Leicestershire Heritage Apple Project
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ORCHARD OPPORTUNITY
Do you have an old unproductive orchard which you would allow to be grafted over to Leicestershire cultivars? If so, please contact us.
LEICESTERSHIRE APPLE TREES
Winter 2011-2012: All of the above, grafted to order in Feb; ready in August.
We are taking orders for 2011-12 now, prepayment only. However, the Diversity website is completely non-commercial, so if you wish to acquire any of these trees, or get more information, you'll need to go to our other website by clicking on BUYING LEICESTERSHIRE APPLES and following the links.
Certain other rare varieties may be added (Leicestershire Unique Seedlings, redfleshed, etc) later.
Community Orchards
We are keen on promoting local community orchards. A private collection of apple trees rarely outlives the person who planted it. New people move in, and the orchard is grubbed up or gradually disappears.A community orchard can be useful over a much longer period of time.
The same is true of orchards attached to certain large properties such as those owned by the National Trust.
If you need help with stock selection of Leicestershire apples, please contact us.
Heritage Orchard helpers needed
We are trying to set up an orchard concentrating on apples unique to the Leicestershire area. Many of these are single trees and in danger of becoming extinct. We need help clearing and fencing an area to plant young trees we graft. Also we need help grafting these rare types, to be guarded elsewhere. Grafting can be taught. Tree guardians also needed, either for trees in the ground or in large pots.What is a tree guardian ?
A tree guardian is a person or organisation that has agreed to home a Leicestershire or rare apple cultivar. They need to make the scion and budding wood available to others, in order that the tree can be reproduced and the cultivar preserved.Tree guardians must ensure the tree has a permanent label (such as a laser engraved one) attached; this can be tied on at first but once the tree is large enough should be nailed on with the correct fittings.
Tree may be supplied as grown on their own roots (longest living), on vigorous rootstock, or on very dwarfing rootstock (where space is very limited or the tree needs to be in a pot, downside is a shorter lifespan) depending on the guardians circumstances.
Tree guardians are welcome to be involved in grafting or other areas of the project.
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Eventually there will be plenty of fruit to go round, but it's likely to take a while.
We are interested in hearing from anyone with an orchard containing unknown or rare apples.
We also want to learn about own-root trees, which have some advantages over grafted trees, and about preserving graft wood at awkward times of year (e.g. late summer or autumn). If you have experience in either area, we would like to hear from you.
Mel Wilson & Nigel Deacon.
An overview of Leicestershire apples / Producing new apple trees
LEICESTERSHIRE HERITAGE APPLE COLLECTION
There are about 100 apples in the collection so far.
They have an astonishing variety.
Most are not in the National Fruit Collection. A few of them are listed below.
LEICESTERSHIRE HERITAGE APPLES
Annie Elizabeth..
Barnack Beauty..
Barnack Orange..
Belvoir Seedling..
Cross's Seedling ?
Dumelow's Seedling..
Foxton's Pride..
Foxton's Delight
Foxton's Red Margaret
Martin's Custard..
Langton's Nonsuch..
Leicester-Burton Pippin (a.k.a. French Codlin)
Lord Burleigh
Marriage Maker
Prince Charles
Queen Caroline
St. Ailred
St. Cecilia ?
Sweetings
(*) indicates scion wood promised, * indicates we have the variety or know where to get it, ? = tree not yet found
Identification of the Foxton varieties is proving to be difficult.
LEICESTERSHIRE HERITAGE UNIQUE SEEDLINGS
(descriptions and pictures to be added shortly:)
Bumble Bee Lane apple..
Calla Colossus, found near Leicestershire / Northants border
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Calla Colossus..
Croft Late..
Croft Pippin..
Croft Sharp.. - cider
High Cross Apple.. - late eater; very good for drying
Sam Bell's Special - very small early cooker
Shepherd's Delight - brightly coloured early eater; quite tart, scented
Seagrave Apple.. - late eater
Whitwick Pippin (aka Berkin Beauty)..
Wibtoft Pippin..
Wyggeston Pippin..
and, from outside Leicestershire.........
Barnack Orange - Stamford variety
Blackjack.. - old Norfolk variety
Metton Roy.. - old Norfolk variety
Burford Red.. - found in Oxfordshire: unique seedling
Burford Sour.. - found in Oxfordshire; unique seedling
Burford Yellow.. - found in Oxfordshire; unique seedling
Catshead - old English, 1600s
George's Red.. - found in Roundbush, Essex; red-fleshed.
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Kingston Black -cider
Mere Pippin.. - found in Wiltshire; unique seedling
Pendragon - cider; looks as though it will be redfleshed
Pig's Snout - cider
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Sops in Wine, red-fleshed
Surfleet Sour - found in Surfleet, Norfolk. Late eater, tart, sometimes with red flesh.
Witney Deerpark .. - found in Oxfordshire; unique seedling
Wyken Pippin.. - old Warwickshire variety.....
Lots more redfleshed - not listed here.
Witney Pear.. - pre-commercial Asian giant cooking pear - found in Oxfordshire
Please contact Mel or myself if you would like to assist.
CURRENT WORK
We are looking for the following varieties:
Foxton's Pride (a.k.a. Foxton's Favourite)
Cross's Pippin, from Hugglescote
St. Cecilia, from Mount St. Bernard's Abbey
A number of old trees have been found in and around Foxton village and locks. These are being investigated.
Mel was on Radio Leicester's gardening programme on Nov 1, 2009, giving an update about the project. She can be heard here . ...this recording is reproduced by permission of Radio Leicester, with special thanks to Dave Andrews.
OTHER ARTICLES
Mel has also been looking into old English cider apples - click on Foxwhelps for more information.
Nigel Deacon / Mel Wilson
