Apple varieties for central Scotland

[Jamie McDougall]

Hi all,

First post on here, found the group via Stephen Hayes’ videos online. I intend on having my first go at cider making this weekend but it has got me thinking, does anyone know what cider apple varieties grow well around west central Scotland ? Or just generally, what apple varieties grow well in this area? For all those on here beyond the UK, it is reasonably cold and very wet here. First frost around early October and last around late May. Winter low temps of around -10c.

Thanks for any advice,

Jamie

Sent from my iPhone

[Michael]

Are you trying to plant an orchard? If so, start by mainly planting varieties which don't suffer much from canker, and then add others to test them.

Our year here in Germany has been a chilly and very rainy one, with winter temperatures far below yours (any British cider apple will cope with -10C), and I did get some canker on Dabinett, White Norman, Belle/Bill Norman and Herefordshire Redstreak (still fairly young trees on very heavy soil).

Even up where you are I'm sure the start of spring will have started to become inconsistent, so advising on early or late blooming varieties is tricky.

If regional growers concentrate on earlier ripening varieties, that's what you'll need to do, too.

[Oliver Kierse]

Hi Jamie,

While your winters seem colder, the high rainfall is similar to what we have in the west of Ireland. In the absence of anything better, I’d suggest that you have a look at the Irish Seedsavers website. They are rescuing and selling old Irish apple varieties, which do much better in our climate than many of the well-known commercial varieties.

Few of these are the high tannin type, so it might be worthwhile to experiment by planting a couple of specimens of the well-known cider varieties also. I’ve done that, and so far, most are doing fine. Depending on your soil and situation, you might be lucky. In my case, there is canker on Dabinett and a little on Stoke Red, but they seem to be getting more resistant as they mature. The others are doing fine so far.

Regards

Olly

> On 16 Oct 2021, at 11:08, Jamie McDougall <jamiemcdo...@gmail.com> wrote:
>
> Hi all,

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[Dave Fulton]

Hey Oliver, you may want to contact  Max and Penny Nowell   at Steilhead Cider (https://www.steilheadcider.co.uk/) for some ideas. I think they are in the south of Scotland (Dumfriesshire maybe?). Max wrote a HILARIOUS write up of their first couple of seasons growing cider apples in the totally awesome GRAFTWOOD magazine (after writing a very touching earlier tribute to his mum, the famous Jean Norwell, in an earlier edition) and spoke of some success growing 'traditional' cider fruit in  Scotland, alongside table fruit. Talking of his article, his Quincunx gag had me shooting cider through my nostrils in laughter - but I'm pretty juvenile and easily amused, particularly after a glass or two :) 

DF

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[Neil Clapperton]

Hi Jamie, 

The higher rainfall might be an issue in the west-central belt, so I'm not sure if I can answer your question.  However, cider varieties are doing well across the East Coast, from Dingwall to Fife.  Staples like Dabinett, Black Dabinett, Yarlington Mill, Major, Michelin, Foxwhelp, and Morgan Sweet, are all productive.  Even Kingston Black works in Stonehaven.   Also, there are multi-purpose Scottish varieties that can provide the sharps and sweets: Bloody Ploughman, James Grieve, and so on.  I've been experimenting with a huge range of cider varieties but my trees are too young, apart from Broxwood Foxwhelp.  A good source of information might be Welsh Mountain Cider, whose orchards feature varieties tested in damper conditions.

Kind regards

Neil