Three Counties cider apple trees

• Check pollinators >

• Picking season: Mid
• Self-fertility: Not self-fertile
• Flowering group: 2

Three Counties is a modern bittersweet cider variety. It has a passing resemblance to Dabinett (one of its parents) but ripens much earlier - usually in mid-September.

Three Counties organic cider apple trees for sale

• 11 yeartree on M9 rootstock23.95€
  Small tree (1.5m-2.5m after 10 years) Bare-root
  

  Sold-out
• 21 yeartree on M116 rootstock23.95€
  Medium tree (2m-3.5m after 10 years) Bare-root
  

  Sold-out
• 31 yeartree on MM111 rootstock23.25€
  Large tree (3m-5m after 10 years) Bare-root
  

  Sold-out
• 41 yeartree on Bittenfelder rootstock23.95€
  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.

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If you do not hear from us by March you can contact us to pre-order for next autumn.

History

The Three Counties cider apple variety is named after the traditional cider-growing counties of Gloucestershire, Herefordshire, and Worcestershire. It was developed at the Long Ashton Research Station of the University of Bristol in the 1990s, in response to demand from commercial cider producers for a cider apple that would ripen in September - much earlier than the traditional varieties. It is thought to be a cross between Dabinett - one of the best English cider varieties, but very late ripening - and James Grieve - a juicy early-season apple.

Three Counties characteristics

• Gardening skillAverage
• Self-fertilityNot self-fertile
• Flowering group2
• Picking seasonMid
• Food usesJuiceHard cider
• Summer average maximum temperaturesCool ( 20-24C / 68-75F)Warm (25-30C / 76-85F)
• Country of originUnited Kingdom
• Period of origin1950 - 1999
• Fruit colourRed striped

Similar varieties

• 
  Amere Nouvelle
  Amere Nouvelle is a traditional French bittersweet cider apple.
• 
  Dabinett
  Dabinett is a traditional English cider apple variety, producing a bittersweet juice.
• 
  Kingston Black
  Kingston Black is one of the premier English cider varieties and produces a bittersharp juice.
• 
  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.