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Northern Greening apple

A very old English apple, widely grown by the 19th century and probably the forebear of many of the major Victorian-era culinary apples.

Northern Greening photo tape

Northern Greening is a very old English apple, already widely-grown by the early 19th century.  It was rated by the Victorian author Hogg as "an excellent culinary apple of first-rate quality" and it cooks to juicy puree.

Whilst one disagrees with Hogg at one's peril, it is perhaps safe to say that its descendants have a better flavour when cooked.  The true importance of Northern Greening lies in its historical significance, as it is the probable parent of Dumelow's Seedling which was in turn one of the most influential Victorian culinary apples.

Northern Greening is in some ways a more "primitive" apple than other culinary apples of the Victorian era.  It has a rather un-prepossesing appearance, and is smaller than the norm for a cooking apple.  However it has the key qualities necessary in a cooking apple: it stores very well (a crucial attribute before the advent of refrigeration), it has a good acidic flavour (the base of all English-style apple cooking), and the tree is very reliable, disease resistant, and productive.  These qualities, along with better size and visual appearance, are to be found in many of its descendants.

Last updated 09 Oct 2010.

Summary

  • Species: Malus domestica
  • Parentage: Unknown
  • Origin: England, United Kingdom
  • Introduced: 18th century
  • Orange Pippin Cultivar ID: 117100

Identification

  • Bultitude apple group: 3. Flushed / striped, smooth, acidic, culinary

Using

  • Flavour quality: Average
  • Flavour style: Sharper
  • Ripening period: Late season
  • Use / keeping: 3 months or more

Growing

  • Cropping: Good
  • Flowering period: Mid season
  • Flowering group: 3
  • Fertility: Self-sterile
  • Triploid: No
  • Gardening skill: Very easy
  • General disease resistance: Good

Climate

  • Suitable for temperate climates
  • Tolerates cold winters

Relationships to other varieties

Offspring of this variety:

Northern Greening identification photos from official fruit collections


UK National Fruit Collection

©Crown Copyright more >
UK National Fruit Collection

Northern Greening identification photos from website visitors


Northern Greening tape


Northern Greening


Rate this variety for flavor

Current rating: 4 out of 5. Total votes cast: 1
 

Visitor comments

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

18 Sep 2009 Mark WebsterWEST CHESTER, BUTLER, OH, United States
The greening has long been a favorite in our family for making pies. Oh, sure. The Granny Smith's are all the rage these days, but the firm, tart greening makes a much better pie. A bit hard for just eating though.

14 Sep 2008 Eunice LynnIOWA SIDNEY, FREMONT CO., United States
I am not 100% certain that this is a Northern Greening but my source who worked for USDA for many years thought it was. This tree is probably 10 years old and this is the first year that the fruit was outstanding. It makes wonderful apple sauce and pies.

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