Apple Tree Varieties Suitable for Scotland & the North
Apple trees are incredibly hardy, however, their flowers can be damaged in freezing weather, which prevents them from cropping that year.
The damage happens when frozen flowers defrost too quickly, so a solution for all but the coldest conditions is to plant your fruit trees against a west facing wall or other position where they get no morning sun. By the time the sun gets to the flowers, the air temperature should have risen sufficiently for them to have thawed slowly and safely.
The apple trees listed below will crop well in the Northern & Scottish climate.
The ones noted as having Frost Hardy Flowers are extra tough, suitable for the coldest parts of the North and Scotland, even in frost pockets or cold pool valleys.
The further North you are, the shorter your growing season, so the earlier you want your harvest to be. The short list of trees with frost hardy flowers and early cropping times is: Discovery, James Grieve, and Worcester Pearmain.
| Name | Type | Harvest | Pollination Group | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Arthur Turner | Cooking | Early | C | |
| Ashmeads Kernel | Eating | Late | D | |
| Beauty of Bath | Eating | Early | C | |
| Blenheim Orange | Cook/Eat | Late | D | Triploid |
| Bloody Ploughman | Eating | Main | D | |
| Charles Ross | Cook/Eat | Main | C | |
| Court Pendu Plat | Eating | Late | G | |
| Crispin | Cook/Eat | Late | C | |
| Discovery | Eating | Early | C | Frost Hardy Flowers |
| Egremont Russet | Eating | Main | B | Frost Hardy Flowers |
| Ellison's Orange | Eating | Main | D | Frost Hardy Flowers |
| Early Victoria | Cooking | Early | C | |
| Fiesta | Eating | Main | D | Frost Hardy Flowers |
| Greensleeves | Eating | Main | B | Frost Hardy Flowers |
| Grenadier | Cooking | Early | C | |
| Howgate Wonder | Cooking | Late | D | |
| Irish Peach | Eating | Early | B | |
| James Grieve | Cook/Eat | Early | C | Frost Hardy Flowers |
| Jupiter | Eating | Main | D | Triploid |
| Keswick Codlin | Cook/Eat | Early | B | |
| Lane's Prince Albert | Cooking | Late | D | |
| Laxton's Superb | Eating | Late | D | Frost Hardy Flowers |
| Lord Derby | Cooking | Main | D | Frost Hardy Flowers |
| Lord Lambourne | Eating | Main | C | |
| Newton Wonder | Cooking | Late | D | Frost Hardy Flowers |
| Reverend W. Wilkes | Cooking | Early | B | |
| Scotch Bridget | Cooking | Late | C | |
| Spartan | Eating | Late | D | Frost Hardy Flowers |
| Sunset | Eating | Main | C | Frost Hardy Flowers |
| Tydemans Late Orange | Eating | Main | D | Frost Hardy Flowers (not suitable for very windy places) |
| Worcester Pearmain | Eating | Early | C | Frost Hardy Flowers |
Apple Trees for Frost Pockets in the South
There are some more apple trees that do have frost resistant flowers but aren't really suitable for the shorter growing season in the North & Scotland.
If you live South of Leeds and have a frosty site, you can grow all the trees listed above, as well as Adam's Pearmain, Falstaff, Golden Delicious, and Red Falstaff.