Egremont Russet Apple Trees

• Variety: Egremont Russet, the classic nutty Russet Apple
• Latin name: Malus domestica 'Egremont Russet'
• Use: Eating
• Sold as: Bareroot maiden, bush and half-standard
• Rootstock: MM106
• Mature size: A bush is kept at about 3m. 4.5m by 4.5m if left unpruned
• Pollination: Group B. Partly self-fertile; crops more heavily with a partner from group A, B or C
• Bearing habit: Spur-bearer
• Picking: Late September
• Season of use: October to December
• Site: Suits northerly, colder and wetter areas
• Wildlife: RHS Plants for Pollinators
• Hardiness: H6, hardy through the British winter
• RHS Award of Garden Merit: Yes (1993)
• Delivered: Bareroot, November to April. Collection from Castle Cary also available

Egremont Russet is the best known Russet Apple: a flattened, rough-skinned eating Apple with firm, sweet flesh and a nutty flavour, in season from October to December. It holds the RHS Award of Garden Merit, and suits northerly, colder and wetter parts of the country.

Egremont Russet Apple Trees

'Egremont Russet' most well-known and delicious of the russet apples, where the ripe skin gets rough and ochre coloured. The medium size shape is distinctively flattened, slightly doughnut like.
The creamy-yellow flesh is firm and crisp, quite dry in texture because, for an eating apple, it's relatively high in tannins. In spite of this, it's sweet and has a rich, some say nutty, flavour.
The tree itself is compact and is very free spurring, so it crops heavily.

Egremont Russet will do well in wet conditions and is hardy enough to cope in the far North of the UK as well as being resistant to most apple ailments. The apples store well too.

Top alternative Russet: if you already have the famous Egremont in your collection, or if you didn't like russets in the past, the "other best russet" top try is Norfolk Royal.

Browse our range of apple trees, or all our fruit trees.
Read our guide to buying apples.

Delivery season: Bareroot plants are delivered from late autumn to spring, November to April. Pot grown plants, year round.

Growing Egremont Russet 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.

Thinning the fruit to reduce heavy loads is important.

The Egremont isn't known for its blossom: all apple trees have a charm of their own in spring, but help them along with spring flowering bulbs.
A mature tree could carry light climbers through its boughs: a not too vigorous rose like Felicite Perpetue would look wonderful in northerly conditions, or a honeysuckle like Graham Thomas to attract even more bees.

Disease Notes:
Resistant to scab, good for growing in the West of the UK

Rootstocks:
We use MM106 for Egremont Russet, 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, fans and espaliers. We don't sell ready-trained cordons, fans or espaliers but you can just buy maidens and train them yourself: we can pre-prune them to whichever form(s) you choose and we send you instructions at pruning time in subsequent years.

Pollination Partners for Egremont Russet

Your trees are partly self-fertile, and crop more heavily with a pollination partner.
Egremont Russet is in Pollination Group B, which cross-pollinates with other apple trees in Groups A, B and C.

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

Peasgood Nonsuch is a good partner, a versatile dual-purpose apple.

Planting Companions

Egremont Russet flowers in group B and is partly self-fertile, so a partner from group A, B or C brings heavier crops. Lord Lambourne and Red Windsor are in group B, and Discovery, Katy and Sunset are in group C. Pear trees give a shared orchard a different season. Dust bareroot roots with Rootgrow as you plant.

Why Buy Your Apple Tree from Ashridge?

Ashridge has sold trees since 1949 and is a Which? Best Plant Supplier 2025. Your Egremont Russet is grafted onto MM106 rootstock, and maidens are pre-pruned before despatch for the form you choose. Bareroot trees are lifted to order while dormant and guaranteed for 12 months.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does Egremont Russet need a pollination partner?

It is partly self-fertile, so a lone tree sets some fruit. For full crops, plant it with another Apple that flowers in group A, B or C, such as Lord Lambourne or Discovery.

How long do the Apples keep?

Egremont Russet is in season from October to December. Pick in late September, and store sound fruit somewhere cool, dark and airy.

How big does the tree grow?

On MM106, a pruned bush is kept at about 3 metres and a half-standard at about 4 metres. Left unpruned, the rootstock gives a tree about 4.5 metres tall and wide.

Is Egremont Russet a good Apple for the north?

Yes. It suits northerly, colder, higher rainfall areas, and is a good, regular cropper. Give it as much sun as you can.

When should you prune it?

Prune a bush or half-standard in winter, and trained forms such as cordons in summer. Egremont Russet is a spur-bearer, so it suits trained forms well.

Do you sell Egremont Russet as a cordon or espalier?

You buy a maiden and make the shape yourself, which is how a cordon is made. Tell us the form you want and we pre-prune the maiden before despatch. MM106 suits cordons, fans and espaliers.

When are the trees delivered?

Bareroot only, from November to April, while the trees are dormant. You can order at any time of year and your tree is lifted and sent once the season opens.