Autumn 2024 planting seasonPre-order now for EU delivery December 2024 - March 2025

Yarlington Mill cider apple trees

Malus domestica
Yarlington Mill apples
Yarlington Mill is listed in the RHS Plants for Pollinators
  • Self-fertility: Not self-fertile
  • Flowering group: 5

Yarlington Mill is a traditional English cider apple variety. It was discovered at the end of the 19th century and has been a mainstay of English commercial cider production ever since. 

It is a heavy-cropping variety and yields a large quantity of good quality bittersweet juice, which can be blended with other cider varieties. The apples tend to be a bit larger than is generally the case with cider varieties.

Bio / Organic  fruit trees

Yarlington Mill organic cider apple trees for sale


  • 11 yeartree on M116 rootstock25.95€
    Medium tree (2m-3.5m after 10 years) Bare-root
    Sold-out
  • 21 yeartree on MM111 rootstock25.25€
    Large tree (3m-5m after 10 years) Bare-root
    Sold-out
  • 31 yeartree on Bittenfelder rootstock25.25€
    Very large tree (5m-6m+ after 10 years) Bare-root
    Sold-out

Contact us if you would like to go on the waiting list for next season.

EU delivery countries
  • Austria
  • Belgium
  • Croatia
  • Czech Republic
  • Denmark
  • Estonia
  • France
  • Germany
  • Ireland
  • Italy
  • Latvia
  • Lithuania
  • Luxembourg
  • Netherlands
  • Poland
  • Portugal
  • Slovakia
  • Spain
  • Sweden
  • Switzerland
Delivery chargesClick here to view estimated delivery charges.

Growing and Training

Yarlington Mill produces apples from a young age. It will readily over-crop and as a result may become a biennial bearer, but this can be controlled by thinning the crop in the "on" year. It is generally quite easy to grow.


History

As the name suggests, Yarlington Mill was found in the late 19th century as a seedling tree growing by a water mill in the area of Yarlington in Somerset, one of the traditional cider-producing areas of England.


Yarlington Mill characteristics

  • Gardening skillAverage
  • Self-fertilityNot self-fertile
  • Flowering group5
  • Disease resistanceAverage
  • Picking seasonVery late
  • Season of use2-3 weeks
  • Food usesHard cider
  • Cold hardiness (USDA)Zone 4 (-34C)
  • Summer average maximum temperaturesCool ( 20-24C / 68-75F)Warm (25-30C / 76-85F)
  • Country of originUnited Kingdom
  • Period of origin1850 - 1899
  • Fruit colourOrange / Red

Similar varieties

  • See also Amere Nouvelle
    Amere Nouvelle
    Amere Nouvelle is a traditional French bittersweet cider apple.
  • See also Dabinett
    Dabinett
    Dabinett is a traditional English cider apple variety, producing a bittersweet juice.
  • See also Kingston Black
    Kingston Black
    Kingston Black is one of the premier English cider varieties and produces a bittersharp juice.
  • See also Michelin
    Michelin
    Michelin (or Normandie Blanc) is a traditional French cider apple variety producing a bittersweet juice.

More about cider apple trees

Cider production in Europe is traditionally associated with three main regions - Asturias in north west Spain, Bretagne and Normandie in north west France, and the "west country" area of south-west England. These regions all face the Atlantic ocean and have cool temperate maritime climates.

Cider can of course be made with any variety of apples, but in these three regions apple varieties have evolved which are specifically intended for cider production - they have high levels of tannins which give "body" to the resulting cider, but which make them very unpalatable to eat fresh.

Good quality cider is almost always made with a blend of different apple varieties, using bitter, sweet, and sharp flavour components. It is quite common to mix in regular cooking and dessert apples to lend extra flavours.

If you are in an area with a hotter continental climate (with average summer maximum temperatures routinely over 30C) then you might want to consider using apple varieties that can withstand warmer temperatures, but still have good juice qualities. In this case rather than using European varieties you might want to seek inspiration from the very different "hard cider" traditions of North America, where dessert and crab-apples are widely used.

We have a good range of traditional English and French cider varieties, as well as a number of mainstream apple varieties with good juice qualities that lend themselves to cider production.