Ashmead's Kernel

[FB.]

Although this variety is listed as "average vigour" (often denoted "T2"), there seem to be quite a lot of occurrences of "real-world" growers of this tree - including me - finding it to be considerably more vigorous than expected.

I find Ashmead's Kernel to be just as vigorous, if not more so, than many of the varieties usually listed as vigorous (often denoted "T3").

For example, more vigorous than the following varieties which are usually considered "vigorous" (some of which I also disagree with being classed as vigorous):
Tydeman's Late Orange
Norfolk Beefing
Howgate Wonder
Jupiter
Beauty of Bath

Quite possibly Ashmead's Kernel is only one step down in vigour than the "super-heavyweight" triploid tip-bearers such as Blenheim Orange, Bramley's Seedling, Gascoyne's Scarlet, Gravenstein and Hambledon Deux Ans.

Incidentally, it is said that the original Ashmead's tree was removed for building work rather than died, aged around 150 years old. That also sounds more like the kind of vigour, resilience, long life and tolerance of difficult conditions often seen in Bramley, Gravenstein, Hambledon Deux Ans and certain others (often triploid).

Also interestingly, I have heard of a "Improved Ashmead's Kernel" which is considered to be vigorous rather than medium vigour which is usually assigned to Ashmead's Kernel.

So do you grow Ashmead's Kernel?
Has it turned out to be more vigorous than expected?

Has it coped surprisingly well with difficult conditions which other apples do not tolerate so well?

[boundtothesoil]

I have two trees of this variety, one on MM106 planted in Jan 2006 (the one I wrecked by poor pruning and had to seek advice about on this forum, then cleft grafted a couple of weeks ago), and one on M26 planted in Nov 2008.

Both have been highly vigorous growers, the one on M26 surprisingly so, given my wet, fairly shallow clay soil. Five years on and it is already 8-9ft tall. Extension growth of the leaders last year was around 2 ft +, only matched for me by an Ellison's Orange on MM106. I've only really cottoned on to this as a bit of a problem recently, as the result is a very sparsely branched tree, with few flower buds or short flowering laterals per foot on two- and three-year old wood, and high (internodal) distances between successive leaves. I probably persisted in rather hard, formative, winter pruning for one or two years too many - any tipping of a leader or lateral results in overexcited extension growth. Anyway, I'm still learning

As far as the fruit goes, nothing much yet on the M26, but the one on MM106 was beginning to yield modestly well in the last two or three seasons, the only significant problems being earwig damage to the fruit, misshapen fruit and one or two codling moth victims. Because fruit clusters seem to be very close to the stem, earwigs like to hide amongst them. A few aphids but no scab, mildew or bitter pit. Flavour-wise, I'm not as much of a fan of Ashmead's Kernel as the books say I should be, but then I'm not really a russet lover.