Apple (Malus) Lord Lambourne M26

Raised by the Laxton Brothers in Bedford in 1907 from 'James Grieve' and 'Worcester Pearmain', 'Lord Lambourne' holds the RHS Award of Garden Merit and remains a firm favourite well over a century on — reliable, well-flavoured, and particularly well suited to cooler, wetter growing conditions. 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 blossom appears in spring, followed by uniform, greenish-yellow fruit flushed and streaked with red. The flesh is crisp, juicy, and sweetly aromatic with a hint of strawberry. Harvest from mid-September, with the fruit keeping in good condition through to November — though the skin can turn a little greasy in storage.

'Lord Lambourne' is partially self-fertile and will crop reasonably alone, though it fruits better with a pollination partner in the same period (Group 2) or an adjacent group (1 or 3). It's particularly well suited to northerly, colder, higher-rainfall areas, with good disease resistance including mildew tolerance. 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.