Tydeman's Late Orange

[Loudbarker1]

I'm planning (on paper at least) the fruit trees that illw go into my garden , and am taken by the idea of Tydeman's Late Orange as a late keeper. Thoughts about pollination, keeping quality (does it do what itsays on he tin and keep to March/April?) disease resistance, best root stock or even alternatives etc gratefully received. I'm in north-west Kent BTW.

LB

[FB.]

I grow Tydeman's Late Orange.
Originally, I trained one as a fan/espalier on MM106 rootstock.
It did so well - compared to other apple varieties in terms of reliability, cropping, pest and disease resistance - that I added a half-standard on MM111 rootstock.

TLO is usually a reliable cropper. Slightly biennial, but that helps improve fruit size because in the "on" years, the tree will try to produce more fruits than it's really capable of - so they can be a bit small unless thinned.
However, smaller fruits are less attractive to pests, so don't complain.

T.L.O. has attractive blossom, which also have some tolerance to being frosted. Pollination always seems reliable, with good numbers of pips per fruit, so it must be easily pollinated - or perhaps self-fertile.

The fruit skin is dull orange-red over green - it is not shiny, unlike many modern apples. It has a very slightly rough feel to it - but not like a russet.

Fruits hold their flavour quite well in storage and will keep for ages, but they will shrivel unless stored in airtight containers. Fruits need several weeks of "mellowing" in storage, before they lose their sharpness.
However, shrivelling in storage can improve the flavour and reduces the moisture content, which makes it more difficult for rots to damage the fruit.
I have no problem eating shrivelled apples after many months of storage. It's a great way to freak someone out.

The tree itself is vigorous - you should expect it to grow larger and faster than average - at least in its early years.
It tends to produce very long, very thin shoots, with lots of branches.
The long, thin shoots easy bend under their own weight.
It produces plenty of fruit spurs, but they are slightly brittle and can sometimes be broken off if you're too heavy-handed when picking, or if the branches get whipped around in strong winds.

[FB.]

You can estimate how large your tree might get using this link:

> tree size estimator <

Soils in Kent are variable - some are prime orchard soils of excellent quality that will grow enormous trees, while others have rocky subsoil that prevents good deep rooting, resulting in either sickly trees or trees that can blow over due to lack of deep anchorage. Obviously, smaller trees might be better where anchorage isn't as good.

I would suggest that most people would want rootstock M26 or MM106 for a bush-tree, or MM111 for full-size trees.
However, due to its natural vigour, Tydeman's Orange on MM106 would grow as large as some varieties on MM111 or M25.

MM111 rootstock is the best choice for very difficult sites - it is more tolerant of pests, diseases, droughts and periodic flooding than any other apple rootstock. However, no rootstock is 100% immune to problems in all conditions.

I would suggest avoiding rootstock M27 except for patio containers, and avoid rootstock M9 unless the soil is excellent quality and the weak roots can have the support of a stake or wire.

[Loudbarker1]

Very many thanks for your thoughts - nothing there to put me off!

LB

[Two_Sheds]

I'm in north-west Kent

If you put that into your profile it will show up in all your posts - it helps no end when giving advice

[FB.]

If you put that into your profile it will show up in all your posts - it helps no end when giving advice

Absolutely.

Fortunately, the poster mentioned their location, otherwise I would have had to suggest "not in certain areas".
I'm not so sure that Tydeman's Late Orange would be happy in the wet-and-windy Western parts of the UK.
Although it is not much troubled by disease in the milder/drier Eastern side of the country, I don't think that its resistance to scab or canker is high enough to tolerate the SouthWest; some varieties are more resistant than others and TLO has above average general disease resistance, but not the extremely strong resistance to some diseases that are needed in some areas.
However, varieties suited to the West may not like the drier conditions and summer droughts in the East of the country, which can require very strong mildew resistance.

There's also the long "whippy" branches and slightly fragile fruit spurs that could result in structural damage to the tree and lots of fallen fruit, if grown in very windy areas.