most able to resist disease and give quality fruit with little attention also tend to be erratic in their cropping.
The regular croppers tend to be horribly prone to disease.

I note that your location is the West Midlands. I would urge you to look for varieties with good resistance to scab and canker - as well as tolerance to mildew.

I can offer this thread, where I list how well my own varieties perform in my area (which is not a guarantee of performance in a different area):
http://www.growfruitandveg.co.uk/gra...ons_32270.html

If any of those varieties appeal to you, I suggest a minimum resistance rating of 4 for scab, 4 for canker and 3 for mildew.

As already mentioned; you might want to go to an "apple day" event at your local botanic garden. They may well have rare varieties on show that grow extremely well in your area. You'll notice that many of the varieties that I grow are from the SouthEastern corner of the UK; that's where they originated and therefore are well-adapted to the local conditions.

[Ergates]

Thank you all for the suggestions - especially the family tree, something I hadn't considered.

[chrisguk]

Hi ergates, just a suggestion i have before this thread rolls off the first page.
Apple Scrumptious is a new and great variety, which was my first apple tree. Its an early season variety, so you'll pick in september. The fruit is flavorsome, and has a nice thin skin which they say is good for kids, but i to prefer a thin skinned apple. They also turn a nice deep red colour when exposed to some direct sunlight.
It was apparently bred to cope with our horrendous climate here in the UK, which is always good news! Mine has grown well since i planted!
Another pro, is that is it meant to be very resistant to disease.
It's only drawback from which i have observed so far is it's susceptibility to apple scab.