Buying Apple Trees Online
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THE BARE ROOT SEASON IS NOW CLOSED. ALL PURCHASES WILL DELIVERED NOVEMBER 2026
Bare Root Lord Derby Cooking Apple Tree
A good choice of apple tree if you are looking for an easy tree to grow, especially in the Midlands and further North. That also means stop at Scotland as the warranty does not cover any place with penguins or extreme weather research stations.
A self fertile cooking apple tree so you can plant this with no other apple trees nearby and still get a decent crop. The harvest should be quite large when compared to most other cooking apple trees and the fruits should have a higher resistance to the usual apple tree diseases such as scab. Lord Derby is the cooking apple of choice for some of the commercial UK growers.
The green apples are large, firm but maybe a little dry. Best cooked "early" for a more acidic taste. This doesn't mean set the alarm for 04:00 hours and going to bed with your apron and chef hat on. It means using them just as they start to ripen.
Lord Derby Cooking Apple Bare Root Options Explained
Maiden M26 Grows to 3.0m 1-2 years old, no pruning applied, grows to around 3.0 metres tall.
2 Year M26 grows 3.0m 2-3 years old, pruned to be a bush shape, grows to around 3.0 metres tall.
Half Standard 2-3 years old, pruned to be a lollipop shape, grows to around 3.00 metres tall, M26 Rootstock
Fan/Espalier 1-2 years old, M26 rootstock. Comes with 3 branches for you to train as Fan or Espalier.
Feeling Confused About The Amount Of Options Available For Our Lord Derby Cooking Apple Tree?
The average Joe/Jane will go for a 2-3 year old Bush or Half Standard on M26 or M106.
Most important information
Month Of Fruiting: late September, may keep until December once picked.
Type Of Apple: Cooking
Fertility: (C4) SELF-FERTILE. Will produce cooking apples without another apple tree nearby however yields can be improved by having another apple tree in group C3, C4 or C5 nearby. Lord Derby cooking apple tree is also good for pollinating other apple trees in groups C3, C4 or C5.
See What Our Customers Are Saying About Our Bare Root Lord Derby Cooking Apple Trees
Either we forgot to ask for a testimonial about this apple tree or everyone was too busy baking to write one.
Compare All Our Bare Root Cooking Apple Trees
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Species |
Self Fertile
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Award
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Disease Resistant
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Other Prominent Characteristics |
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Arthur Turner(C3) |
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Yes
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Sweet, large apples, big crop, grow anywhere, reliable. |
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Bountiful(C2) |
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Yes
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Cooking and eating, grow anywhere, reliable. |
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Bramleys Seedling(C3) |
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Yes
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Juicing, popular, large apples. |
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Grenadier(C3) |
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Yes
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Yes
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Grow anywhere, compact, good pollinator. |
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Howgate Wonder(C3) |
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Yes
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Yes
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Big crop, stores well. |
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Isaac Newton(C3) |
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Large apples. |
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Lord Derby(C4) |
Yes
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Big crop, grow anywhere. |
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Monarch(C4) |
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Yes
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Large juicy apple, big crop. |
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Newton Wonder(C5) |
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Yes
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Yes
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Cooking and eating, big crop, juicing, stores well. |
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Reverend W Wilks(C2) |
Yes
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Yes
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Yes
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Big crops. |
Do I Need To Stake My Bare Root Tree?
Usually no, especially if under 200cm tall. Our article on Tree Staking should help guide you.
Planting In The Corner Of A Garden
Usually air and light is reduced and if it is a corner with a wooden fence and the house then leeching from both could compound issues. Try to avoid.
1 Year Maiden Bare Root Trees
If you plant a 1 Year maiden tree and do not prune it at all, it will grow a little more upright and have more clear stem.
Apple Tree Jargon Explained
| | MM106 | Grows to a final height of around 3.6 metres. Usually delivered around 150-180cm for 2-3 year tree. | |
| | MM106+ | Grows to a final height of around 3.6 metres. Usually delivered around 180-240cm for 2-3 year tree. | |
| | M9 | Grows to a final height of around 2.5 metres. Usually delivered around 150-180cm for 2-3 year tree. | |
| | M26 | Grows to a final height of around 3.0 metres. Usually delivered around 150-180cm for 2-3 year tree. | |
| | M27 | Grows to a final height of around 1.5 metres. Usually delivered around 150-180cm for 2-3 year tree. | |
| | CORDON | Pruned to produce apples very quickly (1-3 years), favoured with commercial growers. More columnar than round shape. Less of a harvest compared to MM106. | |
| | BUSH | Clear stem of 45cm before branches grow out. | |
| | HALF STANDARD | Clear stem of 1 m. Conventional tree shape allowing easy grass mowing or companion planting. | |
| | MAIDEN | 1-2 years old, no pruning or shaping. Blank slate for you to shape and train. | |
| | PATIO | Shaped to produce compact bush proportional for pot size, ideal for container growing. | |
| | (12L), (3L) etc | The size of the pot measured in litres. | |
| | SELF FERTILE | Will produce fruit without another apple tree nearby. | |
| | C1,C2,C3,C4,C5 | If your apple tree is NOT SELF FERTILE (they will be listed f they are) then you will need a second apple tree nearby of a similar number i.e. the same or one above or one below. So an apple tree from a C3 requires a C2, C3 or C4 planted close by for it to produce fruit. Triploids are an exception, see below. | |
| | Bare Root | Available from November to March only. Comes with no pot or dirt around roots and is cheaper than potted options. Orders purchased outside this time will be held for delayed delivery until the next season starts. | |
| | TRIPLOID | You have a selfish tree. It will be pollinated by other trees but the pollen it has to offer is useless. See TRIPLOID POLLINATION for more information. | |
Apple Tree Ages and heights
All our apple trees have been pruned and shaped to get the best results and are inspected by an apple tree expert before being sent to you. Maiden apple trees are 1-2 years old, the rest are 2-3 years old. Heights vary depending on root stock however 1.5 to 2+ metres tall is an average apple tree height at delivery.
Bareroot Season
All bare root plants need to be planted between November and March whereas our containerised apple trees can be planted all year round. Height can be restricted by pruning or putting the apple tree in a container to restrict growth (minimum 30 litres, smaller the pot, smaller the tree will be) Select the root stock you desire from the list above or if you are unsure, telephone us on 0800 043 1057 or use the enquiry page.
Quick Fruit Tree Links
Take a look at our TOP SELLING FRUIT TREES, Wet ground issues then choose a PEAR TREE first, followed by APPLE TREES. For more information on pollination please look at choosing the CORRECT POLLINATION PARTNER
Fruit Tree Life Expectancy
Most fruit trees will give you AT LEAST 40 years of fruit. Pears can go to 70. Records of 200 year old trees exist but this is the exception, not the rule.
Do I Need To Stake My Bare Root Fruit Tree?
9 out of 10 times the answer will be no, especially if under 200cm tall. However our article on Tree Staking should help guide you.
Planting In The Corner Of A Garden
Air and light is reduced in this location which could promote fungus and bacterial issues. Corners of houses and fences can also suffer leeching issues so we advise against it.
