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All about apples, pears, plums, and cherries - and orchards where they are grown

Howgate Wonder Apple tree

Owner: Mr

Location:  Southampton, HAMPSHIRE, United Kingdom

Age:Planted in about 1980
Age of this tree:46 years
Rootstock:m9
Soil:neutral loam over gravelly clay 
Climate at this location:warm, windy but coastal city microclimate
Pruning:yes to keep under control/ broken branches
Tree form:Bush (wider at top than bottom)
Height:Between 6ft / 2m and 15ft / 4m
Cropping:Heavy crops
Growth:This tree grows easily here
Herbicides:Manual treatment (hoeing and weeding)
Pesticides:Organic treatments
Local pests:codling moth

Owner's comments

Planted this tree and a russet on our allotment early 1980's. Sometimes biennial, last 4 years huge crops. Bees love the fragrant flowers, we love the fragrant fruit! Mostly eaten raw and use the best fallers and going off ones for cooking, will keep to xmas and beyond if cool and undamaged. Tree inclined to skinny branches which sometimes break, lower scruffy small branches produce apples inclined to bitter pit in dry years - moral - prune and keep pruning! I don't thin so fruits only average a pound - just right! We are not far from I.O.W. where I think it was bred so maybe that's why we do so well with minimal bother.

Season records for this tree

  • 2012

    Size: 3.0m / 10.0ft high   3.5m / 11.7ft wide
    surprised to get such a good year (3 in a row) as many people suffering blossom loss and other problems. Apples kept until Feb - some left frozen on tree were ok to cook!
  • 2010

    Harvest: 3rd week September
    very hot dry earlier then wet to swell fruit
  • 2009