Golden Hornet

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Golden Hornet is a traditional and popular crab-apple, which features a profusion of pink-white blossom in spring. In autumn it produces a mass of small yellow fruit which will stay on the tree until late in the year providing a useful colour feature in the garden.

The leaves also turn an attractive yellow colour in autumn.

The fruits are useful in the kitchen, for crab-apple jelly and a good source of pectin for jam-making. The fruits are quite persistent (they hang on the tree for a period) but if you are intending to use them in the kitchen, be sure to pick them before they start to drop.

Golden Hornet is an excellent pollinator for most apple varieties, particularly late-flowering varieties (flowering groups 4 and 5), as it produces a lot of blossom over a long period. It is a common sight at the end of rows of apple trees in commercial orchards.

Growing and Training

Golden Hornet can be somewhat prone to leaf-scab in wetter climates. It is also susceptible to fireblight, although this is not an issue for UK growers.

It can also have a tendency to grow in a straggly fashion, although this is a minor inconvenience and does not detract from its usefulness for crab-apple jelly or as a pollinator of other late-flowering apple trees.

History

Golden Hornet was raised by John Waterer and Sons nursery, and introduced in 1948. It is believed to be a seedling of two other crab-apple species, Malus sieboldii calocarpa and Malus prunifolia coccinea.

In 2013 Golden Hornet lost its RHS AGM award, which was subsequently given to another yellow-fruited crab-apple, Comtesse de Paris, which has a better growth habit. However Golden Hornet remains in most respects an excellent choice if you want a persistent yellow-fruited crab-apple which is good in the kitchen. The fruits are arguably more attractive than those of Comtesse de Paris.

Golden Hornet characteristics

• Gardening skillAverage
• Fruit persistencePersistent
• Self-fertile?Self-fertile
• Pollinating othersGood
• Pick seasonVery late
• Food usesCulinary
• Country of originUnited Kingdom
• Period of origin1900 - 1949
• Fruit colourYellow

You might also like these varieties

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  Comtesse de Paris
  Comtesse de Paris can be considered as an improved Golden Hornet. It features the same white blossom and persistent yellow fruitlets, but grows with a better form.
• 
  Jelly King
  A compact crab apple, with unusually large persistent fruits - excellent for crab apple jelly.
• 
  John Downie
  John Downie is a traditional crab apple for making crab apple jelly. White blossom and orange-red fruits.
• 
  Laura
  Malus Laura is a very upright dwarf crab-apple, with bronze leaves, crimson blossom and maroon fruitlets.