Apple (Malus) Cox Self Fertile — Patio, 11.5L container, M27

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. The 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 patio tree is grafted onto the very dwarfing M27 rootstock and reaches around 1.5–1.8m tall with a similar spread. That makes it ideal for a large patio container, a small border or a courtyard. Growing Cox in a pot has a real advantage: you can place it in the warmest, sunniest and most sheltered corner of the garden, which is exactly what this variety loves. Use a free-draining, loam-based compost and never let the pot sit in water over winter. Move the tree into a pot at least 50cm across as it establishes. M27 trees have a small root system, so keep the tree permanently staked and water regularly through the growing season, especially while the fruit is swelling. A spring feed with a balanced fertiliser keeps cropping steady. Good airflow around the tree helps keep scab, mildew and canker at bay, particularly in wetter parts of the country. Trees on M27 usually begin fruiting within a couple of years of planting.

Because it is self-fertile, a single tree will crop on its own, which makes it perfect for a patio 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.