About
A vintage variety of British cider apple, originating from Somerset in the 14th Century, with a vigorous, spreading habit. Heavy crops of small to medium, rough-skinned, rounded pale yellow fruits striped with red are produced every other year and have an aromatic, complex and spicy flavour. May suffer from to scab and canker and do not store well so are best left to gather sugars for just a week or two before pressing. Self-sterile.
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, Neutral
Soil moistureMoist but well-drained, Well-drained
AspectSouth-facing, West-facing
ExposureSheltered
UK hardinessH6
Plant details
Plant typeFruit Edible, Trees
HabitColumnar upright, Spreading branched
FoliageDeciduous
Height4-8 metres
Spread4-8 metres
Time to full height10-20 years
Suggested usesCottage and informal garden
Care notes
CultivationThrives in deep, fertile, moist but well-drained soil in a sunny, sheltered position. Will not thrive on very acid soils, shallow chalk soils or with shade for more than half the day. Tree height will depend on the rootstock and training method. May require fruit thinning to improve fruit size and quality. See apple cultivation
PruningPrune according to chosen training method. See apple pruning
PropagationPropagate by chip budding in late summer, or grafting in mid-winter. Plants grown from pips are unlikely to resemble the parent
Pest resistanceMay be susceptible to aphids, including rosy apple aphid and woolly 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