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The best self-fertile apple trees for your garden

Most apple varieties are self-sterile - this means in order to produce apples the blossom needs to be pollinated by pollen from another different but compatible apple variety growing nearby. Fortunately some apple varieties are self-fertile, and will produce apples without requiring pollination from other apple trees.

Here are some of the best self-fertile apple varieties, which are ideal if you only have space for one apple tree.

  • 1st Red Windsor

    See also Red Windsor

    Red Windsor is the ideal self-fertile apple tree, easy to grow and very productive. The apples ripen mid-season - typically around early September - and have a tangy sweet flavour. If you only have space for one apple tree, this is a good choice, and it is suitable for all areas of the UK.

    Buy Red Windsor mid-season eating apples here
  • 2nd Red Falstaff

    See also Red Falstaff

    Red Falstaff is one of heaviest-cropping apples, in fact for best results we recommend you thin the fruit fruitlets in late May. It is reliably self-fertile, and the spring blossom is particularly attractive.

    Red Falstaff does best in drier climates - southern England, the south-east and anywhere east of the Pennines. When grown in a sunny spot it is one of the best-flavoured apples.

    Buy Red Falstaff late-season eating apples here
  • 3rd Red Devil

    See also Red Devil

    Red Devil is an excellent garden apple tree, very easy to grow and very productive, and reliably self-fertile. It is suitable for most UK climates, and ripens mid-season.

    The bright red apples have a sweet flavour, and the flesh is often pink. Red Devil is one of the best varieties for juicing - it produces a superb pink-coloured juice.

    Buy Red Devil mid-season eating apples here
  • 4th Scrumptious

    See also Scrumptious

    If you are looking for a self-fertile early-season apple then Scrumptious is the obvious choice - the apples ripen early in the apple season, usually in August, and have a notably sweet flavour for an early variety.

    Scrumptious grows with a naturally weeping habit and needs little or no pruning.

     

    Buy Scrumptious early-season eating apples here
  • 5th Sunset

    See also Sunset

    Sunset is closely-related to Cox's Orange Pippin and inherits its complex aromatic flavours - as well as its traditional English flushed colouring.

    However it is self-fertile and much easier to grow and suitable for most areas of the UK, and has good disease-resistance.

    Buy Sunset late-season eating apples here