apple trees

[Framboise]

Having hacked away enough long grass to plant the beginnings of my mini-orchard,  I now have one little Jonagold apple tree supporting ONE glorious apple on it!

One solitary pommier doth not make an orchard of course but I dearly wanted to have the same trees my grandad had here in his garden when I was a child, so decided last autumn to try to take cuttings, starting them off in water as I always do and then planting them on when a bit of root appears.   Alas it was not to be as they all died! However  I was determined to try to get myself clones of these particular apple trees because they are very old - probably well over 100 years old as my parents house was built on part of an old orchard and my grandad kept these three trees because the fruit is so delicious - so in a moment of madness I ate the apple, dried the pips and then popped them into a pot of compost where they remained most of the winter sheltered in my greenhouse.   

Springtime arrived and there, to my amazement,  are three four inch high apple trees that have now been potted-up which I will grow-on until the are big enough to make the journey over to join my little orchard.   (No they aren't weeds that have popped up either!)  I can't believe it actually 'cos I was told that fruit trees are not easy to propogate and I now have three.  Amazing.

Anyone else had such luck?

[Effie]

Hi well done...don't want to pour cold water on your achievement  but do fruit trees from seed bear fruit...or do they have to be grafted?

I used to grow oranges and lemons...until I was told that they had to be grafted...if I wanted them to flower.

I think I remember Titmarsh putting cuttings in a trench to root...but on second thoughts...maybe that was black currants.

Effie[:)]

 

"To have all give all" Raj

[Nicos]

I think that they do fruit, but may not come true if they could have been pollinated from a different variety nearby.

Hope they do succeed as I too have about 6 trees growing planted from my SIL's apple pips about 4 years ago. They are now about 12" high and I plan to put them in a hedge I want to create around my field in France. ( still can't believe I can say that!!!![:-))])

The rootstock alters the final height of the trees too as I understand.

Good luck with them and let us know how you get on- your grandfather would be proud of you![:)]

[Framboise]

As I said, the parent trees are very old  and my Dad (who is 68) remembers climbing these trees as full-sized when he was a very small boy and falling out of them often!   I think its unlikely that they were grafted specimens  because there is no scion visible,so perhaps they might even be some ancient old English apple tree that was long forgotten about, especially as I did try to discover what they were in my garden encyclopaedia and found nothing like them?   Either way, I am delighted that I have these three little nippers to remind me of Grandad when we flit off to the Orne next year.  And they will be at home amongst the cidre orchards of Normandy too!

 

[Kate]

Trees raised from seed won't come true to the original variety, but you may just find that you have a super new variety! That's how Cox found his Orange Pippin. And anyway, you'll have all the fun of growing something totally new. Can you still access the old trees? If so, you can send leaves and fruit to the RHS at Wisley, where they will set their experts onto them and idientify the varieties for you.Dunno how much the service costs now, sorry. I did this years ago, and was embarrassed to learn that one of the tress was just a humble old Bramley! No less tasty, though. The other tree was something I'd never heard of, called Ingrid Marie, a super apple which fruits in September and has to be eaten up as it doesn't keep very well - what an excuse for a feast! Anyone out there ever come across it? But I digress.

Enjoy your trees!

 

[Framboise]

Thankyou Kate.   I can still get to the trees as they are in my parent's back garden, and I am now awaiting the harvest time when I shall send off three fruits from each tree to Brogdale who offer this service.  I think its about £9.oo per identification.

Brogdale hold the national collections of fruit & veg.  I trawled their website to find my old apples but there was nothing remotely like them, so there is a chance they are some long forgotten subspecies, however I'm not bothered if they are some ordinary apple because its the sentiment  I want to preserve.  They will be a constant reminder to me of my Grandad and a happy childhood - all wrapped up in a couple of English apples in a French orchard!