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
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 here2nd 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 here3rd 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 here4th 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 here5th 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
