Wow, lots of great responses, thanks! I've got a bit of home work to do now looking at all the options, but definitely won't be winding any roses or clematis through my new tree when I get it.
I have a dwarf tree (Scrumptious) and next door have an old apple tree so I'm guessing (hoping) pollination should be okay - the community where I live was built in the 1920's and every garden had either an apple or pear tree put in the garden.
I don't know where the original one in my garden went but I'm looking forward to the new one. I'll let you all know what I've chosen when I get it.
If there is a crabs such as Golden Hornet, Jelly King, Evereste, plus many more then even if there isn't a domestic apple close by then you'll be fine. There's four groups of pollinators, if you have one from the same group or either side then you'll be fine. Crabs are good because they flower for a long time. The only time you need to worry is if you have a very early apple but even then if you're in a built up area there's a good chance of having a pollinator close by. Failing that you can always buy a small pollinator on an m27 rootstock and DIY with a feather duster but I'm sure you won't need to in a normal year. I have had to in the last couple of years though but hopefully things will pick up. You could also think of a family tree again make your own with some donated scion. It really isn't so hard. Most good websites will be able to offer suggestions for pollinators but in my experience don't rely on the GC for good advice on that score.
I'm thinking of buying a couple of apple trees; one cooker one eating did want a Bramley but decided against that choice having seen I need two other apple trees to secure pollination success:/ haven't the room for big trees so I'm hoping I can have two patio sized trees and put them by the greenhouse area...any suggestions? I love Braeburns(has to be a juicy crunchy taste/texture) I can't bear biting into a 'sawdust' apple...ugh! Hubby has instructed me to make sure I buy no more big trees after planting two labelled miniature Cherries which so far are 30ft high:/ eek! Pretty though Any advice would be fab
You could grow a 'family' tree where several different varieties (usually 3) have been grafted onto one dwarfing rootstock. The suppliers of these usually ensure the varieties used pollinate each other too, so you shouldn't need to worry about that. I've been quite impressed by mine. It's nearly full size now and only about 8ft tall and 5ft wide.
A trowel in the hand is worth a thousand lost under a bush.
You miniature cherries, may have got huge because you possibly buried the graft and the scion rooted. You have to be really careful not to plant a grafted fruit tree too deep. Even an inch above soil level may bee too little.
Don't buy an apple you can buy in the shop unless it is very special or the ones in the shops taste disgusting.
There are hundreds to choose from and that is literally and understatement.
For a cooker try Grenadier - it is very reliable. But if you're only going to get two trees I'd want a more dual purpose cooker or just cook the desert. When you say 'cooker' that can mean at least two things. Either you want a pulpy apple or a tart apple that doesn't pulp. Orleans Reinette is the favourite cooker for the French Chef but not a great cropper for me. James Grieve is my best cropper for eating and cooking to a pulp. It cooks in a minute unless you have gallons of apple.
Winter King or Winston is supposed to be a great, reliable, good cropping eater of the Cox style. But if you like a Braeburn you're more likely to like Spartan which is also a good cropper unless you live somewhere on the west coast where it rains a lot.
You'll probably want to get it on an M9 or MM106 rootstock for a pot. That sounds counter intuitive but M27 rootstocks aren't vigorous enough to keep on going in a confined space.
You'll want a two year old tree too. A tiny bit more expensive but worth the few ponds.
Don't worry about pollination unless you live in the middle of acres of farm land.
"did want a Bramley but decided against that choice having seen I need two other apple trees to secure pollination success"
Bramley is a triploid apple tree but it definitely does not require two other apple trees to secure pollination success, it only needs one of the correct pollination group.
The problem with triploids is that not only are they are they self sterile but also they cannot pollinate other apple trees.
Bramleys are in pollination group 3 so most other apple trees (the vast majority) will pollinate them.
Posts
Wow, lots of great responses, thanks! I've got a bit of home work to do now looking at all the options, but definitely won't be winding any roses or clematis through my new tree when I get it.
I have a dwarf tree (Scrumptious) and next door have an old apple tree so I'm guessing (hoping) pollination should be okay - the community where I live was built in the 1920's and every garden had either an apple or pear tree put in the garden.
I don't know where the original one in my garden went but I'm looking forward to the new one. I'll let you all know what I've chosen when I get it.
Afraid that pollination is a little complicated with apples - just having another appletree nearby won't do - they have to have a pollinator of the right group - it's explained here http://www.ashridgetrees.co.uk/Hedging-Trees-Fruit-Questions/fruit-tree-growing-guides/Apple-Tree-Pollination
It might be easier to look at the varieties of your available pollinators and see what they are compatible with then make your choice.
Or of course a good crab apple tree will pollinate most apples.
Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.
If there is a crabs such as Golden Hornet, Jelly King, Evereste, plus many more then even if there isn't a domestic apple close by then you'll be fine. There's four groups of pollinators, if you have one from the same group or either side then you'll be fine. Crabs are good because they flower for a long time. The only time you need to worry is if you have a very early apple but even then if you're in a built up area there's a good chance of having a pollinator close by. Failing that you can always buy a small pollinator on an m27 rootstock and DIY with a feather duster but I'm sure you won't need to in a normal year. I have had to in the last couple of years though but hopefully things will pick up. You could also think of a family tree again make your own with some donated scion. It really isn't so hard. Most good websites will be able to offer suggestions for pollinators but in my experience don't rely on the GC for good advice on that score.
I'm thinking of buying a couple of apple trees; one cooker one eating
did want a Bramley but decided against that choice having seen I need two other apple trees to secure pollination success:/ haven't the room for big trees so I'm hoping I can have two patio sized trees and put them by the greenhouse area...any suggestions? I love Braeburns(has to be a juicy crunchy taste/texture) I can't bear biting into a 'sawdust' apple...ugh! Hubby has instructed me to make sure I buy no more big trees after planting two labelled miniature Cherries which so far are 30ft high:/ eek! Pretty though
Any advice would be fab
You could grow a 'family' tree where several different varieties (usually 3) have been grafted onto one dwarfing rootstock. The suppliers of these usually ensure the varieties used pollinate each other too, so you shouldn't need to worry about that. I've been quite impressed by mine. It's nearly full size now and only about 8ft tall and 5ft wide.
You miniature cherries, may have got huge because you possibly buried the graft and the scion rooted. You have to be really careful not to plant a grafted fruit tree too deep. Even an inch above soil level may bee too little.
Don't buy an apple you can buy in the shop unless it is very special or the ones in the shops taste disgusting.
There are hundreds to choose from and that is literally and understatement.
For a cooker try Grenadier - it is very reliable. But if you're only going to get two trees I'd want a more dual purpose cooker or just cook the desert. When you say 'cooker' that can mean at least two things. Either you want a pulpy apple or a tart apple that doesn't pulp. Orleans Reinette is the favourite cooker for the French Chef but not a great cropper for me. James Grieve is my best cropper for eating and cooking to a pulp. It cooks in a minute unless you have gallons of apple.
Winter King or Winston is supposed to be a great, reliable, good cropping eater of the Cox style. But if you like a Braeburn you're more likely to like Spartan which is also a good cropper unless you live somewhere on the west coast where it rains a lot.
You'll probably want to get it on an M9 or MM106 rootstock for a pot. That sounds counter intuitive but M27 rootstocks aren't vigorous enough to keep on going in a confined space.
You'll want a two year old tree too. A tiny bit more expensive but worth the few ponds.
Don't worry about pollination unless you live in the middle of acres of farm land.
Thank you so much, lots of really helpful advice
)
"did want a Bramley but decided against that choice having seen I need two other apple trees to secure pollination success"
Bramley is a triploid apple tree but it definitely does not require two other apple trees to secure pollination success, it only needs one of the correct pollination group.
The problem with triploids is that not only are they are they self sterile but also they cannot pollinate other apple trees.
Bramleys are in pollination group 3 so most other apple trees (the vast majority) will pollinate them.
Two other cookers well worth looking at are Howgate Wonder and Blenheim Orange, both of which are actually dual purpose
http://www.readsnursery.co.uk/cooking-apples/
There's a good explanation of Triploid apples here http://www.orangepippintrees.com/articles/triploid-apple-varieties
Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.
Nice to Keeper's Nursery on the telly tonight.
Very inspiring. I wish I had twenty times the garden I do.