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Ashmead's Kernel Apple on G.11 (Spring 2024)


An intensely flavored heirloom apple prized by connoisseurs and cider makers. Also known as Ashmead, Ashmeads.

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.

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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.


The Fruit

Fruit Type

Category: Apple
Subcategory: Heirloom, Cider, Disease-Resistant, Cold-Hardy, Hot-Climate

Fruit Uses & Storage

Uses: fresh eating, cider, baking, storage
Cider classification: sharp
Storage duration: three plus months (approximate, depending on storage conditions)

Fruit Appearance

Skin color: russeted
Flesh color: yellow

Fruit Origins

Parentage: unknown
Origin: Gloucester, England
Introduced in: 1700
Introduced by: William Ashmead

The Environment

Calendar & Geography

USDA zones: 4 - 8
Chill hours: 1000
Ripening date: Oct 20 (approximate, in New York State) + 35 days after McIntosh

Tree Height & Spacing

Rootstock: G.11 Rootstock
Rootstock size class: Dwarf (25% of Standard)
Tree spacing (natural spread of tree): 8'
Good for wildlife planting? N

Diseases & Pests

Cedar-Apple Rust: Resistant
Apple Scab: Resistant
Powdery Mildew: Resistant
Bitter Pit: Susceptible
Fireblight: Susceptible

Pollination

Pollination Factors

Bloom group: 3
Is it self-fertile? N
Is it fertile? N
Ploidy: Triploid
Rootstock size class: Dwarf (25% of Standard)

Pollination Partners

This table shows the first few results from a full search for pollenizers of Ashmead's Kernel Apple on G.11. Please see our Pollenizer Search to run other queries and read how the application uses various factors. Also read more about fruit tree pollination.

Tree Ships Currently in Stock
Enterprise Apple on G.41 2024 256
Crimson® Topaz CV. Apple on G.11 2024 124
Brown's Apple Apple on G.11 2024 122
Gala Apple on B.9 2024 97
Newtown Pippin Apple on G.11 2024 91
Harry Masters Jersey Apple on G.11 2024 82
Williams' Pride Apple on G.11 2024 66
Ellis Bitter Apple on G.11 2024 59
Binet Rouge Apple on G.41 2024 57
Empire Apple on G.41 2024 52
Fortune Apple Apple on G.11 2024 43

See all pollination matches for Ashmead's Kernel Apple on G.11






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