Let me know when Stirling Castle apple trees are back in stock.
If you do not hear from us by March you can contact us to pre-order for next autumn.
Stirling Castle 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.
We've all grown up with Bramley cookng apples so we take it for granted that cooking apples are different to eating apples, but, surprisingly, the UK is one of the few countries that makes such a distinction between apples for cooking and apples for eating fresh.
The main qualtities of a good "cooker" are size - the bigger the better - and acidity. Counter-intuitively, it is the acid which gives cooking apples their flavour. In contrast the flavour of sweet dessert apples collapses with cooking.
Cooking apples are usually easier to grow than eating apples, and will tolerate partial shade.