Greensleeves apple trees
- Picking season: Mid
- Self-fertility: Partially self-fertile
- Flowering group: 2
- Awards: RHS AGM (current) 1993
Greensleeves is the result of an interesting experiment, crossing the crisp sweet flavours of Golden Delicious with the juicy acidity of the famous Scottish apple variety, James Grieve. The result is a mid-season apple that crops heavily and grows very easily.
The flavour is, as you might expect, simple and straightforward - basically sweet but quite a bit sharper than Golden Delicious. Even so, since Golden Delicious prefers a warmer climate than is found in much of the UK, Greensleeves can be considered as a reasonable substitute.
As with many varieties that have James Grieve in their parentage, Greensleeves is a notably juicy apple, and useful for juicing and cider.
Greensleeves 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 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)
PG22-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)
PG32-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
BR11-year bare-root treeM26 rootstock£34.95
Medium tree
(2m-3m after 10 years)
Out of stock
Please try next season
BR22-year bush-trained bare-root treeM26 rootstock£43.00
Medium tree
(2m-3m after 10 years)
Out of stock
Please try next season
BR31-year bare-root treeMM106 rootstock£34.95
Large tree
(3m-5m after 10 years)
Out of stock
Please try next season
BR42-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
Greensleeves is one of the easiest apple varieties to grow, and is partially self-fertile, and this probably accounts for its steady popularity amongst gardeners.
Greensleeves is also a very good pollinator for other apple varieties because its blossom is unusually long-lasting (a quality it inherits from both Golden Delicious and James Grieve, which are both good pollinators).
Recommended pollinators for Greensleeves apple trees
Greensleeves is partially self-fertile, so you do not need another variety to pollinate it to produce fruit.
However you will get a better crop if you plant any of the following pollinator varieties nearby.
If you are not sure about pollination requirements don't hesitate to ask us.
More pollinators >
Red WindsorRed Windsor is one of the easiest to grow of all dessert apple trees, and with a pleasant apple flavour.
Egremont RussetEgremont Russet is the most popular English russet variety, and a good apple tree for the garden.
Red SentinelMalus Red Sentinel has classic white blossom and a profusion of tiny scarlet persistent fruits.
BountifulBountiful is an easy-to-grow cooking apple, it retains its shape when cooked, fairly sweet for a cooker.
Pink GlowMalus Dolgo, also known as Pink Glow, offers early-season white flowers and very attractive dark pink fruits. It is exceptionally cold-hardy.
Keswick CodlinKeswick Codlin is a popular early-season cooking apple, easy to grow, and productive in most climates.
BardseyA hardy disease-resistant apple, discovered growing on an island off the west coast of Wales.
Stirling CastleA traditional Scottish cooker from the Victorian era, with a good sharp flavour.
History
A cross between Golden Delicious and James Grieve, developed at the famous East Malling Research Station in Kent, UK, in the 1960s.
Greensleeves characteristics
- Gardening skillBeginner
- Self-fertilityPartially self-fertile
- Flowering group2
- Pollinating othersAverage
- Fruit bearingSpur-bearer
- Climate suitabilityTemperate climates
- Picking seasonMid
- CroppingHeavy
- Keeping (of fruit)1 week
- Food usesEating freshJuice
- Country of originUnited Kingdom
- Period of origin1950 - 1999
- Blossom colourWhite
- Fruit colourGreen
- AwardsRHS AGM (current)
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.
