Ashmead's Kernel Apple
Ashmead's Kernel is an ancient apple dating back to the very early 1700's when it was first grown from a pip by Dr. Ashmead who lived near Gloucester. It is also one of nature's more ugly apples. The fruit is small, a rather dull russet and often rather mis-shaped. In a horticultural show, next to any modern apple, it would not draw a second glance from the judges. But it did win the RHS Award of Garden Merit in 1993 and with good reason, because Ashmead's Kernel tastes like no other apple. The flavour has been described as "having a crisp nutty snap, exploding with champagne-sherbet juice infused with a lingering scent of orange blossom" but we prefer to say that it just reminds us of lemon drops. The flesh is a yellow/green, firm and juicy and the fruit keeps well into the new yeargetting sweeter the longer it is kept.
Ashmeads Kernel can also be cooked and they make outstanding cider. The apples are carried in clusters on short spurs. Lateral branches should therefore be pruned back to 3 or 4 buds and the fruit should be thinned at the fruitlet stage - this also helps ensure it crops every year. It is a late season pollinator which means it is not self-fertile but it can pollinate other apple Trees. For more information on apple pollination and to find a suitable pollinator for Ashmeads Kernel please take a look at our Guide to Fruit Pollination.
If you are unclear about fruit tree sizes take a look at our Guide to Fruit Tree Sizing
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