hi all im after abit of adivce i want to buy a russets apple tree for my garden on a m26 root stock and also a red variaty but dont know which type to go for also does anyone know of a good website to buy them from not to expencive
It's a personal choice but I like an "Egremont" russet and for a red the suntan/spartan range are good... I use Ken Muirs or Deacons... not the cheapest but very reliable... :-\
Another vote for Deacons on the Isle of Wight, you can get some of the more unusual varieties on the rootstock you want.
If you want to get a bargain tree and are prepared to wait a year or so for produce then wait until early spring when the supermarkets like Aldi and Lidl get them in (Woolworths used to have them too) They come in at Under £5 usually and they can be potted up in big pots in the green house if you want to do that for the first year.
Make sure that you select the sort of tree you want too a standard grows to up to and over 10 feet tall, a cordon will grow on a brick wall or strong frame and there are a variety of smaller trees which come in all sorts of sizes. They do not provide huge crops but some people like to have them.
There is also, I think they are still available, the Ballerina It grows on one single branch without spreading all over the place, Not a pretty tree but if there is a part of the garden such a tree will fit it can be worth considering and they do several sorts of apple, some only produce fruit alternate years, which can be annoying.
There is a lot to consider when growing fruit. Taste is important of course but so too is keeping and russets do not keep for long. Cox Orange Pippin is an old variety which is tasty red and seems to keep for a while but the apples are often small.
Some apple varieties are self pollenating and others need another apple tree in the area, some need up to five different ones for some reason.
Then there is the area beneath the tree branches, if you want to grow other things around the tree or mow the grass, around it withoug constantly banking your head on overhanging branches and they do droop when full of fruit.
It is well worth doing a good deal of homework since trees take a while to establish and then are there for years after.
Hi Darren, ;)
While I support the view of purple heather, regarding ALDI/LIDL,
The problem is you will not know which rootstock has been used & you may not get the size tree you are after. It really does pay to go to the specialist nursery if this is important to you. try http://www.blackmoor.co.uk/ They are usually rated as the top nursery for fruit trees & although you will not get a tree for £5, they will definitely sell you what you want.
Adrian.
I would second Blackmoor's they have a very good range and quality plants arrive carefully packed and you get an email telling you when they're coming.
If you buy from supermarkets and places you take pot luck. Sometimes they do well, other times the roots are weak and they sulk. That being said, Egremont Russet, which has been mentioned, is easy to find and one of my favourites. I don't know how red an apple you're looking for, but James Grieve, which is red striped, is another favourite, and again is easy to find.
Do a search for Adams Apples. They are a small firm and you can talk to the people who do the grafting on the phone. Their trees are really good. After seeing what they sent out I wont touch Deacons again cause the trees were far superior. Personally I wouldn't touch a supermarket or Ken Muirs for apples. Ken Muir is OK for strawberries but for apples you are making a long term investment and it is best to go to a specialist, perhaps pay a bit more but then you can get a well grown tree that will do a lot better over its entire life.
I have found that people who have planted orchards feel the same way about Adam's Apples.
http://www.talatonplants.co.uk/
You might want to take a look at the Keepers nursery website too. These cats really know their onions apples:
http://www.keepers-nursery.co.uk/
I would recommend Ashmeads Kernel - part russeted with a fresh zingy flavour and lots of complexity - basically like a cox with extra zing. It has an Award of Garden Merit from the RHS so it is easy, reliable and widely touted as the best flavour in the world - I would agree (pollination D - can prune to any shape).
You should ask yourself - do you like fresh apples more than apple pie?
If you do, you want a zingy apple like above, and the only really red apple with zing is William Crump - also touted by many experts as the best in the world (pollination C - can prune to any shape).
I am a bit fervent on this subject but for decades the 'apple world' has been dominated by what I call 'pie preferrers' and one symptom is that they are still recommending that apples are stored to the max - effectively until they can be eaten by someone with no teeth.
The zingy apples can be stored much longer before they become a sweet mealy mouthful but we have other sources of winter VitC now, so it is a criminal waste to eat them like that.
Grow these two fantastic apples and start eating them as soon as they are ripe. They will pollinate each other.
Cheers.
There was a time when apples were grown for long storage, so as to have them available for as long a season as possible. I agree it's not needed now. It's probably best to grow good keepers so they last until you've eaten them all, even when the tree gets to a good size. But I start as soon as they're sweet.
QuoteDo a search for Adams Apples
Was quite impressed with the site until I came to the P&P charge £17.25
:) my Morrison's Apple trees produced a fantastic harvest this year,they were
Lord Lambourne,
Worcester Pearmain,
Sunset,
James Grieve,
Cox's Orange Pippin all for £4.99 each two years ago / shades x
Quote from: angle shades on November 24, 2009, 22:13:10
:) my Morrison's Apple trees produced a fantastic harvest this year,they were
Lord Lambourne,
Worcester Pearmain,
Sunset,
James Grieve,
Cox's Orange Pippin all for £4.99 each two years ago / shades x
Wow I planted some trees e.g. D'Arcy Spice in spring 2007 still one apple in total. J Grive spring 2008 nothing. It could be the dry summers I guess or maybe I should feed them more.
Quote from: davholla on November 25, 2009, 17:22:36
Quote from: angle shades on November 24, 2009, 22:13:10
:) my Morrison's Apple trees produced a fantastic harvest this year,they were
Lord Lambourne,
Worcester Pearmain,
Sunset,
James Grieve,
Cox's Orange Pippin all for £4.99 each two years ago / shades x
Wow I planted some trees e.g. D'Arcy Spice in spring 2007 still one apple in total. J Grive spring 2008 nothing. It could be the dry summers I guess or maybe I should feed them more.
have you pruned them at all? ;)
Quotemy Morrison's Apple trees produced a fantastic harvest this year
I did not know that Morrison did fruit trees, got space for a couple more small ones, if anyone sees them perhaps you could put up a post. I don't use Morrisons much but could make a special journey. Fancy lord lambourne and worcester permain.
Has anyone grown Howgate Wonder. If so what did they think?
Quote from: davholla on November 25, 2009, 17:22:36
Wow I planted some trees e.g. D'Arcy Spice in spring 2007 still one apple in total. J Grive spring 2008 nothing. It could be the dry summers I guess or maybe I should feed them more.
Hi Davholla - I have had D'Arcy Spice for about 10 years and yes it was very slow to got going for me too - I got a few apples every year for at least 5 years (outstanding ones though and an unique flavour - best picked very very late).
It is only now starting to produce on a par with the shyest of my other heritage trees.
I had a very brief conversation with Joan Morgan at Brogdale Apple Day about 5 years back - I said I wanted to get at their D'A Ss because mine was a very poor bearer and she expressed surprise.
I wonder if it doesn't like crowding or some other common garden factor - all the trees at Brogdale are at their perfect spacing of course...
I don't normally go for yield but if anyone wants a good tasty cropper (even under cramped conditions) then Sturmer Pippin has always performed beyond the call of duty for me - and it has a really zingy vinous flavour that really does last until after Xmas. A good hard apple that resists attack well.
My other reliable ones for medium yield with terrific flavour are Claygate Pearmain, Ashmeads Kernel, Ribston Pippin (better flavour and less fussy than Cox, but eat before Mid Oct at the latest), William Crump, Ross Nonpareil.
Court of Wick is good too but possibly a bit sweet for me.
Cheers.
It does have some brambles very near it. Could that be part of the problem?
I haven't grown Howgate Wonder but I have come across it. The apples are enormous. I like big cookers as they're less work to peel, but it's a late one and I already have a Bramley.
Quote from: davholla on November 26, 2009, 09:21:50
It does have some brambles very near it. Could that be part of the problem?
Mine is in a row of cordons, all M26 and 60cm apart, so it is cramped on two sides both above and below the ground - I've never known which was responsible, but I'd try growing it as a well spaced bush (like Brogdale) if I had room.
Cheers.
Give them time. It may be that the roots weren't as strong as they should have been, which is the problem with several of mine. But leave it a couple of years and don't panic! They do better without competition from other plants' roots. Since it's only been two years, I wouldn't describe it as a 'problem' at all.
Quote from: grannyjanny on November 25, 2009, 19:35:18
Has anyone grown Howgate Wonder. If so what did they think?
I grow Howgate Wonder, they are nice cookers, not too sharp & if you leave them on the tree to ripen long enough they are sweet enough to eat without cooking. The smallest apples I have this year are around 1.5lb the average is around 2.5lb with some as big as 3.5lb.
It takes a few years before you start getting large crops mine initially only produced 2-5 apples per year (although they were huge) for the first 3 years it fruited then the yields then shot up drastically as the tree became more established.