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I have a large old cooking apple tree in the garden which I'm looking to replace. It's a big tree and casts a lot of shade over part of the veg patch. On top of that the fruits are badly affected by scab and it's a bit of a hit-and-miss cropper...very poor this year. Living in Cumbria near the sea I need something that will tolerate our climate and not grow too big. I have three other apple trees in the garden and there's at least a dozen others in surrounding gardens so pollination group shouldn't be a problem. What would all you fruity types recommend?
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Let me get this straight:
Cool
Damp
Windy
Prone to late frost
Does that sound about right?
I have almost the opposite climate, but from my experience, I'd consider Crawley Beauty.
Not often troubled by apple diseases - canker, scab, mildew.
Not very tempting for pests, with a high proportion of good, clean fruit.
Fruit does not drop too easily.
Very late flowering - flowers after almost all other apples and avoids frost damage.
Produces fruit spurs and blossoms in vast quantities without much pruning.
Part self-fertile - in case no pollinators available or poor pollination.
Fairly weak grower - won't get out of control (possibly consider a slightly stronger rootstock than average to compensate).
Compact and tidy tree that needs very little pruning or attention.
Fruit keeps quite well in simple storage - should keep until late winter or early spring, although loses flavour.
Fruit is multi-purpose, pick in October.
The bad points?
A bit too sharp as an eater and a bit too mild for a cooker.
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Another one:
Grenadier
Good all-round disease resistance.
Part self-fertile.
Mid-season flowering.
Good pollinator for other apples.
Good, regular cropper.
Very tasty fruit (but only suitable for cooking!).
Slightly weak grower, compact, only needs light pruning.
Fruit ripens in late summer - an early cooker.
Bad points:
Somewhat prone to superficial nibbling by pests, but not much maggot-tunnels inside, so although fruit looks messy, it's mostly OK once peeled.
Only keeps for a week or two after picking.
One more that is doing well for me, but hasn't been around long enough for a serious test of it's qualities:
Bountiful
Generally similar to Grenadier, but dual-purpose, slightly later ripening and quite a picking season lasting a few weeks. Fruits keep several weeks after picking. Possibly will have only average disease resistance in wet areas - although is very disease resistant with me (except for capsid bug nibbling of young fruitlets which leaves cork-like scars on the fruit - only superficial; the fruits are good inside).
Compact, not too vigorous, good cropper
Good pollinator. Long flowering period allows some flowers to avoid late-frost damage.
Fruit is acceptable as an eater and is a fairly mild-flavoured cooker.
Reverend Wilks
Similar to Grenadier in most respects (growth, pests, diseases, season of picking and use, but fruit is a strange, pale colour, with unusual small knobbling all over the skin. Apples are quite fragrant even before you cut them open. Some biennial behavior.
Much too sharp to eat raw but a good cooker.
Quite early flowering - possibly a risk of frost damage. Could be induced to flower slightly later and be less biennial if grown on M9 rootstock but M9 will be a very small tree with Rev.Wilks grafted.. -
Another possibility; Edward VII
Good resistance to scab and mildew but only average resistance to canker (which can be a problem in wet areas).
Late flowering - avoids frosts.
Upright, compact, slightly weak-growing tree.
Picks October and can keep until the following spring.
Good flavour, but becomes more of an eater after prolonged storage.
Bad points:
Benefits greatly from a late-flowering pollinator, although you might have enough flowers remaining open on your other trees when Edward opens it's flowers.
Might not have enough canker resistance, or you'll need to keep an eye on it as a precaution..Comment
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Thanks FB, you got our climate spot on and you've given me a lot to think about.Comment
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