Sad to see...the original Bramley apple tree.

[Nicos]

I've just been reading about this.....really sad to see it's been neglected and is dying...

Original Bramley apple tree in Southwell is dying - BBC News

[Cadalot]

That is so sad I recall seeing a program years ago when they visited and the lady that used to look after it was still alive.

[Thelma Sanders]

It is fortunate that it was cloned before it got infected - so it's offspring live on. All that anyone can ask really *sigh*

[muddled]

I know that everything which lives will die....but that this wonderful old tree should die of neglect is awful. That poor lady must be spinning in her grave

[FB.]

It is fortunate that it was cloned before it got infected - so it's offspring live on.....

I didn't notice exactly what was supposed to be infecting it (does anyone know?). If it's canker, that's not unusual on old trees and they can usually live with it.
If the disease is simply wood-rotting fungi then they're probably feeding on all those long-dead branches which haven't been removed.

The 'neglect' looks like a lot more than two years worth - more like ten years worth unless the 'disease' is progressing rapidly (again, does anyone know what it is?).

If the 'mother' tree has a lethal disease, it means all its offspring will be similarly susceptible. If the disease is a Bramley-killer then it will only be several more years before Bramley trees around the country start dying from the same thing.

But I'm wondering whether the story has been a bit hyped-up. Bramley is tough and that tree has already regenerated itself back from the dead a couple of times. Some other famous old varieties have also regenerated themselves, including growing a new tree from the roots after the trunk rotted and broke off (e.g. Blenheim Orange, Ribston Pippin - both vigorous triploids like Bramley).

[muddled]

Oh! that's encouraging! So it might not spell the end (just yet) for Bramley after all!

I love the idea of healthy new growth from the roots after the trunk has fallen...appeals to my heathen leanings Green men, circles and spirals and all that!

[FB.]

I love the idea of healthy new growth from the roots after the trunk has fallen...

The original Bramley is on its own roots and not grafted, so the roots are capable of re-growing an identical tree.

Unfortunately, grafted varieties can't do that; any regeneration from the roots will be rootstock.

[SusieG]

It is pretty encouraging to think that from a small piece of root a magnificent tree can live on!!

The old neglected apple tree that I inherited when we moved here was, I thought doomed......
DH last year gave it quite a ruthless pruning ........ we didn't expect it to grow any-healthy growth ~ especially not this year. It is now covered with lush, green new foliage......!

Nature truly is amazing.

[Thelma Sanders]

The cloning was done in 1990, according to Wiki

Most of the stock of 'Bramley's Seedling' commercially available is slightly different in its growth habit and other characteristics from the original tree, probably because of a chance mutation (or mutations) that occurred unnoticed over the years. Plants produced from the still-surviving (then 180-year-old) tree by tissue culture in 1990 have proved to be much more compact and free-branching than the widely available commercial stock. The cloning work was done by scientists at the University of Nottingham, because the original tree was suffering from old age and was under attack by honey fungus. Twelve of the cloned trees now grow in the University grounds; one was also planted beside the old tree at Southwell

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bramley_apple

[FB.]

.....Plants produced from the still-surviving (then 180-year-old) tree by tissue culture in 1990 have proved to be much more compact and free-branching than the widely available commercial stock. The cloning work was done by scientists at the University of Nottingham, because the original tree was suffering from old age and was under attack by honey fungus. ......

So the original tree has been 'dying' with help from honey fungus for the past 26 years.

[Mr Bones]

So sad. This tree is only 15 miles up the road from us (weak attempt at a claim to fame..)

[SaraJH]

What I don't understand is why it has been neglected for so long, is it in the garden of the house that the lady lived in? Surely the new owners should take some responsibility for it?
Or is the house unsold and that too is being neglected?

[devonuk]

What I don't understand is why it has been neglected for so long, is it in the garden of the house that the lady lived in? Surely the new owners should take some responsibility for it?
Or is the house unsold and that too is being neglected?

Take responsibility for it, how? I have a very old apple tree (we'll never know how old because the trunk is completely hollowed out, so no ring counts) and I leave it to do its own thing, which it does very happily. No doubt it will die one day, as very old things do. Am I neglecting it?

[bearded bloke]

So the original tree has been 'dying' with help from honey fungus for the past 26 years.

Wonders why Chris Beardshaw never metioned it when he visited the tree 5 years ago, apparently though it was blown over at some point & regrew ...... Original Bramley apple tree still growing 200 years on - BBC News

[bearded bloke]

Nott's TV news broadcast from about 3 hours ago .... Exclusive: See the original Bramley apple tree close up - Notts TV News | The heart of Nottingham news coverage for Notts TV