It's a lovely apple, the Egremont Russet. With its unusual dry flesh and sweet, nutty flavour it's been a popular UK apple since it was first recorded, as long ago as 1872. It is believed to have been raised by the Earl of Egremont at Petworth, Sussex, so is very much a local apple. I never personally knew the old Earl, but I'm rather inclined to believe that it was one of his many gardeners that did the 'raising' rather than the Earl himself! Still, mustn't malign the dead.
Anyway, no doubt because of its localness, 5 apple trees were planted in the cemetery, in 2015, not long after the Friends of Heene Cemetery were formed. 10 years later, after much judicious pruning, they have grown into splendid trees - 5 metres high and rising. Come mid-April there is an abundance of gorgeous pink and white blossom. Bumblebees, hoverflies, beetles, wasps and honeybees flit from flower to flower. Sadly far fewer nowadays, because of climate change, loss of habitat and overuse of chemical sprays.
The Russet is a very late-maturing apple, but come late-October our trees are laden with fruit, branches are bent low with the weight of the crop, and all the volunteers take home a garden trug filled with delicious apples . . . Ah, if only. The meagre crop never fails to disappoint.
So why is this happening? As my old college lecturer, the splendidly named Austin Healey, might have said, "It's the pollination, dear boy!" Actually, more likely he would have said, "Wake up at the back, Curtis", but that's another story.
There are a number of factors that can affect pollination and the subsequent yield. These include:
- Soil fertility
- Hours of sunlight
- Lack of insects because of cold, wet Springs
- Late frosts during the flowering
- The chilling period
Ideally, Egremont Russets need between 800 and 1,000 hours when the temperature is below 40°F (4•5°C). This is the chilling period. They are an apple more suited to colder, wetter parts of the country. As our climate continues to warm, it will become increasingly difficult to grow apples like Russets or Cox's Orange Pippins in the South-East.
But the main reason our trees have cropped so poorly is that they need to be cross-pollinated with either another apple variety or with a crab apple. For effective pollination, any pollinator trees need to be within 17 metres of the Russets. And, of course, they need to flower at the same time.
So, this year we have come up with a solution. As our trees began to flower, a crab apple tree was purchased from a local nursery. It too had just begun to blossom. It is in a pot, so over the next couple of weeks it will be moved around, between the 5 trees, giving each a good chance of being successfully pollinated. In the Autumn it will be planted in a permanent, central position.
The splendid specimen purchased is a Malus 'Golden Hornet'. It is 2 metres high, and covered in blossom. It is a superb pollinator and the blossom is present for a long time. It really is an enchanting sight when fully grown. Small, yellow crab apples appear later in the year.
If this Summer gives us suitable conditions, come Autumn we will be pairing Egremont Russet apples with a tasty Somerset Cheddar and a glass of cider - and be all the better for it!
Written by Ivor Curtis
