Apple (Malus) Cox Self Fertile — Half-Standard, 12L Container, MM106

Cox's Orange Pippin is widely regarded as the finest-flavoured English apple, and Cox Self Fertile offers that same celebrated taste with one important advantage: it doesn't need a pollination partner to crop. The original Cox was raised around 1825 by Richard Cox, a retired brewer, in his garden at Colnbrook near Slough. This self-fertile form has the same medium-sized, golden apples flushed and streaked with orange-red. Its creamy, aromatic flesh has a rich, complex sweetness balanced by a gentle sharpness. Pick the fruit in October and store it somewhere cool, where the flavour continues to develop and the apples keep until January.

This half-standard tree has a clear stem beneath a rounded crown, giving it the classic look of a traditional orchard tree, with 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.

Like its parent, Cox Self Fertile rewards a little extra care. Give it the warmest, sunniest and most sheltered spot you can, in fertile, free-draining soil that doesn't sit wet in winter. Good airflow through the crown helps keep scab, mildew and canker at bay, particularly in wetter parts of the country. Stake the tree securely for the first few years while the roots establish. Water it well during dry spells in the first couple of summers, and mulch in spring to keep the roots cool and moist.

Because it is self-fertile, a single tree will crop on its own, which makes it ideal where there's room for only one apple. Yields improve with another pollination group 3 apple nearby, such as Discovery or James Grieve.

Each tree is hand-selected before dispatch.

Available from Pengelly Garden Centre.