Lane's Prince Albert apple
A classic Victorian English cooking apple, and remains a popular garden variety.
Lane's Prince Albert is one of the definitive English cooking apples. It was discovered by Thomas Squire of Berkhamsted in the 1840s, and named by him after Prince Albert. It was subsequently taken on by local nurseryman John Lane and it rapidly became a very popular garden apple variety - and remains so in England and elsewhere to this day.
It possesses the typical qualities of an English "cooker" - a juicy acidic flavour and it keeps very well. The apples are a good size, but not as large as many other English culinary varieties. It is an easy tree to grow in the garden, with generally good disease resistance and tolerating a wide range of situations. The Victorian author Hogg rated it as "a marvellous bearer, and rarely fails to produce a crop" - the apples bruise easily but this is unlikely to be an issue for the domestic user.
The parentage is not confirmed but is thought to include Dumelow's Seedling, which it resembles visually and in keeping qualities.
Summary
- Species: Malus domestica
- Origin: Berkhamsted, Hertfordshire, England, United Kingdom
- Introduced: 1850s
- Developed by: Messr. H. Lane & Son
- Orange Pippin Cultivar ID: 112200
- Some historical details taken with kind permission from 'The New Book of Apples' by Joan Morgan and Alison Richards , illustrated by Elisabeth Dowle, published by Ebury Press, 2002.
Identification
- Fruit colour: Red / Orange flush
- Flesh colour: Cream
- Fruit size: Medium
- Bultitude apple group: 3. Flushed / striped, smooth, acidic, culinary
Using
- Good for cooking
- Good for juice
- Good for hard cider
- Cooking result: Puree Lemon-coloured puree.
- Flavour quality: Good
- Flavour style: Sharper
- Ripening period: Late season
- Use / keeping: 3 months or more
Growing
- Cropping: Good
- Flowering group: 4
- Fertility: Self-sterile
- Triploid: No
- Vigour: Slightly small
- Gardening skill: Very easy
- Fruit bearing: Spur-bearer
- Attractive blossom
- General disease resistance: Good
Climate
- Suitable for temperate climates
- Tolerates cold winters
Other qualities
- RHS Award of Garden Merit 1993
Relationships to other varieties
Parents and other ancestors of this variety:
- Dumelow's Seedling (parent) - Dumelow's Seedling is the probable parent of Lane's Prince Albert.
Offspring of this variety:
- Bountiful - Lane's Prince Albert is possibly a parent of Bountiful.
Lane's Prince Albert identification photos from official fruit collections
ARS GRIN
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Lane's Prince Albert identification photos from website visitors
Fruit tree register
Do you have a tree of this variety in your garden or orchard? If so please register the details here and contribute to our international register of fruit trees.
The following Lane's Prince Albert trees have been registered - click the name to view more details of each tree.
You can also view these trees on a map.
United Kingdom
- Carl Stoner in BEDFORD, BEDFORDSHIRE
- Caroline in DUNDEE, SCOTLAND
- Chris Vines in South Wales,
- Cindy Reynolds in Aldershot, Hampshire
- Clive Rowlands in NORTHAMPTON, Northants
- Dr Dennis Bancroft in NEAR RUGBY, NORTHAMPTONSHIRE
- Fred Bloggs in WHITSTABLE, KENT
- Graham Hinchliffe in EASTBOURNE, EAST SUSSEX
- Heidi Saxby in YORKS, NORTH YORKS
- Kate Bagenal-Lowe in WOOLER, NORTHUMBERLAND
- Kevinincornwall in LISKEARD, UNITED KINGDOM
- Lenore Greensides in BEVERLEY, East Yorks
- Mandy Russell in BEDFORD, BEDS
- Margaret Brooker in Ellerker, East Yorkshire
- Martin Timms in Baldock, Hertfordshire
- Rebecca Hughes in BRACKLEY, NORTHAMPTONSHIRE
- Steve Webster in TRURO, CORNWALL
Latest Spring blossom records for this variety
2010 season
- April 2010 - tree owned by Caroline in DUNDEE, United Kingdom
Record your blossom dates in our Fruit Tree Register - more >>.
Latest harvest records for this variety
2010 season
Mature heights for Lane's Prince Albert trees
This table shows the likely mature height for a Lane's Prince Albert tree taking into account the vigor of the variety, the rootstock, and soil conditions.
| Rootstock | Soil quality | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Poor | Below average | Average | Above average | Very good | |
| P22 | 2.1 ft 0.6 m |
2.6 ft 0.8 m |
3.2 ft 1.0 m |
3.7 ft 1.1 m |
4.2 ft 1.3 m |
| M27 | 2.4 ft 0.7 m |
3.0 ft 0.9 m |
3.6 ft 1.1 m |
4.2 ft 1.3 m |
4.8 ft 1.5 m |
| M9 | 3.6 ft 1.1 m |
4.5 ft 1.4 m |
5.4 ft 1.7 m |
6.3 ft 1.9 m |
7.2 ft 2.2 m |
| Bud.9 | 3.6 ft 1.1 m |
4.5 ft 1.4 m |
5.4 ft 1.7 m |
6.3 ft 1.9 m |
7.2 ft 2.2 m |
| Geneva 16 | 3.6 ft 1.1 m |
4.5 ft 1.4 m |
5.4 ft 1.7 m |
6.3 ft 1.9 m |
7.2 ft 2.2 m |
| Geneva 11 | 4.2 ft 1.3 m |
5.3 ft 1.6 m |
6.3 ft 1.9 m |
7.4 ft 2.3 m |
8.4 ft 2.6 m |
| M26 | 4.5 ft 1.4 m |
5.6 ft 1.7 m |
6.8 ft 2.1 m |
7.9 ft 2.4 m |
9.0 ft 2.8 m |
| Geneva 30 | 4.8 ft 1.5 m |
6.0 ft 1.8 m |
7.2 ft 2.2 m |
8.4 ft 2.6 m |
9.6 ft 2.9 m |
| MM102 | 4.8 ft 1.5 m |
6.0 ft 1.8 m |
7.2 ft 2.2 m |
8.4 ft 2.6 m |
9.6 ft 2.9 m |
| M7 | 5.4 ft 1.7 m |
6.8 ft 2.1 m |
8.1 ft 2.5 m |
9.5 ft 2.9 m |
10.8 ft 3.3 m |
| M116 | 5.4 ft 1.7 m |
6.8 ft 2.1 m |
8.1 ft 2.5 m |
9.5 ft 2.9 m |
10.8 ft 3.3 m |
| MM106 | 6.0 ft 1.8 m |
7.5 ft 2.3 m |
9.0 ft 2.8 m |
10.5 ft 3.2 m |
12.0 ft 3.7 m |
| MM111 | 7.2 ft 2.2 m |
9.0 ft 2.8 m |
10.8 ft 3.3 m |
12.6 ft 3.9 m |
14.4 ft 4.4 m |
| Bud.118 | 7.8 ft 2.4 m |
9.8 ft 3.0 m |
11.7 ft 3.6 m |
13.7 ft 4.2 m |
15.6 ft 4.8 m |
| M25 | 9.0 ft 2.8 m |
11.3 ft 3.5 m |
13.5 ft 4.1 m |
15.8 ft 4.8 m |
18.0 ft 5.5 m |
From an idea by N. Buck - more details.
Where to buy apple trees
The following fruit tree nurseries offer Lane's Prince Albert apple trees for sale:
-
Keepers Nursery
United Kingdom More >>
Where to buy apples
No orchards have registered as growing this variety. If you grow this and want to register please go to our Orchard Registration form.
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