DescriptionDelivery & Guarantee
Ashmead's Kernel Apple
Browse all our apple trees here or read our guide to buying the right apple tree.
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.
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Read our full terms and conditions here.
Delivery:
The basic delivery charge for all orders containing fruit trees of any size (bareroot or pot-grown) is £12.55 + VAT.
Because couriers sometimes experience delays, we schedule delivery by week, not by day. Therefore, please plan your planting day for the weekend at the end of the delivery week or for the week following delivery, at the earliest.
You can choose the delivery week that suits you during checkout and we will email you the day before your plants are due to arrive.
Payment: We do not charge your card until we begin to prepare your order for packing.
Guarantee: If any plants die within a year, we will replace them. We only ask that you follow our planting & growing instructions and sent us clear photographs of the dead plants in situ, so we can help to make sure that the replacement plants succeed. You only pay for the delivery of the replacements.
Please note that our guarantee is void if there is a hosepipe ban in your area: your newly planted fruit trees must be watered in dry weather while they are establishing. The best way to water is very thoroughly every few days: at least once a week if there is no heavy rain.
Our nursery has been supplying container grown and bareroot fruit trees to gardeners and orchard owners since 1949. Our website started in 2003, so we do understand the concerns that you may have about buying fruit trees online. If any of your plants are damaged when they arrive or if you are otherwise not satisfied with your order after you inspect it, please repackage it and contact us. We will give you a refund or send replacements and send a courier to come and collect the unwanted plants.
Your 12 Month Guarantee
If any plants die within a year, we replace them if you have followed our instructions. You only pay for
the delivery of the replacements.
Place an order for £250 excluding VAT and delivery and we deliver it for FREE!
Bare-root Plants are only delivered in the winter season, from November to March. Pot grown plants can be delivered all year round
Advantages of Bare-root plants:
You pay less for the same size plants.
You can carry and plan them easily.
You only plant them in winter, so they need less maintenance after
planting. The rain will water them for their first few months.
You get the biggest selection: Many trees are not sold pot-grown.
They are "asleep" in winter - this is the best time to transplant any tree.
They use fewer fertilisers & fungicides, less water and fuel in their production & delivery.
Advantages of Pot Grown plants:
Pot grown plants can be delivered & planted all year round.
Plants with tender roots & larger specimens must be delivered in pots.
Plants in pots can be kept for months longer if there is a delay in planting.
Our Advice to You:
If you can't wait to get planting, order Pot grown plants now.
If you are not in a hurry, order bare-root plants for delivery this winter. Simply add them to your basket and choose a winter delivery date that suits you during checkout.
This will reserve your plants before they sell out.
We won't charge you until the day before delivery, so cancelling your order is always easy.
If you are only ordering chemicals and other small items, delivery is £3.50
Our delivery charge for most bareroot plants is £9.49 + VAT.
If your order contains any standard sized trees, fruit trees or pot-grown plants, then the delivery charge is £12.55 + VAT in TOTAL.
If you live in the Scottish Highlands or the Isle of Wight, there will be an extra charge of £15 + VAT on top of the appropriate basic charge, as listed above.
If your order is over £250 exc. VAT, there will be no delivery charge.
If you are uncertain, just add items to your basket which will calculate the basic shipping charge for you.
