[Jay The Digger]

Does anyone know of an apple tree that grows in the UK, similar to Cripps Pink (Pink Lady)?

I was under the impression that these do not grow well in this country.  However my friends mother has a very similar variety in her garden.  Unfortunately, the name of it passed away with her husband several years ago.

It is a large tree around 20 feet tall and the same spread.  Every year it is covered in large fragrant pink fruit that look exactly like a Cripps Pink apple.  The flesh is white with deep pink around the edges.  The skin is light green that flushes pink almost covering the whole apple.  They are very sweet and usually ripen late August.

Anyone have a similar one to try and identify it? 

I want one of my own 

[Pip Judgeford]

I assume you are looking to track down and buy one?  The tree you described it sounds just fabulous.  An alternative could be to graft your own tree.  Its heaps easier than you think , heaps cheaper too and makes you friends because ya always graft more than you think you need and have spares for others!

You would need to track down somewhere that would sell you root stock (you may have to get 10 or 20), take scion wood from the tree in mid winter, wrap it in damp newpaper & plastic bag & keep in fridge until the root stock arrive (early spring) and do a saddle graft (sharpen the root stock to a /\, slit the scion wood down the middle  to slid over it (matching up the cambium layer), tape up.  Then pot up the bare rooted root stock.  This technique is amazingly forgiving of amateurs!

I've been part of a working bee here in NZ about a month ago who did just this for 7 of our favourite kinds of tree (with 35 root stock in total) and already I can see we have had at least 80% success rate in the grafts.  Sure we have more trees than we need, but at $NZ6 per tree instead of the usual $NZ28 per tree, we will have no trouble finding takers for the spare trees.

Good luck,  Pip

[gillie]

Have you asked Brogdale?  They used to have a grafting service I don't know whether they still do.

Gillie

[SG6]

Posted this for someone else,

http://brogdaleonline.co.uk/

Brogdale hold the national collection, about 2200 varieties of apple.
If you get the leaves, blossom and an apple they will try to identify the tree for you. Well they used to.

Not sure what the site has, just wondering if there is an identification section.

If you are in the kent area they have an open weekend 22+23 Oct I think. Worth a visit to buy apples of types you have never seen or heard of.

[Jay The Digger]

Sounds like grafting is the way to go.

What part of the tree should I cut off to graft?  Whilst not a complete ameteur (I can spot new growth, one year wood etc) I have never tried grafting before.

Is it possible to graft onto an existing apple tree, or does it really have to be done onto the main trunk above the roots?

[Pip Judgeford]

Sounds like grafting is the way to go.

What part of the tree should I cut off to graft? 

Is it possible to graft onto an existing apple tree, or does it really have to be done onto the main trunk above the roots?

Jay the Digger, scion wood is usually a length 10-12 inches long of the new growth ie past season's growth.  When you come to graft a couple of inches gets chopped off to get fresh not dried out cambium.  The idea is the new growth will respond best to the root stock's spring energy boosting the graft in to life and the buds not in the deep dormancy that older wood would be.

I dont know anything about grafting on to existing trees but I do know its possible. Some body else may know?  Or a good grafting book would tell you techniques for this.  I'm envious that UK has good access to such a great "library" of living apple varieties.

Pip