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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.