Choosing an apple tree

[vicky]

We want to get at least 2 more apple trees for the garden.

I'd like a cooker that has large fruit, fairly long keeping and MUST be a variety local to this area, so maybe Lord Stradbroke, Striped Beefing or Norfolk Beefing.

Also an dessert apple that's crisp, long keeping and as red as possible, again a Norfolk or Suffolk variety prefered but the red fruit is more important (as children will eat them). Norfolk Royal, Red Falstaff or Clopton Red? Bloody Ploughman (Scotland) is also quite appealing as the apples seem very red!

We have quite a few apple trees in the area some pollination is not an issue, neither is size. I won't spray so disease resistance is good. Quality rather than quantity of fruits produced is more important. My soil is sandy and can be wet as we're next to marshes...

Just after any thoughts or suggestions, esp from FB as he tells it as it is!!

[valmarg]

Well, for a cooker you can't get better than Bramley. It is a triplooid, but as you have plenty of apple trees in the area pollenation won't be a problem.

A dual purpose apple that my dad used to grow was Peasgood Nonsuch. It was a good cooker, but a wonderful crisp tasty eater.

Red apples - I can't think of any varieties we used to grow, so can't help.

valmarg

[FB.]

Thanks for the intro, Vicky.

From what you list:

Striped Beefing
Red Falstaff

I'd also suggest M9, M26 or MM111 rootstock (depending on required tree size), since you say that your soil is heavy and may waterlog a little.
MM111 would be the best in an unusual/difficult situation, but it is not easy to find suppliers.
MM106 and M25 will not tolerate saturated soil - the base of the trunk below ground will rot very easily (and you won't know it's rotting until the tree dies suddenly).
If MM106 or M25 roots are all you can get, plant them on at least a six-inch-high and two-foot-wide mound, to keep the base of the trunk well away from surface water.

[FB.]

Have you considered St.Edmunds Pippin/Russet (Suffolk), or ArdCairn Russet (Ireland).
Not the most attractive fruit, but the taste may be sweet enough for kids and it may teach them that looks aren't everything! Russets typically have quite good pest and disease resistance.

Some sweet red apples for kids:

Scrumptious
Worcester Pearmain
Katy
Spartan
Fiesta
Laxton's Epicure

Scrumptious has best flavour - but it can be very troubled by maggots/worms (the pests know a sweet/tasty apple when they smell one!).
Not as highly-disease-resistant as some people claim, but disease resistance is OK.

Worcester Pearmain also has good flavour when eaten straight from the tree, but disease resistance is unpredictable (it's OK in my climate) and, like many sweet/red/early apples, it can suffer a bit from maggots/worms. Not as badly pest-damaged as Scrumptious or Discovery though.

Katy is less interesting to eat, but less troubled by pests/diseases.

I find Spartan and Fiesta don't suffer much from pests (maggots/worms) and not much troubled by diseases, although not possessing high-level disease resistance. Some people report canker or scab problems.

I am trialling Laxton's Epicure at the moment. It has a good reputation for flavour, enormous crops of small-ish fruit and quite good pest resistance for an early apple.
However, disease resistance is only average, perhaps with a slight tendency for canker, due to having Cox's as a parent.

[chrisguk]

Scrumptious has best flavour - but it can be very troubled by maggots/worms (the pests know a sweet/tasty apple when they smell one!).
Not as highly-disease-resistant as some people claim, but disease resistance is OK.

I agree here; the apple that started my orchard, and is still my favourite.

So far iv'e only seen it susceptible to Scab, and that can be mostly remedied by appropriate but infrequent spraying.

The bugs do seem to like it, but due to the open shape of my particular tree, i've not had any significant problems.

Nice thin skin, which not only do i favour, but also so do most kids!

Mines only on an M27 and seems pretty productive considering its 'gangly' appearence

[vicky]

Thanks for that, for definate it's the Striped Beefing and I'm thinking about the Lord Stradbroke as well as I can't choose between them!

What do you think about Norfolk Royal as an eating apple? It has the red colour I'm after and I'd prefer a eater ready in september (after checking what I already have in the garden...perhaps the jobs I should have done first...)

Or Red Ellison?

I need a bigger garden!

I have been planting other trees today and I'm diligently making big mounds for them!

[FB.]

I'd go for the Striped Beefing - it keeps better and holds flavour much better than Lord Stradbroke, which is reputed to soon lose its flavour.

I grow Ellison's Orange (Red Ellison strain) and - like Scrumptious - it is a maggot-magnet, with almost every fruit in almost every year being "holed" by a maggot. The fruits are so good that they barely reach half-inch before nearly all of them have been "holed".
I only keep those two varieties because they do a fantastic job of drawing all the pests away from my other fruit trees.

[Mugsy]

There is an old saying that one man's favourite is disgusting to someone else.

I often get asked to recommend apples but never do, as just because I like certain ones does n't mean the person asking will like them too.
I know it's the worng time of year but visiting an apple day in October or a local orchard where you can taste a range of varieties is the best way to find what you really like.
Out of over 2000 varieties of British apple they say there's an apple for everyone.

[vicky]

I want a variety that's local to here, I managed to try quite a few local ones from the farmers markets and neighbours - I didn't like Lady Henniker and it was too small for ease of use. We (our Parish) are also going to be planting a Community Orchard at the end of my road so I'm being nosey in advance too!
Plus FB tells you things you don't read about in the fruit catalogues!
Have you any thoughts about the Norfolk Royal?