Varietes of Apple Tree - advice please ..

[Millie1]

Does anyone have any experience of these apple trees: James Grieve, Laxton's Superb, Worcester Permain, Discovery and Beauty of Bath? Landscapers have proposed above as species of eating apple ... reading up on them, none seem the nice, crunchy, juicy variety. I think Beauty of Bath is eating - garden people marked it cooking but website I looked at said otherwise. They're putting in Grenadier & Bramley cooking apples.

It's going to be around 22 trees in total - 12 apple, 4 cherry (2 wild, 2 eating), 4 pear and 2 plum so want to try to get a good balance - the apples bother me most so I would welcome any advice.

Thanks a lot!

[Millie1]

Sorry - Discovery = cooking!

[neversaydie]

This is from memory - my father grew apples commercially and I used to help pick when a student, and my grandparents had a garden orchard full of old varieties.

James Grieve - nice flavour, bruises if you look at it and doesn't store well
Laxtons Superb - lovely crisp, sweet-tart apple, reddish flush with yellowish stripes
Worcester Permain - nice flavour, old variety, tends to become a biennial cropper
Discovery - ripens very early, sweet and crisp and scented - does not keep at all. Not a cooker,
Beauty of Bath - pretty tree, I remember the fruit as sweet and a bit woolly.

I agree you could do better... I would stick with the Laxtons Superb, and ditch the rest. You really need to talk to a specialist nursery about your tastes, compatible pollination groups and what will suit the climate in your part of the country. They could probably help with better choices of cherry, plum and pear as well.

[Millie1]

Thanks neversaydie. This is invaluable advice - I've e-mailed the landscapers and asked them to call me with some alternatives. Thanks again!

[Takver]

I've had good experiences with Deacon's Nursery on the Isle of Wight, they might be able to suggest something good?

[mistlethrush]

No - James Greeve is SUPERB - but its an early eating apple and doesn't store. You can start eating them in late August but need to finish them in September - anything left into October has gone from crunchy deliciousness to rather a cotton-wooly texture.

If you're going to have eaters, make sure that you get a progression - for instance, I would only plant one James Greeve, but an eater that stores better for longer, you might want more than one.

Howgate wonder is a good variety - its a cooker but doesn't lose its shape in cooking as much as Bramley - but if you store it its delicious to eat raw December/Jan.

But if you're storing apples and pears you need to do this in separate buildings - otherwise your pears won't ripen properly.

[Millie1]

Thanks Takver & Mistlethrush, more good advice. Didn't know about storage - so much to learn

[GrendelsMum]

Discovery is absolutely delicious, but again it's early and doesn't store. Sounds like it would be an awkward combination with James Greeve.

My dad tells me that his grandad could eat an apple from his own orchard every day of the year - but I have no idea what combination of varieties he had to achieve this!

[GrendelsMum]

p.s. sounds to me like the landscapers are a bit dubious when it comes to fruit varieties?