ADAM’S PEARMAIN APPLE TREE

The parentage of Adam’s Pearmain is not known because it dates back at least to 1826 and probably earlier. It is an old English apple with a classic pearmain shape (wider at the top than it is at the bottom).

The apple skin is partially russeted and the remainder of the skin is orange, yellow and red. The taste is quoted as being “crisp, juicy, rich and sugary with an agreeable and pleasantly perfumed flavour”.

The shape, taste, flavour and colour identify this apple tree as well as its long thin shoots which benefit from light summer pruning.

PARENTAGE

The parentage of this variety is not known but there is strong evidence that it originates from Herefordshire. It is named after the gardener who presented it to the Horticultural Society in 1826 which indicates it has been cultivated many years before that date.

APPEARANCE, TASTE AND CHARACTERISTICS OF ADAM’S PEARMAIN APPLE

The fruit is on the large side and has the classic Pearmain shape with the top of the apple being wider than the bottom. The russeting appears on the shaded side of the apple and is not particularly pronounced.

The side exposed to the sun is mainly red and yellow with green streaks whilst the side not exposed to the sun is mainly yellow. The picture below shows the side of the apple exposed to the sun. The tree produces lots of fruit when established and has good disease resistance especially to apple scab.

Texture is crisp with the flesh dense but juicy and a light yellow colour. The taste is a good balance of acidity and sweetness with a very pleasant real apple aroma, this is a desert (eating apple). Fruit is ripe in mid October and will keep for a couple of months.

Adam’s Pearmain is in pollination group 3 and is self-sterile so it needs a suitable pollination partner nearby (see below). It is not a good pollinator for other apple trees.

ADAMS PEARMAIN FLOWERING AND HARVEST TIMES:

The average flowering time (optimum time for pollination) and date when fruits are ripe in the UK for the Adam’s Pearmain apple tree are set out below. If you have set your home town we can give you a more accurate estimate, if you have not set your home town (do it now by clicking here) the dates below will be the average for the UK. Your town has not been set, the average main flowering time for Adams Pearmain in the UK is the first week of May. Fruit will be ready for harvesting in the second week of October. Click here if you want to set the dates to your home town.

Flowering and fruit picking dates vary according to the weather in any particular growing season so the above dates may well change slightly from one year to the next. The flowering date above is when the apple tree produces the maximum number of blossoms, it will also produce blossom, although less, a week or two either side of the date given. Even though flowering times may differ from year to year depending on conditions it will, in general, do the same for all apple varieties.

BUYING AN ADAM’S PEARMAIN APPLE TREE

Adam’s Pearmain apple trees are not normally found at garden centres although they are reasonably common online. So your choices for sourcing this apple tree are either from online websites or specialist nurseries. Remember that all apple trees need a stake to support them for the first couple of years and some require staking for life. So if you haven’t got a stake and a tie for your new tree then buy one when you order the tree for convenience.

COMMON POLLINATION PARTNERS FOR ADAMS PEARMAIN

Adams Pearmain is in pollination group 3, self-sterile and needs a pollination partner. Suitable pollination varieties include the following:

Alkmene – pollination group 2, self-sterile, eater
Arthur Turner – pollination group 3, self-sterile, cooker
Beauty of Bath – pollination group 2, self-sterile, eater
Bountiful – pollination group 3, self-sterile, cooker
Braeburn – pollination group 4, self-fertile, eater
Charles Ross – pollination group 3, partially self-fertile, cooker and eater
Court of Wick – pollination group 3, self-sterile, eater and cooker
Devonshire Quarrenden – pollination group 2, partially self-fertile, cooker
Discovery – pollination group 3, self-sterile, eating and cider
Dumelows Seedling – pollination group 4, self-sterile, cooker
Egremont Russet – pollination group 2, partially self-fertile, eater and cooker
Ellisons Orange – pollination group 4, partially self-fertile, eater
Falstaff – pollination group 3, self-fertile, eater
Fiesta – pollination group 3, partially self-fertile, eater
Gala – pollination group 4, partially self-fertile, eater
Golden Delicious – pollination group 4, partially self-fertile, eater and cooker
Granny Smith – pollination group 3, self-fertile, eater and cooker
Greensleeves – pollination group 2, self-fertile, eater, cooker, juice
Grenadier – pollination group 3, partially self-fertile, cooker
Honeycrisp – pollination group 4, self-sterile, eater
Howgate Wonder – pollination group 3, partially self-fertile, cooker and eater
Idared – pollination group 2, self-sterile, eater
James Grieve – pollination group 3, partially self-fertile, cooker and eater
Katy – pollination group 3, self-sterile, both
Kidds Orange Red – pollination group 3, self-sterile, eater
King of The Pippins – pollination group 4, self-fertile, eater and cooker
Lanes Prince Albert – pollination group 4, self-sterile, cooking
Laxtons Fortune – pollination group 3, partially self-fertile, eater
Laxtons Superb – pollination group 4, partially self-fertile, eater
Lord Derby – pollination group 4, self-sterile, cooker
Lord Lambourne – pollination group 2, self-fertile, eater and cooker
Newton Wonder – pollination group 4, partially self-fertile, cooker
Peasgoods Nonsuch – pollination group 3, partially self-fertile, cooker
Rajka – pollination group 4, self-sterile, eater
Red Falstaff – pollination group 3, self-fertile, eater
Red Windsor – pollination group 2, self-fertile, eater
Reverend W Wilks – pollination group 2, self-fertile, cooker
Scrumptious – pollination group 3, self-fertile, eater
Sops in Wine – pollination group 3, self-sterile, eater
Spartan – pollination group 3, self-fertile, eater
Sunset – pollination group 3, self-fertile, eater
Tydemans Late Orange – pollination group 4, self-sterile, eater
Waltz – pollination group 3, self-sterile, eater
Winston – pollination group 4, self-fertile, eater
Worcester Pearmain – pollination group 3, partially self-fertile, eater

SUMMARY CHARACTERISTICS OF ADAMS PEARMAIN

USE: Eating

SKIN COLOUR / TEXTURE: Red with yellow areas

FLESH COLOUR: Light yellow

TASTE AND TEXTURE: Acid and sweet with an excellent apple aroma, crisp, dense and crunchy

FRUIT SIZE: Slightly larger than average

STORAGE: Two months

SUITABILITY FOR CORDON / ESPALIER GROWTH: Not known

TREE SIZE: Slight below average size depending on rootstock and conditions

REGULARITY OF CROPPING: Regular

POLLINATION: Group 3, self sterile, needs a suitable pollination partner. Not good at pollinating other varieties

AWARDS: None

SPECIAL FEATURES: Very pleasant tasting apple, dates back to 1826. The full list of apple tree varieties which we have reviewed is listed below. Select any one of them and then click the “More Information” button to be taken to the in depth review:

MORE PAGES ABOUT GROWING APPLE TREES:

HOW TO GROW APPLE TREES

HOW TO PLANT AN APPLE TREE

CARING FOR APPLE TREES

PRUNING APPLE TREES

HARVESTING AND STORING APPLES

APPLE TREE PESTS AND DISEASES

APPLE TREE POLLINATION GROUPS