Apple (Malus) Greensleeves M26

Bred at East Malling from 'Golden Delicious' and 'James Grieve', 'Greensleeves' has earned its RHS Award of Garden Merit as one of the most reliable dessert apples for a UK garden — precocious, heavy-cropping, and easy to grow. Grafted onto the semi-dwarfing M26 rootstock, it makes a compact, manageable tree reaching around 2.5–3m in height and spread, well suited to smaller gardens and even container growing.

Pink-tinged white blossom appears in April and May and has some useful frost resistance, followed by pale green fruit that ripens to pale yellow, with a crisp flesh that sweetens as it matures. Harvest from late September into October — it has a shorter season of use than some varieties, so it's best enjoyed fresh rather than stored for long periods, as the flavour can fade once picked.

'Greensleeves' is partially self-fertile and will produce a reasonable crop alone, though it fruits best with a pollination partner in the same period (Group 3), such as 'Discovery' or 'James Grieve'. M26 typically needs staking for the first few years while the root system establishes, and trees usually begin cropping within a year or two.

Plant in full sun or partial shade in moist, well-drained soil, and prune each winter to maintain an open, productive shape. As with all apple varieties, the pips contain small amounts of naturally occurring toxins, so they're best removed if the fruit is being used for cooking with children in mind.

Each tree is hand-selected before dispatch. Available from Pengelly Garden Centre.