Mini Orchard Collection

[FB.]

Here's a UK rainfall map, which puts things into context:
> Link <

I live just North of Cambridge, in an area noted for sand and gravel quarries (sand and gravel starts about 1ft from the surface and continues to a depth of over 30ft in places.
The topsoil is shallow, low-fertility and water drains very quickly through the gravel. Throw in the low-rainfall as indicated by the map and you can see that it is an extremely hostile environment.

[mrbadexample]

Just last winter, I dug-out and gave away, several 7-10 year old bushes on St.Julien A or MM106 (an equivalent apple rootstock to SJA) because they had only reached about 5ft in size, despite my best efforts to make them grow.

Were they fruiting ok?

[FB.]

Were they fruiting ok?

Not unless they were regularly watered; it was like having pets, rather than having servants.
If not regularly watered, the fruits would either be very small, or drop prematurely, or would split as they tried to absorb water once we did get some rainfall.

I'm not saying that any rootstock is good or bad - just that rootstocks are not some magic mechanism to always get a tree of a specific size in all parts of the UK.
Just be aware that there are many things that can influence the success or failure of a fruit tree - and try to be realistic about your soil (depth, fertility and moisture retention) before deciding what to plant.

Also consider that some varieties are much faster growing than others, even when on the same rootstock.
For example, a Bramley, Blenheim or Hambledon apple tree will grow about twice as fast and reach about twice the size of a Court Pendu Plat, D'Arcy Spice or Epicure apple on the same rootstock in the same growing conditions.

[mrbadexample]

...it was like having pets...

I don't want a pet!

How tolerant are apples of shade? If I grew one along the left hand fence it will be shaded for at least half the day, mostly only getting sun in the afternoon / evening, depending on the time of year.

So let's consider an apple. It would have to be suitable for training as an espalier along the left fence, without getting unmanageably large. It would need to be sweet and juicy - a good eater, but suitable for cooking too, without turning to mush.

In your opinion FB, which apples most closely fit my criteria? What would you recommend?

Cheers,
MBE

[FB.]

Certain apples will tolerate partial shade.

Early-ripening apples can be grown, so that they still ripen by the end of the season.

Sweeter-tasting apples will need less ripening/less sun to taste satisfactory.

Scottish apples are more tolerant of cool, dull and short growing seasons.

Cookers are basically eating apples that fail to ripen in our climate, so cookers, by definition, don't ripen properly and so can be good in reduced-sunlight locations.

Avoid rootstock M26, which is a favourite of woolly aphids and woolly aphids like shady places.
Additionally, M26 - being a crab apple - may cause the fruit to be slightly more acidic.

[FB.]

suitable for training as an espalier along the left fence, without getting unmanageably large. It would need to be sweet and juicy - a good eater, but suitable for cooking too, without turning to mush.

Cooking apples tend to be acidic; it's the acid that causes the flesh to soften. More acid means more "mushiness" when cooked. Cooking time also affects consistency. Longer cooking means more likely to turn to mush.
Unfortunately, it means that "sweet" and "cooker" can't easily be found together.
As said above: cookers are actually "eaters" that need longer and warmer growing seasons than Britain to reach full ripeness.
However, you can pick some types of unripe eaters to use as cookers.
You can also grow certain cookers which - after a couple of months - sweeten in storage to become eaters.

Normally, I'd suggest the likes of:

Annie Elizabeth
Possibly too vigorous on MM106 on a good soil.
Excellent flavour.

Egremont Russet
Probably too prone to bitter pit for a good soil like yours; like many old varieties, it gives best results in low-fertility soil but needs a strong rootstock to handle the poor soil (our ancestors often used seedling rootstocks and had to plant wherever they lived, rather than a carefully calculated modern commerical operation). But otherwise very pest/disease resistant.
Excellent flavour.

Grenadier
Cooking only; not suitable for eating (extremely acidic). Partial tip-bearing can slightly complicat pruning, but otherwise very pest/disease resistant and grower-friendly.
Excellent flavour.

Reverend Wilks: not suitable for eating, can be biennial. Slow-growing, compact, grower-friendly and attractive. Good resistance. Some biennial tendency.
Excellent flavour.

Crawley Beauty
Very grower-friendly; produces enormous numbers of fruit spurs and blossoms and this self-fertile/heavy/reliable cropper can easily have its growth energy directed to fruit production via these prolific fruit spurs. Has very good pest/disease resistance and will thrive in almost any soil. Fruit is attractive, but can have a whitish "bloom" like plums.
The downside: the fruit is nothing special in terms of flavour and best used as a cooker.

Belle de Boskoop
Good resistance to problems, but slow to start cropping and therefore likely to be difficult to keep under control on a good soil. Dual purpose but quite sharp for an eater.
Good flavour.

Brownlees Russet
Good resistance to pests and diseases. Unusual "candyfloss pink" blossom instead of the usual pinky-white.
Neat, compact, slightly slow grower. Prolific fruit spur and blossom production but still somewhat erratic cropper.
Fruit completely russeted and often considered unattractive.
Probably only suitable for cooking or cider in a semi-shade location, but a few of the fruits may ripen sufficiently to eat. This variety usually needs several weeks in storage before the fruit has sweetened enough to eat. Tastes best around Easter, after becoming a bit shrivelled in store.

[BroadRipple]

Thank you so much for answering; really helpful.
I'm in London; I've read that JG is vulnerable to disease, but the weird thing was that although the woolly aphid was bad, I'm amazed it was bad enough to kill it completely. If no leaves on that tree, does that mean it's a goner and I shd just pull it out?
If you could still suggest rootstocks and trees I'd be enormously grateful, esp. as you're clearly as passionate about varieties as I am. I know the obvious answer is to go for something modern and everything-proof, but that's not the point...I want flavour, and heritage, but b/c I have such a small space and am not expert I need to avoid another disaster like this one, which was unbelievably disappointing.
I can't remember the rootstock, annoyingly, but think it was probably MM106, looking at the website. I wonder if part of the problem was that they're close to the wall (tho surely that's the point with fan-training?); the supplier suggested it was. Also, perhaps they're too close - only a metre or so apart, tho again the supplier originally thought that wd be fine. The wall is high, but only approx 4 metres wide.
Perhaps I could dig out the trees - including the semi-leafing one, b/c not blossom? - dig out their holes, put in more compost and start again?
Thanks so much for your help, FB, really appreciate it. I don't yet have an allotment and have no nearby gardeners to ask for advice, so any guidance in the vacuum makes a great difference.

[BroadRipple]

P.S. I don't know the etiquette yet for this forum, but want to know...who ARE you? Am curious! If that's an evil sin, forget I ever asked...

[chris]

Are you planning on trying a 'redlove', FB? They look nice, but marketing and end produce are two different things

[chris]

P.S. I don't know the etiquette yet for this forum, but want to know...who ARE you? Am curious! If that's an evil sin, forget I ever asked...

Some say he's Geoff Hamilton, some say he's Monty Don. All we know he is called FB.

[scarey55]

Some say he's Geoff Hamilton, some say he's Monty Don. All we know he is called FB.

Brilliant Chris, that made me laugh out loud

[chris]

<snip>If no leaves on that tree, does that mean it's a goner and I shd just pull it out?</snip>

If you scratch the bark on the main stem/trunk is it green underneath? If a branch "snaps" rathers than bends, the branch may be dead. If there is green underneath though, that means there's life in it yet.

[chris]

scary. I must admit I did chuckle to myself too. I think I need to get out a bit more.

[BroadRipple]

Hello Chris - there IS green, but as there were no leaves at all, and am longing for apples, it's hard to justify keeping it there on the offchance it recovers next year (apart from the cost of buying a replacement for it and its slightly leafy sibling)...

[chris]

I'd bung it in a corner or somewhere then, if you have the space..

I've done the same with a stella cherry - no leave, branches ALL snap off, but near the base it's still green.. it may shoot from just above the graft. If it doesn't by next spring, i'll get rid of it it.