Kingston Black cider apple trees

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• Self-fertility: Not self-fertile
• Flowering group: 4

Kingston Black is one of the definitive English cider apple varieties and produces a high quality bittersharp juice.

It is one of the few cider varieties where the juice is sufficiently balanced to make a single-varietal cider.

Note that Kingston Black cannot be eaten fresh - it is grown solely for juice / cider use.

Kingston Black organic cider apple trees for sale

Next deliveries: December 2025

• 11 yeartree on M116 rootstock26.95€
  Medium tree (2m-3.5m after 10 years) Bare-root
  

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• 21 yeartree on MM111 rootstock26.25€
  Large tree (3m-5m after 10 years) Bare-root
  

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

History

Kingston Black takes its name from the the town of Kingston near Taunton in Somerset, the main cider-growing area of the UK. It is thought to have arisen in the 19th century.

Kingston Black characteristics

• Gardening skillExperienced
• Self-fertilityNot self-fertile
• Flowering group4
• Disease resistancePoor
• Picking seasonVery late
• Season of use2-3 weeks
• Food usesHard cider
• Cold hardiness (USDA)Zone 5 (-29C)
• Summer average maximum temperaturesCool ( 20-24C / 68-75F)
• Country of originUnited Kingdom
• Period of origin1850 - 1899
• Fruit colourCrimson

Similar varieties

• 
  Dabinett
  
• 
  Dabinett
  Dabinett is a traditional English cider apple variety, producing a bittersweet juice.
• 
  Du Verger
  Du Verger is an old French bittersweet cider apple variety.
• 
  Michelin
  Michelin (or Normandie Blanc) is a traditional French cider apple variety producing a bittersweet juice.
• 
  Somerset Redstreak
  
• 
  Tremlett's Bitter
  
• 
  Wickson Crab
  
• 
  Wickson Crab
  Wickson crab is a popular American hard-cider variety.

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.