Apple (Malus) Christmas Pippin® — Half-Standard, 12L Container, MM106

Christmas Pippin is one of the most exciting new English apples of recent years, with a discovery story that is hard to beat. In 2003, Geffrey Rowson found the original tree growing as a chance seedling beside the M5 motorway in Somerset, most likely sprung from a windfall from one of the orchards that once grew in the area. After careful trials it was introduced to gardeners in 2010, and it has quickly won a following for its Cox-style flavour on a more easy-going tree. The medium-sized apples have thin, golden-yellow skin flushed and streaked with red. The crisp, juicy, creamy flesh is naturally very sweet, with a lovely aromatic quality and a gentle balancing sharpness. Pick the fruit in early October and store it somewhere cool, and true to its name it will keep until Christmas.

This half-standard tree has a clear stem beneath a rounded crown, which gives it the classic look of a traditional orchard tree and leaves room to walk or mow beneath it once mature. It is grafted onto the semi-vigorous MM106 rootstock and typically reaches around 3.5–4m tall at maturity, though regular winter pruning keeps it smaller. It suits a medium-sized garden, a paddock or a small orchard. Plant in full sun in any reasonably fertile, well-drained soil, allowing around 3.5–4m between trees. Stake securely for the first few years while the roots establish, and water well during dry spells in the first couple of summers. Christmas Pippin flowers and crops generously and has good natural disease resistance, so it is a rewarding choice for gardeners who love the flavour of Cox but want a more reliable tree.

Christmas Pippin is not self-fertile, so plant it near another apple from pollination groups 2, 3 or 4, such as Discovery, James Grieve or Cox Self Fertile. In most built-up areas, neighbouring trees will also help with pollination.

Each tree is hand-selected before dispatch.

Available from Pengelly Garden Centre.