Laxton's Fortune apple trees

• Picking season: Mid
• Self-fertility: Partially self-fertile
• Flowering group: 3
• Awards: RHS AGM (current) 1993

Many growers have attempted to combine the superb flavour of Cox's Orange Pippin with other varieties that are less disease-prone and easier to grow. Fortune, developed by the Laxton Brothers Nursery in the early 20th century is a good example of this, having some of the aromatic richness of Cox but much better resistance to the apple disease scab.

Although not as well known as Laxton's Superb, it remains a popular garden apple variety.

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Laxton's Fortune apple trees for sale

Growing and Training

If you want to learn about biennial bearing in apple trees, Laxton's Fortune is the example the textbooks usually mention! Biennial bearing is when the tree fruits heavily in alternate years, with a light crop or no crop in the intervening year. Heavy-cropping varieties which are also of low vigour - such as Laxton's Fortune - are most prone to this condition. To prevent this happening, make sure you don't let the tree set too heavy a crop, as this will trigger the cycle. The easiest way to prevent over-cropping is to thin the fruitlets at the start of June after the blossom is over - thin each cluster to one fruitlet per cluster, and then if necessary remove some of the remaining ones as well.

Fortune ripens earlier than Cox but for the best flavour leave it on the tree until the apples start to fall before picking.

Laxton's Fortune performs well in hotter climates, so is a good choice if you want a traditional English-style apple but are living in Spain, Italy, or southern France.

History

Developed at the start of the 20th century by the famous Laxton Brothers Nursery in Bedfordshire. Laxton's Fortune (often known simply as Fortune) is a cross between Cox's Orange Pippin and a little-known American variety called Wealthy. It received a first class certificate from the RHS in 1948.

This was not the first time that the Laxton Brothers Nursery had worked with Cox's Orange Pippin - they had previously released Laxton's Superb, another Cox-derived variety.

Laxton's Fortune characteristics

British-grown trees

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.