About

A historic (17th century) late-season dessert apple with crisp flesh and a sweet, fruity flavour. Prolific pinkish-red flowers are followed by fruit somewhat flattened in shape, yellow flushed with red, ripening in mid-autumn and storing to mid-spring. It is not very vigorous, and forms an upright, compact tree. It is self-sterile, pollination group 3, and can be slow to reach cropping age.

About the genus

Malus are small to medium-sized deciduous trees with showy flowers in spring and ornamental or edible fruit in autumn; some have good autumn foliage colour

Growing conditions

SunlightFull sun
Soil typeClay, Loam, Sand
Soil pHAcid, Alkaline, Neutral
Soil moistureMoist but well-drained, Well-drained
AspectSouth-facing, West-facing, East-facing
ExposureSheltered
UK hardinessH6

Plant details

Plant typeFruit Edible, Trees
HabitBushy
FoliageDeciduous
Height4-8 metres
Spread4-8 metres
Time to full height10-20 years
Suggested usesCity and courtyard gardens, Cottage and informal garden
FragranceFlower

Care notes

CultivationPrefers a deep, fertile, moist but well-drained, neutral soil in a sheltered, sunny position. Will not thrive on very acid soils, shallow chalk soils or with shade for more than half the day. See apple cultivation
PruningPrune according to chosen training method. See apple pruning. Thin fruit in late spring or early summer to improve size and quality. See fruit thinning
PropagationPropagate by grafting in midwinter or chip budding in late summer on clonal rootstock for fruit. The rootstock will largely determine the vigour of the tree. Fruit grown from pips will not resemble the parent
Pest resistanceMay be susceptible to aphids including woolly aphid and rosy apple aphid, fruit tree red spider mite, codling moth and other caterpillars
Disease resistanceMay be susceptible to apple canker, apple scab, blossom wilt, brown rot, fireblight, honey fungus and powdery mildews