The tree has an upright-spreading habit. It has moderate disease resistance and blooms late enough to avoid most frosts. The fruit needs to be thinned to maintain annual bearing. Ashmead's has been confirmed to be triploid; it should not be used as a pollenizer, and two diploid pollenizers are required for full pollination.

Ashmead's is an old variety that is reputed to have been first cultivated from a seedling in Gloucester, England in the early 1700's by the lawyer William Ashmead. The appearance of the fruit is interesting: it is a small to midsized apple with a russeted honey-green skin that ripens to an orange blush under the russet. At our farmstand, some customers comment that "it looks like a potato." Biting into an Ashmead's, however, reveals a dense, nutty flesh bursting with honeyed zing. The flavor is intense and complex, high in both sugar and acid, and the juice is prized by cider makers. Steve Wood of Farnum Hill Ciders describes Ashmead's as "a delicious trip to that fine line between pleasure and pain," and he finds that it adds "mad florals" and tropical notes to cider blends. While the acidity of the fresh-picked fruit might not agree with some tastes, Ashmead's mellows with age, and an October harvest is best stored for eating around Christmas, when notes of pear, spice, and orange blossom will emerge. This extraordinary and versatile apple has recently enjoyed renewed popularity among apple aficionados and is one of our best sellers.