Spring 2025Order now for delivery from week commencing 31st March.
Tel. 01759 392007

Bramley 20 apple trees

Bramley 20 apples
Bramley 20 is listed in the RHS Plants for Pollinators
  • Picking season: Late
  • Self-fertility: Not self-fertile
  • Flowering group: 3

Bramley's Seedling is the definitive English "cooker". However it is an extremely vigorous variety, producing a tree that is substantially larger than all other apple varieties (only Blenheim Orange comes close).

Bramley 20 is a sport of Bramley's Seedling which happens to produce a tree which is naturally about 20% smaller, making it more suitable for the garden.

Bramley 20 is a valuable alternative to the regular Bramley's Seedling at both ends of the size scale. You can use it on dwarfing rootstocks, allowing you to grow Bramley apples in a small space. You can also use it on semi-vigorous rootstocks to produce a free-standing tree which is still not too large.

Another advantage is that if you are planting several apple trees together, you probably want them to be about the same mature size on any given rootstock. A regular Bramley's Seedling will become much larger than the others whereas Bramley 20 will have similar proportions to the other trees.

Although the tree is smaller, the apples are the same size as the regular Bramley's Seedling.

Bramley 20 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 bush-trained 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)
  • PG2Premium cordon 12L pot-grown tree M9 rootstock£60.50
    Grown for us by Frank P Matthews nursery
    Small tree (1.5m-2.5m after 10 years)
  • PG32-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)
  • PG42-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

  • BR12-year bush-trained bare-root treeM9 rootstock£44.75
    Small tree (1.5m-2.5m after 10 years)
    Out of stock
    Please try next season
  • BR2Spindlebush bare-root treeM9 rootstock£44.00
    Small tree (1.5m-2.5m after 10 years)
    Out of stock
    Please try next season
  • BR3Cordon-trained bare-root treeM9 rootstock£46.25
    Small tree (1.5m-2.5m after 10 years)
    Out of stock
    Please try next season
  • BR41-year bare-root treeM26 rootstock£34.95
    Medium tree (2m-3m after 10 years)
    Out of stock
    Please try next season
  • BR52-year bush-trained bare-root treeM26 rootstock£43.00
    Medium tree (2m-3m after 10 years)
    Out of stock
    Please try next season
  • BR6Spindlebush bare-root treeM26 rootstock£43.00
    Medium tree (2m-3m after 10 years)
    Out of stock
    Please try next season
  • BR72-year bare-root treeM116 rootstock£43.50
    Medium tree (2m-3m after 10 years)
    Out of stock
    Please try next season
  • BR81-year bare-root treeMM106 rootstock£34.95
    Large tree (3m-5m after 10 years)
    Out of stock
    Please try next season
  • BR92-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

Next deliveries

Order now for delivery from week commencing 31st March

Delivery charges

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

Growing and Training

Bramley 20 retains most of the horticultural characteristics of Bramley's Seedling, but produces a tree approximately 20% smaller on any given rootstock than Bramley's Seedling. It is quite easy to grow but like Bramley's Seedling it is a triploid and needs 2 separate compatible pollination partners although in most suburban environments you can usually assume there will be suitable varieties in the neighbourhood. See our page on Bramley's Seedling for more details of suitable pollination partners.

The pink-flushed white blossom is prolific and attractive. The fruit ripens late in the season, and stores very well.

Recommended pollinators for Bramley 20 apple trees

Bramley 20 is not self-fertile and is also a poor pollinator of other varieties. Ideally you need two other different but compatible varieties planted nearby in order to produce fruit, or one compatible self-fertile variety. The following varieties are good pollinators for Bramley 20. If you are not sure about pollination requirements don't hesitate to ask us. More pollinators >

  • Pollinator Scrumptious
    Scrumptious
    Scrumptious is a modern award-winning early-season English dessert apple.
  • Pollinator Red Falstaff
    Red Falstaff
    Red Falstaff is one of the best garden apple trees, heavy crops, easy to grow, and very juicy.
  • Pollinator Red Devil
    Red Devil
    Red Devil is a good apple variety for the UK garden, and produces a sweet red-tinted juice.
  • Pollinator Sunset
    Sunset
    Sunset is a popular garden alternative to Cox, easier to grow, with a sweet aromatic flavour.
  • Pollinator Fiesta
    Fiesta
    Fiesta (or Red Pippin) is one of the best Cox-style apples, easy to grow, with a good aromatic flavour.
  • Pollinator James Grieve
    James Grieve
    James Grieve is the classic Scottish dual-purpose apple. It can be eaten fresh, and is also excellent for juicing and cooking.
  • Pollinator Spartan
    Spartan
    Spartan produces lots of crimson maroon apples, crunchy, sweet, easy to grow, delicate "vinous" flavour.
  • Pollinator Greensleeves
    Greensleeves
    Greensleeves is a reliable and popular mid-season green/yellow apple, easy to grow and productive.

History

Bramley 20 was developed at the Long Ashton Research Station in the UK in the 1970s, and is a compact sport of Bramley's Seedling.


Bramley 20 characteristics

Growing

  • Gardening skillAverage
  • Self-fertilityNot self-fertile
  • Flowering group3
  • Pollinating othersPoor
  • Fruit bearingPartial tip-bearer
  • Climate suitabilityTemperate climatesMild damp climatesWarm climates

Using

  • Picking seasonLate
  • CroppingHeavy
  • Keeping (of fruit)3 months or more
  • Food usesCulinaryJuiceHard ciderTraditional cooker

Problems

  • Disease resistanceGood
  • Scab (Apple and Pear)Very resistant
  • Powdery mildewSome resistance
  • Fire blightSome resistance

Identification

  • Country of originUnited Kingdom
  • Period of origin1950 - 1999
  • Blossom colourWhite
  • Fruit colourGreen / Red
  • Flesh colourWhite

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

There is no doubt that the famous Bramley's Seedling still rightly reigns supreme. Characterised by its copious rich juicy acidity it quickly renders to stiff puree in the kitchen, and is the benchmark for English apple cookery. However we have noticed a real resurgence in interest in the humble cooking apple in recent years, with cooks looking beyond Bramley for other qualities and textures.

Look out for cooking apples which ripen earlier than Bramley, such as Grenadier or Keswick Codlin.

Scotland also has a strong tradition of cooking apples - Galloway Pippin, Scotch Bridget, Scotch Dumpling for example. This also illustrates another useful quality of cooking apples - they can be productive even in climates where grey skies and rain are more frequent than sun and blue skies.

Many cooking apples are also great for juicing, especially if you like your apple juice to have a bit of an acidic kick.


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