Bramley's Seedling apple

Bramley's Seedling apple identification images

All images copyright Orange Pippin unless otherwise stated.

USDA identification images for Bramley's Seedling

The identification paintings in the USDA Pomological Watercolor Collection span the years 1886 to 1942.

Citation: U.S. Department of Agriculture Pomological Watercolor Collection. Rare and Special Collections, National Agricultural Library, Beltsville, MD 20705.

Visitor reviews

• 13 Mar 2015  WASHINGTON, United States

  5 trees on Bud-9 one on m26. Vigorous! spury yet fat-wooded. Flat wide antler-like growing branches like Belle deBoskoop on bud-9. Regular, heavy bearing, even good in the shade-as it's thin acid is like a lemon-perfect complement to a pie (with another apple to add flavor). Yes, not much flavor, just acid. The "Northwest lemon".
• 02 Sep 2013  NONE, Denmark

  We have two BS trees in my birth-home. They were old and big when i was born 61 years ago. The still carry several hundred Kg's of apples every year. My old mom collects them, and give them away to the whole neighborhood. I moved 200Km's away, and have put some branches on one of my new appletrees here, and after two years, they already carry 18 BIG ones, heureka. All the best, Ebbe
• 19 Jul 2011  BEDFORDSHIRE, United Kingdom

  Hi, I have just bought a Bramley seedling and it has several apples on, some of which fell off when planting. Its a bit early in the season to be harvesting them but will the fallen ones continue to ripen?, can I use them now? what is best??
• 16 Feb 2011  Ireland

  I have over the last few months planted the beginning of my home orchard. I started with a couple of gifted Katy's, 3 Red Devils purchased from this site (thanks!) and most recently a Bramley Seedling from my local garden centre. Since I'd grown up with a small orchard at home I couldn't consider not having one of my own at our new house. I've gone for all large root stock to give the summer shaded orchard feel. I'm currently researching pollination due to just having picked up a Golden Delicious tree for a fiver and just determining that it 'fits' with the rest before I plant it. Looking forward to my first starter crops this year! To the Aussies and Americans looking for Bramleys, I'd offer to send you some but I'm not sure they'd go the distance and wold cost a fortunte to ship. Has anyone actually made any homemade cider from them?
• 01 Feb 2011  IRELAND, Ireland

  We have one Bramley tree in our garden here in Dublin. It gives enough apples for the whole Winter most years. It's the only cooker I ever remember eating but this is probaby because others can't compete.
• 13 Dec 2010  FL, United States

  I grew up in Pennsylvania and we had an old apple tree outside our back door that had the best apples for making absolutely out of this world pies and apple sauce. The tree is still there, but unfortunately I'm not. I've spent years trying to find out what kind of apples they were. This past summer when I was in Ireland I saw apples in the store that looked amazingly like my apples except they were bigger. I looked to see what they were called and saw that they were Bramley apples. A few days later I stopped at a restaurant and had an apple tart that tasted exactly like the pies my mother used to make and when I asked what kind of apples they were made with was told that they were Bramley apples. Now, if I could just find Bramley apples in Florida ...
• 10 Nov 2010  CAMBRIDGESHIRE, United Kingdom

  Kimmy...... It is my understanding that "Bramley Original" should only be used to describe trees that are propagated from scion wood taken directly from the original tree, which still grows in Nottingham - England. There are claims that what is sold as Bramley by most nurseries is somewhat mutated, due to so many propagations in the last two centuries. It is claimed that grafts of Bramley Original produce slightly superior fruit and a slightly better-structured tree than what is usually sold as Bramley.
• 07 Nov 2010  CALIFORNIA, United States

  I'm trying to find out the difference between a "Bramley's Original" and a "Bramley's Seedling". Some mail-order Web sites sell both varieties. There must be some physical or flavor differences or they wouldn't sell both varieties. Also, does anyone know of a source for both of these varieties in California? I'm not interested in dwarf or semi-dwarf rootstock. I want the tree to grow to full size - 30 ft tall or higher. M-111 rootstock might be okay, but nothing smaller than that. Nurseries outside of California usually will not ship to California, unfortunately, and most nurseries only have the smaller growing rootstock.
• 11 Oct 2010  LANCASHIRE, United Kingdom

  I planted a bramley apple tree about 7-8yrs ago, can't remember exactly, and it has grown well and gives us the most delicious apples, much, much redder than ordinary bramleys. It is so sweet it needs no sugar when cooked and has a lovely fluffy tecture. Does anyone else have a red bramley?
• 12 Sep 2010  Australia

  I've been trying in vain to find someone or somewhere selling BRAMLEY apples, Granny Smith's are a poor substitute for cooking apples. Is there anyone in NSW growing Bramleys?
• 14 Aug 2010  TYNE AND WEAR, United Kingdom

  A good and useful website. My Bramley (about five years old) this year has produced a large quanitity of smallish apples. Should they have been thinned earlier in the season or will they still swell? David Stuart, Gateshead, UK, foxtrot_delta_sierra@yahoo.co.uk
• 14 Jun 2010  NY, United States

  saw delia's recipe for mincemeat and it called for bramley apples....what is a good substitute for this here in the states...thanks!!!
• 20 May 2010  QUEENSLAND, Australia

  Have to disagree that the Bramley is unsuitable outside a large commercial orchard. My family home in the UK has a small orchard consisting of four small Bramleys that have been going strong since my grandparents planted them back in the fifties. Every year we get so many apples we have to give away vast quantities. But the rest store very well throughout winter in an apple rack. In my view, no English apple orchard, private or commercial, is complete without a Bramley, the best cooking apple, and a Cox Orange Pippin, the best desert apple, both symbolising the very quintessence of an English cottage garden.
• 16 May 2010  SOMERSET, United Kingdom

  It may be different here in the UK, but my Bramley flowers at the beginning of the season, usually the second variety out of forty to come into blossom. Mine are huge vigorous trees, at least eighty years old, the branches are about twelve inches in diameter - when they go above thirty feet high we cut a couple of the highest branches out and they keep us in firewood for weeks. As the trunks are hollow it seems a good idea to take some of the weight off them. Ours are Crimson Bramleys, pretty red flushed fruit, many of them are very large, the size of two clenched fists. We get, at a guess, about ten wheelbarrows full of fruit from each tree, they've certainly repaid us well for the price my grandfather paid for them.
• 18 Apr 2010  WASHINGTON, United States

  Bramley's being a triploid variety, it is sterile and requires another apple tree for pollination. Also, since Bramley's blooms very late, someone with room for only one other tree would do well to choose a self-fertile or partially self-fertile cultivar that blooms no earlier than mid-season in order to set Bramley fruit. A few possibilites that come to mind (no doubt there are more): John Grieve, Greensleeves, Kingston Black, Wolf River, Fiesta, Ellison's Orange, Northern Spy. Looking up the relatives of these cultivars may yield an option to suit your taste.
• 20 Mar 2010  LEICS., United Kingdom

  Like Cox's, Bramley's is a poor variety for growing outside of large commercial orchards because of its awkward pollination requirements. It is supposedly far better on a large root-stock. Agreed on the comment about modern supermarket Bramley's - very unripe, though good flavour - fruit picked riper is a lot less tart.
• 14 Mar 2010  WASHINGTON, United States

  Bruno, If you are located in the States, look up Raintree Nursery via a search engine. They offer Bramley on semi-dwarf rootstock (EMLA 7) which their catalog indicates should grow to about eleven feet tall, and semi-standard (MM111) which I would guess may reach 17 feet. I have ordered five different fruit trees from this company (four apples: Liberty, Queen Cox, Kingston Black and Ashmead's Kernel; and one sour cherry: English Morello) and my trees are doing well. I hope for a first crop this season.
• 11 Dec 2009  NORWICH, NORFOLK, United Kingdom

  I don't really feel Bramley is "extremely tart". Very unripe ones (usually quite dark green) often found in supermarkets can be sharp. If allowed to ripen they can be eaten raw (I always steal a slice or two when cooking them) and need only a little sugar when cooked. Try adding sultanas or raisins to get the sweetness. This is a lovely apple.
• 23 Oct 2009  NEWCASTLE, NSW,, Australia

  Unfortunately I have never seen them anywhere except Ireland and the UK.
• 07 Aug 2009  ADELAIDE, Australia

  Do you know where I may be able to buy Bramley apples??
• 13 May 2009  NEWCASTLE, NSW,, Australia

  The Bramley is the definitive cooking apple. Vastly superior to all others when used in tarts and pies. Because of the extreme tartness it requires large quantities of sugar giving a moist well flavoured result.
• 25 Sep 2008  SOUTHWELL, United Kingdom

  The original bramley apple tree can be found in the garden of the Bramley Apple Public House in the main street in Southwell opposite Southwell Minster

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• United States59
• United Kingdom225
• France 10
• Germany 1
• Ireland10
• Italy 4
• Netherlands 1
• Spain 3
• Sweden 1
• Canada5
• Australia8
• New Zealand9
• Switzerland1
• Japan2
• Norway1

Where to buy trees

The following tree nurseries offer Bramley's Seedling apple trees for sale:

• Orange Pippin Fruit Trees (USA) United States
  Bramley's Seedling apple trees
• Orange Pippin Fruit Trees (UK) United Kingdom
  Bramley's Seedling apple trees
• Thomas Fruit Trees (EU) France
  Bramley's Seedling apple trees
• Burnt Ridge Nursery and Orchards
  United States  More >>
• Red Rock Orchards Ltd
  Canada  More >>

Where to buy fresh fruit

The following orchards grow Bramley's Seedling:

United States

• Kansas

  • Fieldstone Enterprise, Overbrook
  • Meadowlark Farm, Rose Hill

• Maine

  • Tiny Orchards, Saco

• Michigan

  • Alber's Orchard & Cider Mill, Manchester

• Montana

  • Big Mountain Fruitworks / Big Mountain Ciderworks, Kalispell

• New Hampshire

  • Alyson's Apple Orchard, Walpole

• New York

  • Albany Apple Guy:Purveyor of Rare & Exotic Apples, Castleton
  • Black Diamond Farm, Trumansburg

• Washington

  • Skipley Farm, Snohomish        *** Feature Orchard ***

United Kingdom

• England - midlands

  • Meynell Langley Trials Gardens, Derby
  • The Vyne, Basingstoke
  • Cotteridge Community Orchard, Birmingham
  • Walsgrove Farm, Worcester

• England - north

  • Pickering Road Community Orchard, Hull
  • Holly Mount Orchard, Bury
  • Lockwood Hey Orchard, Saddleworth
  • Saddleworth Orchard, Saddleworth

• England - south-east

  • Home Cottage Farm, Iver
  • Kimpton Manor Apple Press, Andover
  • Wigmore Orchard, Tadley
  • The Apple Farm, Freshwater
  • Pippins Farm, Pembury
  • Merton Green Walk, Wimbledon
  • Holton Orchards, Halesworth
  • Maynard House Orchards, Bradfield St Clare
  • Grange Farm Shop and PYO, Chichester

• England - south-west

  • Trevalon Organic Cooperative, Liskeard
  • West Bradley Orchards, Glastonbury

Canada

• British Columbia

  • Apple Lane Orchards, Denman Island
  • Blue Haze Farm, Victoria
  • Dragonfly Farm, Salt Spring Island
  • Fruit Forest Certified Organic Farm, Cobble Hill
  • Garside's Fruit Farm, Abbotsford
  • Salt Spring Apple Company, Salt Spring Island

• Nova Scotia

  • Vista Bella Farm Orchard and Apiary, Malagash

• Ontario

  • O'Keefe Grange, Dobbinton

• Prince Edward Island

  • Red Rock Orchards Ltd, Mount Buchanan

Australia

• Victoria

  • Heritage Fruits Society, Fairfield
  • Petty's Orchard, Templestowe

References

• Apples for the 21st Century
  Author: Manhart
  Listed as Bramley
• Apples of England (1948)
  Author: Taylor
• Fruit Expert
  Author: Hessayon
• Some Antique Apples for Modern Orchards, (2008)
  Author: Merwin I.A.