If my apple tree is blossoming now what pollination group is it in?

[fishfingersandtoes]

Moved into a new garden which has an apple tree. It didn't have much fruit at all last autumn/summer & I'm wondering if I should get another one to pollinate it. Any idea which group it would be in if it's just beginning to flower now in mid April? We are in the SE if that makes a difference.

You’d be best visiting a local nursery and seeing what named varieties were out, then looking up their flowering group. The groups do overlap, so if you’re out by 1 it’s not a problem

Or tell us more about what else is in flower in your garden, so others can see if their garden is at the same stage and see what apples they have in flower

This is peak flowering time, from wiki

• Group A – Early flowering, 1 to 3 May in England ('Gravenstein', 'Red Astrachan')
• Group B – 4 to 7 May ('Idared', 'McIntosh')
• Group C – Mid-season flowering, 8 to 11 May ('Granny Smith', 'Cox's Orange Pippin')
• Group D – Mid/late season flowering, 12 to 15 May ('Golden Delicious', 'Calville blanc d'hiver')
• Group E – Late flowering, 16 to 18 May ('Braeburn', 'Reinette d'Orléans')
• Group F – 19 to 23 May ('Suntan')
• Group H – 24 to 28 May ('Court-Pendu Gris' – also called Court-Pendu plat)

Thanks, that's useful. Choicia (sp?) is in flower and also lilac at the moment.

There is a much easier option, and that's to buy a crabapple. Much longer flowering season, so you'd have plenty of wiggle room.

The issue (and isn't a huge one, but worth knowing) with going to a nursery and checking what's in is that many nurseries will over-winter small fruit trees in cold polytunnels, so they will be precocious to flower; even if they've not been in a tunnel, anything that has been in a pot may well be reacting differently from anything grown in the ground. Of course, a big specialist fruit tree nursery may be able to show you their fields of flowering apple trees growing in the ground, but in my experience, some are much more cagey about this than others.

I have a Meridian apple tree, only a couple of years old, which is in flower now. It is group 3 apparently. I am also in the south. I have another tree that was already in the garden when we moved here, that is also flowering. Two years ago, the old tree had no fruit whatsoever, last year it had absolutely loads. I did wonder whether it is biennial, if that's a thing? However it was the year we had constant heatwaves and no rain for weeks. So it's either that or it's happier with another apple tree friend.

Yes, that’s useful. My two local nurseries I’ve been to all the year round, and the fruit trees have always been outside, so it’s not something I’d thought about.

Yes, biennially bearing is a well known thing. The tree has a bumper crop one year for whatever reason, so next year it’s feeling exhausted and has a rest, which means the third year it’s ready for another bumper crop. The way to avoid it is to take off developing apples to reduce the crop in a bumper year, but who has the heart to do that? Easier to stop biennial bearing starting than it is to stop it once it’s developed

You’re way ahead of me! My garden is all about primroses and the last of the daffodils at the moment. And the magnolias are out.Lilacs are weeks away.

I have a Braeburn, which is flowering this week (early according to the chart). But I think it often flowers around now. My sour cherry is also flowering, but not the plum or sweet cherry. And the Apricot has never done anything useful in its life.

I also find my apple tree gives a bumper crop every 2nd year. My sour cherry is much more temperamental. One cold night after its flowered and the crop is ruined for the year!