The comprehensive resource for apples and orchards

Limelight apple

Developed by UK apple breeder H. Ermen, based on the Greensleeves apple from East Malling Research Station.

Limelight photo tape

A wonderfully attractive crisp and refreshing apple with a smooth yellow/green skin. A modern variety developed in Kent by Hugh Ermen with the amateur gardener and small grower in mind, this apple is an improved 'Greensleeves' type and is ready for picking in September.

Visitors to this website may contact Hugh Ermen through us and we will pass correspondence on to him.

Last updated 07 Jan 2011.

Summary

  • Species: Malus domestica
  • Parentage: Discovery and Greensleaves
  • Origin: England, United Kingdom
  • Introduced: Hugh Ermen, 1980s
  • Orange Pippin Cultivar ID: 104000

Using

  • Good for eating fresh
  • Good for juice
  • Flavour quality: Good
  • Flavour style: Sharper
  • Ripening period: Mid season
  • Use / keeping: 2-3 weeks

Growing

  • Cropping: Heavy
  • Flowering group: 3
  • Fertility: Self-sterile
  • Triploid: No
  • Vigour: Slightly small
  • Gardening skill: Very easy
  • General disease resistance: Good

Climate

  • Suitable for temperate climates
  • Suitable for NW. Scotland?: Yes
  • Suitable for N. England?: Yes

Relationships to other varieties

Parents and other ancestors of this variety:

See also:

Limelight identification photos from official fruit collections


UK National Fruit Collection

©Crown Copyright more >
UK National Fruit Collection

Limelight identification photos from website visitors


Limelight apples tape


Limelight apples

Limelight apple blossom tape


Limelight apple blossom


Rate this variety for flavor

Current rating: 3 out of 5. Total votes cast: 2
 

Visitor comments

(Use the form at the bottom to add your own comments about this variety)

31 Jul 2010 N. BuckCAMBRIDGESHIRE, United Kingdom
Moira................ Lack of fruits on your tree could have been due to................ 1 - poor pollination due to not enough bees, or perhaps bad weather that grounded the bees................. 2 - lack of a suitable pollinator tree nearby (a different variety flowering at the same time)................ 3 - perhaps the blossom was damaged by the unusually late frosts that we had this year................. 4 - trees sometimes don't fruit well until they've laid down a good root system, which can take a few years, depending on your growing conditions and the variety.

28 Jul 2010 Moira HarperWORCESTERSHIRE, United Kingdom
I purchased an espallier limelight apple tree this year, which had loads of blossom, and then shows no sign of producing any apples. I am wondering what I should have done differently. Have kept it well watered through this very dry summer!!!
29 Jun 2010 Dave LiezenWA, United States
Lyn Jones: I have been looking at one of the parent cultivars of Limelight, Greensleeves, in part because it is reputed to have a long bloom time. Have you kept track of the length of bloom for your (admittedly young) Limelight tree in 2010? Also, how do you find the flavor? Hugh Ermen has developed quite a reputation for creating Herefordshire Russet and Scruptious, therefore this cultivar piques my interest. BTW, the tree with longest bloom time in my yard has been Ashmead's Kernel: 19 days, overlapping the blooms of most of my trees. This will be the first year in which I may taste its fruit. It seems to be unknown in eastern WA.

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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 Limelight 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



Latest Spring blossom records for this variety

2011 season

  • 3rd May  2011  - tree owned by Stan in GARDENSTOWN, United Kingdom

2009 season

  •  May  2009  - tree owned by Lyn in Cambridge, United Kingdom

Record your blossom dates in our Fruit Tree Register - more >>.

Latest harvest records for this variety

2011 season

    2009 season

    • September  2009  - tree owned by Lyn in Cambridge, United Kingdom

Mature heights for Limelight trees

This table shows the likely mature height for a Limelight 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 Limelight apple trees for sale:

Where to buy apples

The following orchards and suppliers offer Limelight apples for sale. map >

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