Apple (Malus) Rosette™ Half Standard MM106

A highly coloured sport of 'Discovery', bred by Frank P Matthews in Worcestershire, 'Rosette' is one of the prettiest apples you can grow — bright red skin concealing a striking pink, marbled 'rosette' pattern in the flesh, beautiful sliced into a salad or cheeseboard. Trained as a half standard on the semi-vigorous MM106 rootstock, it's grown with a clear stem of around 1.2–1.5m before branching begins, giving a traditional, elegant orchard tree that eventually reaches around 3.5–4m in height and spread.

Pink and white blossom appears in April and May, followed by richly coloured fruit ready to harvest from August — one of the earliest apples of the season. The crisp, juicy flesh has a light, sweet, summery flavour with berry-like notes, best enjoyed fresh from the tree, as it doesn't keep long and the flavour fades within a week or so.

'Rosette' is partially self-fertile, so fruit set is generally good, though it crops even better with a pollination partner in the same period (Group 2) or an adjacent group (1 or 3). It's a precocious, heavy-cropping variety with good disease resistance, including some tolerance to canker, scab, and powdery mildew. The clear stem makes half standards ideal for underplanting or grazing animals to graze beneath once established, suiting informal orchards, larger lawns, or anywhere a more traditional tree shape is wanted. Staking is recommended for the first few years while the tree establishes, and MM106 means it will take a little longer to come into fruit than a bush form on more dwarfing rootstocks — usually 4–5 years.

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.