Apple (Malus) Stirling Castle MM106

Raised near Stirling, Scotland, in the 1830s, 'Stirling Castle' is a hardy Scottish heritage apple, valued by the Victorians as "an excellent early culinary apple" and still popular today, particularly in damper climates. Naturally a rather weak-growing, compact variety, even on the semi-vigorous MM106 rootstock it tends to stay more modest than most MM106 apples, typically reaching around 2.5–4m in height and a narrower 1.5–2.5m spread.

Pink and white blossom appears in spring, followed by large green fruit that turns yellow with a red blush. The white flesh cooks down to a sharp, fruity purée, making it a lovely, frothy cooker — best used within about six weeks of picking, as it doesn't keep long. Harvest from early autumn, with the fruit storing to late autumn.

'Stirling Castle' 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 a genuinely heavy cropper for its compact size, and benefits from thinning to keep the fruit a good size.

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.