One of the finest apples to have come from Scotland, it was first noted in 1893 and up to the 1960s was grown commercially. Growers stopped producing it because it bruised too easily compared to more modern varieties.
This is a multi-purpose apple and can be used for eating, cooking and making truly superlative apple juice. It crops relatively early in the season as a cooker, leave it a month or so longer and you have a very tasty apple with a slightly unusual texture. Good for growing in many cooler areas of the UK.
PARENTAGE
Neither parent of James Grieve is known for sure but one of them is suspected to be either Pott’s Seedling or Cox’s Orange Pippin.
APPEARANCE AND TASTE OF JAMES GRIEVE APPLES
The apples are slightly larger than average and when fully ripe they look very attractive. A yellow-orange base with lots of red streaks, a picture-postcard apple. Slightly oval in shape.
When picked a couple of weeks before fully ripe they make excellent cooking apples. Slightly sweeter than your average cooker, they keep their shape well in pies. Let the apples ripen fully and they sweeten up even more but still have a background acidity. The flesh is crisp but probably nearer a firm pear type texture than a modern apple. It is full of juicy apple flavour.
One of the reasons that James Grieve fell out out of favour with commercial growers was that they bruise easily. So take care when picking and storing them.
GROWING JAMES GRIEVE APPLES IN THE UK
In the UK, James Grieve is suited to growing in most areas except the much warmer coastal regions. It does well in the far north, Midlands and most of the south. Disease resistance is on the good side.
Follow the basic rules for planting an apple tree. The trees are average as far vigour and height are concerned. We would suggest buying a James Grieve on an M26 rootstock for a small to average sized garden. If your soil is particularly, poor consider an MM106 rootstock.
Flowering and fruiting times for James Grieve are specifically stated near the end of this article. The good news is that this variety is partially self-fertile and will produce a reasonable crop of apples even when grown on its own.
James Grieve is in pollination group three and partially self-fertile. It will benefit even further, as far as pollination is concerned, from neighbouring apple trees in groups 2, 3 and 4. It is also a very good pollinator of many other apple trees. The pollen produced by this variety is less affected by cooler temperatures compared to other varieties.
JAMES GRIEVE APPLE PEST AND DISEASE
James Grieve shows slightly above average resistance to pest and disease. The one problem it is prone to is canker. It damages the bark of the tree and the only solution is to cut out the infected areas as soon as as you notice it. Early action reduces the risk of further infections. See the picture below:
Canker damage to a fruit tree
For more information about identifying, treating and avoiding canker see our dedicated page for this disease here.
PRUNING A JAMES GRIEVE APPLE TREE
James Grieve produces fruit buds in the most common way, as a spur bearer. See here for detailed advice on pruning apple trees.
SUMMARY OF JAMES GRIEVE APPLE TREES
USE: Eating, cooking and juicing
SKIN COLOUR / TEXTURE: Yellow background with red streaks
FLESH COLOUR: Creamy white
TASTE AND TEXTURE: Slightly acidic, full flavoured, Crisp but similar to a firm pear
FRUIT SIZE: Average
STORAGE: Two months
SUITABILITY FOR CORDON / ESPALIER GROWTH: Yes
TREE SIZE: Average
REGULARITY OF CROPPING: Very reliable cropper
POLLINATION: Partially self-fertile. Pollination Group 3 (see here for suitable partners)
AWARDS: Awarded a Royal Horticultural Society Award of Garden Merit in 2003, this was reconfirmed in the 2013 trials.
SPECIAL FEATURES: Good taste, does well in cooler parts of the UK
FLOWERING AND HARVEST TIMES:
The average flowering time (optimum time for pollination) and date when fruits are ripe in the UK for the James Grieve 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 James Grieve
in the UK is the second week of May. Fruit will be ready for harvesting in the second week of September.
Click here if you want to set the dates to your home town.
James Grieve blossom
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.
BUYING JAMES GRIEVE APPLE TREES
James Grieve trees are available to buy from garden centres, plant nurseries and via websites in the UK.
In common with most other apple trees buying online from a garden centre looks to be the most expensive option although picking up a tree yourself from your local garden centre will give better prices.
Wait until November onwards and bare-rooted trees will be in stock at much cheaper prices compared to pot grown ones.
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 JAMES GRIEVE
James Grieve is in pollination group 3. It is self-fertile but in poor years it may benefit from 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
Ellison’s Orange – pollination group 4, partially self-fertile, eater
Fiesta – pollination group 3, partially self-fertile, eater
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:
Rootstocks and Size
Guide to Planting
Care Plan
Pruning Apple Trees
Harvest and Storage
Pests and Disease
Pollination Groups
James Grieve Apple Tree Independent Advice
One of the finest apples to have come from Scotland, it was first noted in 1893 and up to the 1960s was grown commercially. Growers stopped producing it because it bruised too easily compared to more modern varieties.
This is a multi-purpose apple and can be used for eating, cooking and making truly superlative apple juice. It crops relatively early in the season as a cooker, leave it a month or so longer and you have a very tasty apple with a slightly unusual texture. Good for growing in many cooler areas of the UK.
PARENTAGE
Neither parent of James Grieve is known for sure but one of them is suspected to be either Pott’s Seedling or Cox’s Orange Pippin.
APPEARANCE AND TASTE OF JAMES GRIEVE APPLES
The apples are slightly larger than average and when fully ripe they look very attractive. A yellow-orange base with lots of red streaks, a picture-postcard apple. Slightly oval in shape.
When picked a couple of weeks before fully ripe they make excellent cooking apples. Slightly sweeter than your average cooker, they keep their shape well in pies. Let the apples ripen fully and they sweeten up even more but still have a background acidity. The flesh is crisp but probably nearer a firm pear type texture than a modern apple. It is full of juicy apple flavour.
One of the reasons that James Grieve fell out out of favour with commercial growers was that they bruise easily. So take care when picking and storing them.
GROWING JAMES GRIEVE APPLES IN THE UK
In the UK, James Grieve is suited to growing in most areas except the much warmer coastal regions. It does well in the far north, Midlands and most of the south. Disease resistance is on the good side.
Follow the basic rules for planting an apple tree. The trees are average as far vigour and height are concerned. We would suggest buying a James Grieve on an M26 rootstock for a small to average sized garden. If your soil is particularly, poor consider an MM106 rootstock.
Flowering and fruiting times for James Grieve are specifically stated near the end of this article. The good news is that this variety is partially self-fertile and will produce a reasonable crop of apples even when grown on its own.
James Grieve is in pollination group three and partially self-fertile. It will benefit even further, as far as pollination is concerned, from neighbouring apple trees in groups 2, 3 and 4. It is also a very good pollinator of many other apple trees. The pollen produced by this variety is less affected by cooler temperatures compared to other varieties.
JAMES GRIEVE APPLE PEST AND DISEASE
James Grieve shows slightly above average resistance to pest and disease. The one problem it is prone to is canker. It damages the bark of the tree and the only solution is to cut out the infected areas as soon as as you notice it. Early action reduces the risk of further infections. See the picture below:
Canker damage to a fruit tree
For more information about identifying, treating and avoiding canker see our dedicated page for this disease here.
PRUNING A JAMES GRIEVE APPLE TREE
James Grieve produces fruit buds in the most common way, as a spur bearer. See here for detailed advice on pruning apple trees.
SUMMARY OF JAMES GRIEVE APPLE TREES
USE: Eating, cooking and juicing
SKIN COLOUR / TEXTURE: Yellow background with red streaks
FLESH COLOUR: Creamy white
TASTE AND TEXTURE: Slightly acidic, full flavoured, Crisp but similar to a firm pear
FRUIT SIZE: Average
STORAGE: Two months
SUITABILITY FOR CORDON / ESPALIER GROWTH: Yes
TREE SIZE: Average
REGULARITY OF CROPPING: Very reliable cropper
POLLINATION: Partially self-fertile. Pollination Group 3 (see here for suitable partners)
AWARDS: Awarded a Royal Horticultural Society Award of Garden Merit in 2003, this was reconfirmed in the 2013 trials.
SPECIAL FEATURES: Good taste, does well in cooler parts of the UK
FLOWERING AND HARVEST TIMES:
The average flowering time (optimum time for pollination) and date when fruits are ripe in the UK for the James Grieve 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 James Grieve in the UK is the second week of May. Fruit will be ready for harvesting in the second week of September. 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.
BUYING JAMES GRIEVE APPLE TREES
James Grieve trees are available to buy from garden centres, plant nurseries and via websites in the UK.
In common with most other apple trees buying online from a garden centre looks to be the most expensive option although picking up a tree yourself from your local garden centre will give better prices.
Wait until November onwards and bare-rooted trees will be in stock at much cheaper prices compared to pot grown ones.
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 JAMES GRIEVE
James Grieve is in pollination group 3. It is self-fertile but in poor years it may benefit from a pollination partner. Suitable pollination varieties include the following:
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: