Ashmeads Kernel Apple Trees

Ashmeads Kernel Apple Trees

Ashmeads Kernel apples are quite small, yellow-green, russeted mid-to-late season eaters that juice well, and are also good for both cider and cooking. 
They store well into the new year, getting sweeter over time. 

• Flavour: "Having a crisp nutty snap, exploding with champagne-sherbet juice infused with a lingering scent of orange blossom"; it reminds us of eating pear drops with a little lemon drop at the same time.
• Texture: Firm and juicy.

In a horticultural show, next to any modern apple, these patchy, dull looking, lumpy fruit would not draw a second glance.
However, the fact that it's still popular after 300 years tells you that this is a delicious apple and, although it is not the most consistent cropper, the tree is tough and generally disease free.

Like many heritage apples, this tree is not a regular cropper: on a good year it can make a bumper crop and on a bad year with a cold spring the harvest can be disappointing.
It is also normal for it to begin cropping well a few years later than other trees, but the wait is worth it in our opinion.
The blossom is lovely, and the tree is relatively low maintenance.

Browse our other apple varieties, or all our fruit trees.
Read our guide to buying apples.

Features:

• Use: Eating: firm and juicy, with a sharp, aromatic flavour.
• Also great for cooking, juicing and cider.
• Russeted, lumpy - not pretty looking!
• Spur Bearer: suitable for cordons & training on wires.
• Tree's growth habit: Average vigour. Upright form.
• Tendency to biennial cropping
• Harvest: October
• Store & ripen in a cool, dry place: Until February.

Rootstocks:
All of our Ashmeads Kernel trees are grown on MM106 rootstocks, except for the cordons, which are grown on M9 rootstocks.

Pollination Partners for Ashmeads Kernel:
Your trees are self sterile triploids: its flowers must be pollinated to make any fruit and it cannot pollinate other trees.
Ashmeads Kernel is in pollination Group D.
This means that they will be pollinated by other apple trees in pollination Groups C, D and E.

See our Guide to Apple Tree Pollination for a full list of partners & more tips about pollination.

Ashmeads Kernel Disease notes:
Disease resistance: Scab.
Disease susceptibility: Bitter Pit.

Notes on planting Ashmeads Kernel trees:
All fruit trees like a rich soil with decent drainage, protection from the wind and plenty of sun. Apple trees like clay soil, as long as it is not prone to bad waterlogging.
This tree is a potential choice for organic growing in the more humid West and South of Britain, where scab and canker are more common.

Prepare your site before planting:
Improving the soil in advance of planting your apple trees will help them establish quickly and be productive for years to come. After you have destroyed all the weeds and grass, you can dig the soil over. Remove any stones and rubbish and mix in well rotted compost or manure down to the depth of about 2 spades. You can do this on planting day, but when you do it weeks or months in advance, you will give the soil time to settle again.

Spacing Ashmeads Kernel apple trees:
Freestanding bushes: 12-18 feet (4-6 metres) between trees and rows.
Freestanding half-standards: 18-30 feet (6-10 metres) between trees and rows.
In general, allow 1 more metre between rows than there is between each tree in the row.
Espaliers need to be spaced at 10-18 feet (3-6 metres) apart.

Watch our video on how to plant a fruit tree for full instructions on planting a bush or half-standard sized tree.
If you are growing a maiden sized apple tree into a freestanding tree, a bamboo cane is enough support.
If you are growing a cordon or espalier, you will need to install training wires to support them.
Remember to water establishing apple trees during dry weather for at least a year after planting.

Apple Tree Planting Accessories:
For bush and half standard apple trees, our tree planting pack includes a wooden stake & rubber tie to support the tree and a biodegradable mulch mat with pegs, which protects the soil at the base of your tree from drying out and stops weeds from sprouting.
We recommend using mycorrhizal "friendly fungi" on the roots of all new trees, especially if your soil is poorly fertile.

After you plant an apple tree, the most important thing to do is water it in dry weather and weed around it. Both of these will be necessary for at least a year after planting. We recommend using a mulch mat as well.

The best tip for helping your tree to establish and quickly become mature and productive is to remove all the fruit that it produces in the first year after planting, as soon as the flowers fade. This will give the tree a chance to develop its roots, which are the foundation of the tree's strength, and sturdy branches that can bear the weight of a heavy crop without snapping.
Biennial habit: This tree naturally has a tendency to crop very well in some years, then give a poor harvest the following year. When your trees have established and begun their cropping life, it is important to notice if there is a large crop on the way and thin it out in late June or early July. This is best for the tree and will help it to give a more consistent crop from year to year.

All fruit trees will need formative pruning during their first years. Although this is not complicated, it is important to research and understand the process so that you can apply it to your particular tree and situation.

Harvesting Ashmeads Kernel apples:
Your trees should crop in early to mid-October. Ashmeads Kernel apples taste best once they have ripened off the branch for a few weeks and they will store in a cool, frost-free place for about 4 months.
Read more about picking and storing apples here.

Hygiene & Diseases:
Dead, damaged or diseased wood can be pruned off as soon as it appears.
Disinfect your pruning tools between every cut if there is any sign of disease.
Burn or dispose of any diseased material, do not compost it.

Apple Tree Delivery Shapes:

Most of our fruit trees are delivered in up to 3 shapes (maiden, bush, and half standard), and you can buy selected varieties as ready-made cordons and/or potted mini patio trees: scroll up to see what's in stock. 

Maiden: Unbranched tree, the most basic starting size, which you can train into the other forms (apart from mini patio trees).
Bush: Freestanding tree with a short trunk about 60cm tall. It will grow to about 3m. Ideal for small gardens.
Half-Standard: A freestanding form with a trunk about 120cm tall. It will grow into a full sized, "normal" apple tree, about 4m. Ideal for orchards, easy to mow underneath.

Cordon: Cox is a spur-bearer, suitable for cordons and espaliers.
Mini Patio Tree: Only sold pot-grown, these use a dwarfing rootstock to drastically reduce the tree's vigour and restrict the mature size. They are suitable for large patio containers, and for small gardens where a normal-sized bush or half-standard form won't fit.

Guide to Fruit Tree Sizing.

Did You Know?

Ashmead's Kernel is an ancient apple dating back to the early 1700's, raised by Dr. Ashmead who lived near Gloucester. Apple trees with 'kernel' in the name are usually chance finds.