The February Tree of the Month for 2019 produces an autumnal batch of cooking apples ripe for the picking every October.
As one of the UK's favourite cooking apples, the Bramley Apple Tree produces fruits that are tart in flavour and perfect for baking up a storm. The texture of the creamy white flesh becomes fluffy and smooth and work well when baked into pies and crumbles.
Tree of the Month for February
Bramley Apple Trees are usually large in stature, however, ours is grafted onto an M27 rootstock which controls the height to a very compact 6ft! This makes it the perfect gift for those without much outdoor space. It also means it’s small enough to be planted in a large container and grown on a patio or decking.
As Apple trees are deciduous this means that they will still be dormant in February from the winter. Even though they are looking a little bare right now, this is actually the best time to buy them as it is both a great time for planting and pruning. If you send a Bramley Apple Tree gift to someone on their birthday in February they will be able to plant it straight away and will only have to wait around 5 weeks for the tree to start blossoming. After this, the tree will last for many years to come.
The tree will transform into a vision of beauty around May time. Pink buds will slowly emerge on the branches and open to reveal white and pale pink-tinged blossoms. The seasonal interest provided by the tree is definitely one of the reasons this tree is so popular to send as a birthday gift in February as once it has been planted you don’t have long to wait till it bursts to life!
The bright green leaves will sprout soon after the blossoms and cover the tree all the way through to autumn before they turn a yellow almost golden colour for Autumn.
Bramley Apples ripen around October time, the skin is mainly green in colour and blushed red on the sides that have been facing the sun. The creamy flesh has a sharp, acidic flavour and is rarely eaten raw which is why it’s so popular for baking with.
From pies to crumbles to apple sauces, this apple tree is the perfect birthday gift for a baker or a cook. Once Bramley apples have been harvested they will keep well into the new year meaning friends and family could be eating homemade apple pie on their birthday in February.
The trees are cared for well they are known to last for hundreds of years if not more. That’s a lifetime of apples and a lifetime of baking many delicious treats.
The tree will be delivered in a 10L pot that is gift wrapped in hessian. It stands approximately 5ft in height and is ready to be planted straight into the ground or in a new pot.
Bramley Apple Tree History
The very first Bramley Apple came about when a young girl named Mary Ann Brailsford planted some apple seeds in her back garden at her home in Nottinghamshire. A butcher name Matthew Bramley moved into the house and when a man name Henry Merryweather asked to come and take some cutting so that he was able to grow the tree in his own personal orchard, Bramley said yes but only if he were to name the tree after him. Hence the name today.
From planting, the seeds grew into a beautiful strong tree that still stands today, almost 200 years later! Even after being knocked down in a storm the tree was saved and survived many more years. Right now a University is in a bid to save the original Bramley apple as it suffers from an incurable fungal disease.
