Braeburn Apple Trees

Braeburn Apple Trees: Eating

Braeburn apple trees produce a mid to late season eating apple. This well known variety has lovely bright red and yellow colouring, a superbly crisp, juicy crunch and an excellent sweet and sharp balance of powerful, fruity flavour.

They are common in supermarkets; they travel well and are at their best after a period of ripening off the tree, ideal for large scale imports. They also need plenty of warmth and sun, which makes them unpopular with British commercial growers in most parts of the country, despite being low maintenance and heavy croppers. That said, they have increased in popularity in Kentish orchards, where they perform well on warm South facing slopes. 

To avoid a disappointing flavour, we really recommend this tree for sheltered sites with full sun in Southern areas.

Browse our other apple varieties, or all our fruit trees.
Read our guide to buying apples.

Delivery season: Bareroot plants are delivered in late Autumn to Spring, about November-March inclusive. Pot grown plants, year round. 

Features:

• Sold as bareroot normal trees, or potted mini patio trees.
• Use: Eating. An invigorating, sweet & sharp flavour with a lovely crisp, juicy bite.
• Spur Bearer: suitable for cordons & espaliers, trained on wires.
• Tree's growth habit: Average vigour. Spreading form.
• Pollination Group E
• Not recommended for the North & Scotland
• Not recommended for organic growing
• Harvest: Late October
• Store & ripen in a cool, dry place: Until March

Growing Braeburn Apples

Apples like rich, well drained soil, and will thrive on clay in locations that do not get waterlogged in winter.
A full day of sun and shelter from the wind is ideal.

Rootstocks:
We use MM106 for Braeburn, the UK standard for medium-sized trees, ideal for gardeners. It gives a half-standard about 4m tall, and a bush about 3m. 
MM106 maidens are suitable for cordons and espaliers. 
Dwarf patio trees are on M9.

Disease notes:
Disease susceptibility: Scab, Mildew, Fireblight, Bitter Pit.

Pollination Partners for Braeburn

Your trees are self fertile, making decent crops without a pollination partner, but still perform best with one.
Braeburn is in Pollination Group E, which cross-pollinates with other apple trees in Groups D, E and F.

Use our Fruit Pollination Checker to quickly find pollination partners, or Apple Pollination Guide to learn more.

Did You Know?

A New Zealand breed that was raised commercially by the Williams Brothers at Braeburn Orchards, located in the centre of the country. It was discovered by Mr Moran, a farmer, in 1952 as a chance seedling, most likely between Lady Hamilton and Granny Smith.
It now accounts for almost half of New Zealand's apple exports, and it is very popular in the USA.

Apple Tree Delivery Shapes:

Most of our fruit trees are delivered in up to 3 shapes (maiden, bush, and half standard), and you can buy selected varieties as ready-made cordons and/or potted mini patio trees: scroll up to see what's in stock. 

Maiden: Unbranched tree, the most basic starting size, which you can train into the other forms (apart from mini patio trees).
Bush: Freestanding tree with a short trunk about 60cm tall. It will grow to about 3m. Ideal for small gardens.
Half-Standard: A freestanding form with a trunk about 120cm tall. It will grow into a full sized, "normal" apple tree, about 4m. Ideal for orchards, easy to mow underneath.

Cordon: Braeburn is a spur-bearer, suitable for cordons and espaliers.
Mini Patio Tree: Only sold pot-grown, these use a dwarfing rootstock to drastically reduce the tree's vigour and restrict the mature size. They are suitable for large patio containers, and for small gardens where a normal-sized bush or half-standard form won't fit.

Guide to Fruit Tree Sizing.

Growing Mini Patio Trees in Pots:
Dwarf trees do well in large containers of Rocket Gro Fruit & Veg Compost. During summer, it is essential to provide consistent moisture, without overwatering, and to feed lightly. 
Change as much of the compost as you can every three years.

Notes on planting apple trees:
All fruit trees like a rich soil with decent drainage, protection from the wind and plenty of sun. Apple trees like clay soil, as long as it is not prone to bad waterlogging.

Prepare your site before planting:
Improving the soil helps trees establish quickly and be productive for years. Preparing weeks or months in advance gives best results: fill the planting hole back up, don't leave it open to either dry out or fill with water.

• Destroy weeds and grass (use Neudorff WeedFree Plus weed-killer for tough weeds),
• Dig the soil over, remove stones, then mix in well rotted compost or manure down to the depth of about 2 spades, unless you are on heavy clay:
• On thick clay soil, only dig over the soil to break it up. Apply organic matter as a mulch over the soil after planting.

Spacing apple trees:

• Freestanding bushes: 15-18 feet (5-6m) between trees and rows.
• Freestanding half-standards: 18-30 feet (6-10m) between trees and rows.

In general, allow 1 more metre between rows than between trees along the row.

• Wire-trained cordons: 60-100cm apart along a row.
• Espaliers: 10-18 feet (3.5-6m) apart.

• Watch how to plant a fruit tree for a bush or half-standard.
• To grow a cordon or espalier, you need to install sturdy training wires.

Pruning apple trees: 

• Maidens can be pruned in any style, including into bushes or half-standards.
• Bushes - start here when you buy a bush.
• Half-standards - start here when you buy a half-standard.

Accessories:
For bush and half standard apple trees, a tree planting pack, which includes a wooden support stake & rubber tie (a bamboo cane is enough support for a maiden), and a biodegradable mulch mat, with pegs, to preserve soil moisture stops and prevent weeds.

We strongly recommend using mycorrhizal "friendly fungi" on the roots of all transplanted trees.

Winter wash and greasebands are effective, organic pest prevention.