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Espalier Apple

• Message 1. 

  Posted by Barney_pl (U13897738) on Saturday, 27th August 2011

  I will have room for an espalier apple next year and am uncertain what to choose.
  
  The bought varieties I like are sharp and crunchy, eg Cox, Braeburn and South African or Australian (definitely not the French) Granny Smiths. I also love Egremont Russets, but, like the Cox, they don't keep well. I eat a lot of apples, so storing is important.
  
  I live in mid-Lincolnshire, gardening on heavy clay with a substrata of impacted yellow stone, and will need to work my way down to make a decent hole for the apple, but I'm growing currants and berries successfully, having slogged to make decent homes for them.
  
  There are two apple trees next door, but we have no idea what variety, and as they have been hidden from my view by a huge conifer till today, I didn't notice when they were in blossom. There are three on the other side, again, old trees, and no names. I didn't notice when they were in blossom... [blushes]
  
  I'd appreciate some help, as I'd really prefer a 'proper' English apple, and I can't afford to make a mistake.
  
  Please do you have any suggestions?
  
  
  

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• Message 2

  , in reply to message 1.

  Posted by BaraGwenith (U14257539) on Saturday, 27th August 2011

  Not sure about Cox as it is very prone to diseases. But of course it is a keeper. As is Egremont Russet.
  
  Do a bit of research. Avoid triploids if you only want one and you don't know what the neighbour has. And apples that tend to go biennial.
  
  Have a browse on the Keepers site, and the RHS and some other fruit nurseries.
  
  I am enjoying www.orangepippin.com.
  
  Good luck.

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• Message 3

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  Posted by Vixxihibiscus (U13865184) on Saturday, 27th August 2011

  www.orangepippin.com is an excellent site so good choice!
  
  Also Egremont Russet is an excellent apple choice too. I love Howgate wonder, the apples are massive, keep well, cook well and sweeten on storing. I can definitely recommend both. They seem pretty bombproof to the regular apple plagues too.

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• Message 4

  , in reply to message 2.

  Posted by Barney_pl (U13897738) on Sunday, 28th August 2011

  Not sure about Cox as it is very prone to diseases. But of course it is a keeper. As is Egremont Russet. 
  
  I based my comment on the fact that when I've bought them at the supermarket, the russets have gone soft very quickly, as have Cox's, whereas Braeburn / Granny Smith can sit on the fruit bowl for a couple of weeks or more and still be crisp.
  
  Thanks for the link to orangepippin. An amazing information source!
  
  I'd still appreciate others' ideas, though.
  
  

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• Message 5

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  Posted by anothergardener (U14387447) on Sunday, 28th August 2011

  Look out for an Apple Day event in your area, some of them have lots of varieties available to taste. We went to one last year and chose Kidd's Orange Red, which we both liked.
  
  Cox should keep but isn't recommended for growing in the north, not sure where they draw the line though. Sunset is similar and a better 'do-er', it's the next one for us when we've space.
  
  If there are apple trees in neighbouring gardens I wouldn't worry about pollination groups.

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• Message 6

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  Posted by Vixxihibiscus (U13865184) on Tuesday, 13th September 2011

  Hello,
  
  I make my russets into juice, gently pasteurise them and freeze them. They make beautiful juice and have a taste very like Copella. They also ripen up here in Aberdeenshire which none of the Pippins seem to do!
  
  The Howgate Wonders go into our cellar in the Autumn and we're still using the last of them in Feb/March. They keep excellently and do sweeten on storage.
  
  I suppose it depends what you would use the apples for. I make cider every year with a mixed batch and highly recommend that

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• Message 7

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  Posted by ageing_hippie (U6742113) on Thursday, 15th September 2011

  I love growing espalier apples. It's very satisfying to train them to the size and shape you want. When choosing varieties for espaliers or cordons I look for good canker resistance. Canker can cause loss of branches that can spoil a small trained tree.
  
  Think also about roostocks. I have most of my espaliers on dwarfing M26 or very dwarfing M9 rootstocks. A more vigorous variety may be better on a more dwarfing rootstock. You can train a vigorous tree but it's much harder work. Trees on more dwarfing rootstocks seem to bear fruit much sooner as well.
  
  I agree about Cox's. Lovely apples but very prone to diseases. I have heard that Granny Smith does not grow well in the British climate; it needs a lot of warmth.
  
  My best keeper is Fiesta, but it has turned biennial the past few years. Laxton Superb is very good but can have a biennial tendency. King of the Pippins keeps till after Christmas, so does Greensleeves.
  
  If you have apples on both sides of you I wouldn't rule out triploids, eg Ribston Pippin, as there will be plenty of pollen about in the spring.
  
  I like the Keepers Nursery website. They have a huge database of information about apple varieties.
  
  
  Happy gardening!
  
  
  
  
  
  

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• Message 8

  , in reply to message 7.

  Posted by Barney_pl (U13897738) on Saturday, 8th October 2011

  I can't make up my mind between an Adam's pearmain or a Laxton's superb. The Laxton is the apple of my childhood. The large back garden (mini-allotment) was backed by an orchard and there were fruit orchards at the end of the road as well.
  
  The Adams has the nutty flavour and juiciness I like, whereas the Laxton's is crisp and sweet. I wish I could taste-taste both, but that doesn't seem possible! I can't afford to make a mistake, as it's a huge amount of money for a ready-trained tree (though with a good crop keeping for up to three months, either would pay for itself quite quickly - in about three years - as I eat a lot of apples!)

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• Message 9

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  Posted by BaraGwenith (U14257539) on Sunday, 9th October 2011

  Wow, I don't think one tree will give enough apples for three monthe if you eat a lot of apples. Especially a trained one.
  
  It may be better for you to find a traditional greengrocer and buy boxes of English apples.
  
  To be realistic, you have to make your choice. Unless someone with experience of the two choices answers your post it is up to you. And what if in 5 year's time you consider it was the wrong choice?
  
  Make sure you visit an Apple Day this month, there will surely be a local grower there; there are varieties you will never have heard of which will do well in your area. The cost of the petrol visiting an Apple Day will be cheaper than the wrong choice.

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• Message 10

  , in reply to message 9.

  Posted by Barney_pl (U13897738) on Sunday, 9th October 2011

  Wow, I don't think one tree will give enough apples for three monthe if you eat a lot of apples. Especially a trained one. 
  
  We had a James Grieve espailier at my previous garden, and it bore a good crop - more than I could eat by myself (the OH didn't like raw apples) - and I made apple jelly, we had baked apples and I froze stewed apple.

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• Message 11

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  Posted by Barney_pl (U13897738) on Sunday, 9th October 2011

  I've just found a local apple event for later this month!!! Yay!

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• Message 12

  , in reply to message 11.

  Posted by BaraGwenith (U14257539) on Sunday, 9th October 2011

  Excellent!

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• Message 13

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  Posted by BaraGwenith (U14257539) on Sunday, 9th October 2011

  Just looked up Adams Permain; it has a tendency to be biennial. Maybe not a good choice.
  
  You also mention up-thread, you store apples in a fruit bowl. Definitely not the best place, no wonder they don't last! Keep them cool and not in a dry atmosphere.

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• Message 14

  , in reply to message 13.

  Posted by Barney_pl (U13897738) on Sunday, 9th October 2011

  Just looked up Adams Permain; it has a tendency to be biennial. Maybe not a good choice. 
  
  Thanks for that! I hadn;t found that in my own searches.
  
  You also mention up-thread, you store apples in a fruit bowl. Definitely not the best place, no wonder they don't last! Keep them cool and not in a dry atmosphere. 
  
  Sorry - a misunderstanding here. I only keep the apples I buy at the supermarket each week in a fruit bowl (and I only buy enough for a week). The apples I'll (hopefully) be growing will be stored in proper apple trays in the outhouse.

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