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Lord Derby apple trees

Lord Derby
Lord Derby is listed in the RHS Plants for Pollinators
Lord Derby is a high-quality mid/late-season traditional English cooking apple, cooks to a chunky puree.
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Lord Derby apple trees for sale

Pot-grown

All pot-grown trees are suitable for planting out in the garden, some are suitable for growing in containers.

  • PG12-year bush-trained 12L pot-grown tree M26 rootstock £43.00
    Medium tree (2m-3m after 10 years)
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  • PG22-year bush-trained 12L pot-grown tree MM106 rootstock £43.00
    Large tree (3m-4m after 10 years)
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Bare-root

  • BR11-year bare-root tree M26 rootstock £25.95
    Medium tree (2m-3m after 10 years)
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  • BR21-year bare-root tree M116 rootstock £25.95
    Medium tree (2m-3m after 10 years)
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  • BR31-year bare-root tree MM106 rootstock £25.95
    Large tree (3m-4m after 10 years)
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  • BR41-year bare-root tree M25 rootstock £26.50
    Very large tree (4m-7m after 10 years)
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  • BR52-year (1.75m) bare-root tree M25 rootstock £35.50
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Lord Derby is a traditional large English cooking apple, ripening in the mid to late season - from mid-September to early October.

Lord Derby fills a useful gap in the culinary apple calendar, arriving after the early cookers such as Keswick Codlin and Grenadier, and before the later cookers such as Bramley. This is not a variety for winter storage but the apples can be kept for a month or so in a cool place.

The Victorian author Hogg rated Lord Derby as an "excellent culinary apple". The flavour is nicely acidic if picked young, but milder if picked when fully ripe (at which point the skin develops a more yellow hue).

Although usually considered a cooking apple, many Lord Derby enthusiasts regard it as an excellent sharp eating apple too.

How to grow

Lord Derby is a very easy apple tree for the garden, and like many Victorian culinary apples it has excellent natural disease resistance. It seems to be happy in both wetter and drier climates.

Advice on fruit tree pollination.

History

Cheshire, 19th century.

Lord Derby characteristics

Growing

  • Gardening skillBeginner
  • Self-fertilityNot self-fertile
  • Flowering group4
  • Pollinating othersAverage
  • PloidyDiploid
  • Fruit bearingSpur-bearer
  • Climate suitabilityTemperate climatesMild damp climates
  • WildlifeRHS Plants for Pollinators

Using

  • Picking seasonLate
  • CroppingGood
  • Keeping (of fruit)1-2 months
  • Food usesCulinaryJuiceTraditional cooker
  • Flavour style (apples)Sharper
  • Cooking resultTextured puree

Problems

  • Disease resistanceGood
  • ScabVery resistant

Identification

  • Country of originUnited Kingdom
  • Period of origin1850 - 1899