How do I know what apple tree I've got?

[LouisaJF]

We have an apple tree in the garden which was planted before we moved here. It's quite small and has white blossom. How do I know if they are cooking or eating apples?

You taste one. HTH.

Yep - pretty much as Awesome said. We have an apple tree and a pear tree. The pears are Conference and therefore were easy to identify.

As for the apples - I thought the first year they were cookers, but in subsequent years when we've left the fruit on the tree for longer I think they are a sharp tasting eater - bit like a Grannny Smith, but they are a different variety.

Once you've tried the fruit and decided whether they are cookers or eaters you can note when the blossom comes out, the shape, size and colour of the fruit and when it is ripe to try to narrow it down to a specific variety if you are so inclined. There are hundreds of varieties of apple though so you probably won't be able to.

Or these guys are lovely, and really friendly. They will precisely identify your apple for you when it arrives - but they won't send it back to you!