DescriptionDelivery & Guarantee
Malus domestica Somerset Redstreak Cider Apples
Browse all our apple trees here or read our guide to buying the right apple tree.
A solid cider variety, the Somerset Redstreak is the apple behind Thatchers Redstreak Cider, which won the 2007 International Cider and Perry Competition. The attractive fruit are deep, shiny red with stripy marks. They aren't great eaters, having a rather wooly texture and the juice is a refreshing, mild bittersweet. This is a good tree if you are in hurry to start making cider as it will begin cropping a year before most other varieties. Though it does tend to a biennial cropping habit, it is a reliable in its cycle and crops very well during an active yearthis trait also has the side benefit of letting the tree grow faster. Thatchers use a technique called cuvage to improve their single variety Redstreak cider. Unless you are a cider technician, we would recommend using Somerset Redstreak in conjunction with other cider apples to get a full bodied drink. The fruit are ready to go in the first weeks of October.
Pollination Partners for Somerset Redstreak
There is no better way of ensuring strong pollination than by planting a crab apple like
Golden Hornet nearby. If you want to use an apple tree, Somerset Redstreak is in the mid-season flowering group and can be pollinated by any fertile tree in the
Apple Tree Pollination guide, though another mid-season variety is best if you only plan on having a few Trees.
Somerset Redstreak Rootstocks and Diseases
This variety is grown on the traditional M25 rootstocks that produce full standard apple trees of 5 metres + in height.
Apple Sawfly can be an issue with this breed. If you don't want to use a pesticide, rake the soil around the tree thoroughly a few times during the winter. This exposes the hibernating insects to the winter frosts and kills them - if sparrows, blue tits and robins do not get them first. Destroy any young or fallen fruit that have a tell tale hole in them.
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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.
