Apple (Malus) Howgate Wonder M26

A true giant of the orchard, 'Howgate Wonder' is famous for producing some of the largest apples you'll ever grow, alongside a well-deserved RHS Award of Garden Merit. Grafted onto the semi-dwarfing M26 rootstock, it makes a compact, manageable tree reaching around 3m in height and spread, ideal for the average garden.

Pink-tinged blossom appears in May, followed by very large fruit with yellow-green skin flushed and striped red. Primarily a culinary apple, its mild, firm flesh holds together beautifully when cooked, though it also sweetens nicely if left to ripen further, making it good for eating fresh too. Harvest from mid-October, with the fruit storing well right through to March.

'Howgate Wonder' is partially self-fertile and will crop reasonably alone, though it performs better with a pollination partner in the same period (Group 3) or an adjacent group (2 or 4). It's a vigorous, heavy cropper — thinning the fruit in late spring or early summer helps keep both size and quality up, and prevents the tree settling into a biennial bearing pattern. M26 typically needs staking for the first few years while the root system establishes, after which it's largely self-supporting.

Plant in full sun 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.