Can anyone recommend a website to order apple trees from please?
Ideally I’m looking for a Jonagold and a granny smith, both on a root stock(not sure if that is the correct word) to allow them to grow to medium size trees so they will have a decent amount of fruit but I can reach it without a big ladder.
I’ve looked around the garden centres where I live but I’ve only found one Jonagold and it will grow way too big.
Also if anyone can advise if I’ve worked it out correctly that these two will get pollinated ok that would be awesome.
From what I’ve read Jonagold won’t pilonate itself or any other trees but a granny smith will pilonate itself and other trees including Jonagold so the two together should be ok. Does this make sense? I’m just learning about all this now.
Are there any commercial orchards around where you live? (I’m asking because I drive through apple orchards on my way to work) if there are they might be the people to ask and maybe even get saplings from since they will have what does well where you are.
Hi Zoe,
Your Jonagold is a triploïde and will need pollination from a diploid maybe 2 as luck has it the Grannsmith is one. As for height go for trees … If the soil is very rich go for a root stock M9 or M27 even smaller than M9 if poor soil go for M26.
Thanks Wozza that’s great info!
I just found a website which seems to sell a Jonagold of the correct size but it says it’s self pollinating. How can it be?
Here’s the page -Pommier Malus 'Jonagold' acheter | Bakker.com
Interesting maybe being an American apple it’s been since genetically modified to render the pollen fertile?
From what I’ve read they’re high maintenance very susceptible to all sorts of nasties.
The apple mentioned - the reine de reinettes - is wonderful. I have one in my garden. It was fruiting like a mad thing last autumn.
I think it’s a member of the ‘Pippin’ variety. The flavour is superb: I’d even say it beats a Cox’s Orange Pippin. It retains it’s shape when cooked. That seems to have been borne out by the fact that all the fallers which have decayed away on the ground may be black/brown but they are all still round.
Evil, unnatural, and looks awful to me. Hard to get it so it grows in a balanced way. And no one shouldn’t mock physical disabilities but they look deformed to me.
We bought all our fruit trees from the Haute Savoie, a centre of fruit tree production in France. Unfortunately the family run business we got ours from succumbed to covid and closed, but googling pépinière haute Savoie arbres fruitiers give a lot of choice.
Hi all, I don’t post much but hope you don’t mind my thoughts on this.
Jonagold, and in fact all apples need different varieties nearby to have successful pollination. Being a triploid (like Bramley), it must have two other varieties nearby in order to have chance of setting fruit. If your neighbours have fruit trees, even (and especially) flowering crabs, they may do the job. It is however susceptible to a few maladies, which home gardeners may struggle to fend off. There are dozens of good varieties around and I would advise tasting a few local ones, and ask around about disease resistance before making a long term decision on what trees to buy. It can vary dramatically depending on your local climate. Some will tolerate wetter climates, some prefer drier climates, colder and warmer…eg. Cox and Discovery prefer warm and dry, as does Nonpareil, Cornish Aromatic doesn’t mind damp as it comes from the West Country. Some varieties grow healthily and are a good choice for organic methods, and if you give them their preferred conditions you are getting off to a good start.
Reine des Reinettes, as mentioned is a delicious fruit, and is the one traditionally used in tarte tatin as it keeps its shape when cooked.
I would definitely avoid the multi grafted trees, they are a novelty but unless all the varieties used have the same growth rate, they tend to fail.
The Croquers de Pommes https://croqueurs-national.fr may be useful in hoping you decide, as they have regional groups with knowledge on local varieties.
Hope this helps a little,
Happy hunting!
I would second seeing if there is a croquers de pommes group in your area. If like ours then they are hugely knowledgeable about what grows best locally, and can source things for you. Our has a nursery and will give you a graft for 50centimes. (Here tarte tatin is made with Calville apples)
‘(Here tarte tatin is made with Calville apples)’. Thats interesting, I wonder if thats a departmental or regional choice, or a gradual change driven by availability?
We are in 14, where are you?
I won’t argue with the croquers Jane!
My memory of it being made from Reine des Reinettes came from a meeting many moons ago with Joan Morgan, the pomologist from Brogdale whenI was a much younger fruit enthusiast.
This thread led me to this article which I found interesting, as I was not aware it was named after two sisters…
maybe being an American apple it’s been since genetically modified to render the pollen fertile?
