Apple trees for southern Europe
Bramley 20 apple tree
Bramley 20 is a naturally small sport of the famous English cooking apple.Bramley's Seedling apple tree
Bramley is the essential English cooking apple, famous for its rich sharp acidity.Discovery apple tree
The popular English early-season apple copes well in hotter climates.Gala apple tree
Gala is popular supermarket apple - but better when home-grown, with a sweet pleasant flavor.Golden Delicious apple tree
The flavor of home-grown Golden Delicious is far better than its supermarket reputation.Granny Smith apple tree
Granny Smith is the world-famous green apple from Australia, a good choice for warmer apple-growing regions.Idared apple tree
Idared is a popular late-season apple variety, notable for its excellent keeping qualities.Kidd's Orange Red apple tree
A good alternative to Cox for warmer climates, and a good variety in its own right.Mutsu (Crispin) apple tree
Crispin's American parentage means it is well-suited to warm climates.Rubinette apple tree
The best choice for Cox enthusiasts living in Mediterranean climates.Sturmer Pippin apple tree
A sharp-tasting late-season Victorian apple which keeps very well.More about Apple trees for southern Europe
The climate of much of central Europe is perfect for growing apples, particularly the band running eastwards from the Loire and Charente regions of France into southern Germany and northern Italy. However further south into the Mediterranean region, the climate starts to get a bit too hot for most of the apple varieties commonly grown in the UK. Fortunately there are still a number of apple varieties that are very happy to grow in the Mediterranean climate. The varieties listed here are those which are likely to be successful in the hot and sunny climates of the south of France, and the Mediterranean coast of northern Spain and Italy.
We do not usually recommend Cox's Orange Pippin for this type of climate, although we know of customers who grow this variety. Instead Rubinette or Kidd's Orange Red, which are both related to Cox's Orange Pippin, are likely to be better choices.
Several of these collections are available to buy - see our Orchard Packs.