Spring / Summer 2025Pre-order now for delivery September onwards.
Tel. 01759 392007

Greensleeves apple trees

Greensleeves apples
Greensleeves has received the RHS Award of Garden MeritGreensleeves is listed in the RHS Plants for Pollinators
  • Picking season: Mid
  • Self-fertility: Partially self-fertile
  • Flowering group: 2
  • Awards: RHS AGM (current) 1993

Greensleeves is the result of an interesting experiment, crossing the crisp sweet flavours of Golden Delicious with the juicy acidity of the famous Scottish apple variety, James Grieve. The result is a mid-season apple that crops heavily and grows very easily.

The flavour is, as you might expect, simple and straightforward - basically sweet but quite a bit sharper than Golden Delicious. Even so, since Golden Delicious prefers a warmer climate than is found in much of the UK, Greensleeves can be considered as a reasonable substitute.

As with many varieties that have James Grieve in their parentage, Greensleeves is a notably juicy apple, and useful for juicing and cider.

Greensleeves apple trees for sale

Pot-grown

All our pot-grown trees are grown for us to our specification by the Frank P Matthews nursery.

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

  • PG12-year 11.5L pot-grown tree M27 rootstock£60.50
    Grown for us by Frank P Matthews nursery
    Very small tree (< 1.7m after 10 years)
  • PG22-year bush-trained 12L pot-grown tree M26 rootstock£56.50
    Grown for us by Frank P Matthews nursery
    Medium tree (2m-3m after 10 years)
  • PG32-year bush-trained 12L pot-grown tree MM106 rootstock£56.50
    Grown for us by Frank P Matthews nursery
    Large tree (3m-5m after 10 years)

Bare-root

  • BR11-year bare-root treeM26 rootstock£34.95
    Medium tree (2m-3m after 10 years)
    Out of stock
    Please try next season
  • BR22-year bush-trained bare-root treeM26 rootstock£43.00
    Medium tree (2m-3m after 10 years)
    Out of stock
    Please try next season
  • BR31-year bare-root treeMM106 rootstock£34.95
    Large tree (3m-5m after 10 years)
    Out of stock
    Please try next season
  • BR42-year bush-trained bare-root treeMM106 rootstock£43.00
    Large tree (3m-5m after 10 years)
    Out of stock
    Please try next season

Need help? Ask our fruit tree experts

Call us on 01759 392007 or fill in our contact form.

Tree specification

Photos of trees as supplied | Tree sizes and forms

Pre-ordering

Pre-order now for delivery in September 2025

Delivery charges

Delivery for a single tree starts at £9.95, it is calculated based on your postcode.

Growing and Training

Greensleeves is one of the easiest apple varieties to grow, and is partially self-fertile, and this probably accounts for its steady popularity amongst gardeners.

Greensleeves is also a very good pollinator for other apple varieties because its blossom is unusually long-lasting (a quality it inherits from both Golden Delicious and James Grieve, which are both good pollinators).

Recommended pollinators for Greensleeves apple trees

Greensleeves is partially self-fertile, so you do not need another variety to pollinate it to produce fruit. However you will get a better crop if you plant any of the following pollinator varieties nearby. If you are not sure about pollination requirements don't hesitate to ask us. More pollinators >

  • Pollinator Red Windsor
    Red Windsor
    Red Windsor is one of the easiest to grow of all dessert apple trees, and with a pleasant apple flavour.
  • Pollinator Egremont Russet
    Egremont Russet
    Egremont Russet is the most popular English russet variety, and a good apple tree for the garden.
  • Pollinator Red Sentinel
    Red Sentinel
    Malus Red Sentinel has classic white blossom and a profusion of tiny scarlet persistent fruits.
  • Pollinator Keswick Codlin
    Keswick Codlin
    Keswick Codlin is a popular early-season cooking apple, easy to grow, and productive in most climates.
  • Pollinator Bardsey
    Bardsey
    A hardy disease-resistant apple, discovered growing on an island off the west coast of Wales.
  • Pollinator Bountiful
    Bountiful
    Bountiful is an easy-to-grow cooking apple, it retains its shape when cooked, fairly sweet for a cooker.
  • Pollinator Stirling Castle
    Stirling Castle
    A traditional Scottish cooker from the Victorian era, with a good sharp flavour.
  • Pollinator Devonshire Quarrenden
    Devonshire Quarrenden
    A very old English summer apple, with a vinous strawberry flavour, grown throughout the UK.

History

A cross between Golden Delicious and James Grieve, developed at the famous East Malling Research Station in Kent, UK, in the 1960s.


Greensleeves characteristics

Growing

  • Gardening skillBeginner
  • Self-fertilityPartially self-fertile
  • Flowering group2
  • Pollinating othersAverage
  • Fruit bearingSpur-bearer
  • Climate suitabilityTemperate climates

Using

  • Picking seasonMid
  • CroppingHeavy
  • Keeping (of fruit)1 week
  • Food usesEating freshJuice

Problems

  • Disease resistanceGood

Identification

  • Country of originUnited Kingdom
  • Period of origin1950 - 1999
  • Blossom colourWhite
  • Fruit colourGreen
  • AwardsRHS AGM (current)

British-grown trees Trees grown in the UK.

Unlike many garden centres and online retailers, the vast majority of our fruit trees are grown in the UK. Find out more.

In addition, all our trees are certified under the Plant Healthy scheme, supervised by the Plant Health Alliance. Other stakeholders include Defra and the RHS. The scheme aims to improve UK biosecurity by setting standards for all growers and retailers involved in selling plants in the UK. Find out more

Guaranteed fruit trees

When you buy your fruit tree from Orange Pippin Fruit Trees we guarantee it for the first season in your garden whilst it gets established. If it doesn't grow successfully, we'll either replace it the following season or offer a refund - subject to some conditions. Find out more.

More about apple trees

For apples the mid-season period usually starts in early September and finishes later in September when the late-season varieties start arriving.

Mid-season apples are best eaten straight from the tree. However unlike early-season apples, they will usually keep fresh for a couple of weeks in a fridge. On the other hand, just like early apples, mid-season apples ripen quite quickly so be sure to keep a close watch on them in early September and see if they are ready to pick.

Another thing you notice with mid-season apples is they still have that fresh zing you get with the early varieties, but the flavours are now more nuanced and interesting.

Some really good apple varieties fall into this category - including Red Windsor, Red Devil, and Lord Lambourne. These are un-fussy apples with good flavours, ideal for taking to work for a mid-morning snack.

And the famous Cox's Orange Pippin also just about falls into this category.


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