The 'Laxton's Superb' is an apple

cultivar A cultivar is a kind of Horticulture, cultivated plant that people have selected for desired phenotypic trait, traits and which retains those traits when Plant propagation, propagated. Methods used to propagate cultivars include division, root a ...

that was developed in

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

in 1897. It is a cross breed between 'Cellini' and '

Cox's Orange Pippin Cox's Orange Pippin, in Britain often referred to simply as Cox, is an apple cultivar first grown in 1825 or 1830 at Colnbrook in Buckinghamshire, England, by the retired brewer and horticulturist Richard Cox (horticulturist), Richard Cox. Thoug ...

'. It is a British apple with a green color and a dull red flush. It is a firm-textured dessert apple. The fruit is well known for its sweet and aromatic taste, which is likened to the parent cultivar it is derived from, the 'Cox's Orange Pippin'. *S genotype S5 S16b *Density 0.80-0.82 g/cc *Sugar 14.0% *Acid 7.4 g/litre.Petzold Herbert, Apfelsorten, 1990 *Vitamin C 5-9mg/100g.

History

Bank Hall Walled Garden Apple Trees May 2010

'Laxton's Superb' was first bred in 1897 by Laxton Brothers and introduced in 1922 having received an

Award of Garden Merit The Award of Garden Merit (AGM) is a long-established award for plants by the British Royal Horticultural Society (RHS). It is based on assessment of the plants' performance under UK growing conditions. It includes the full range of cultivated p ...

from the

Royal Horticultural Society The Royal Horticultural Society (RHS), founded in 1804 as the Horticultural Society of London, is the UK's leading gardening charity. The RHS promotes horticulture through its five gardens at Wisley (Surrey), Hyde Hall (Essex), Harlow Carr ...

in 1921. Laxton Brothers were a famous

Victorian era In the history of the United Kingdom and the British Empire, the Victorian era was the reign of Queen Victoria, from 20 June 1837 until her death on 22 January 1901. Slightly different definitions are sometimes used. The era followed the ...

company of plant breeders from

Bedford Bedford is a market town in Bedfordshire, England. At the 2011 Census, the population was 106,940. Bedford is the county town of Bedfordshire and seat of the Borough of Bedford local government district. Bedford was founded at a ford (crossin ...

in England. Laxton Brothers were also well known for breeding numerous fruit varieties (apples and strawberries in particular). Thomas Laxton's company continued to trade after his death in 1893 as "Laxton Brothers" as the company was taken over by his sons and grandsons, until it ceased trading in 1957 when it was taken over by Bunyard Nurseries. Bunyard eventually shut down the company and the orchards were built upon. However, the Laxton variety of apple still lives on as the town of Bedford has planted an orchard of the Laxton apple trees.

Winston Churchill Sir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill (30 November 1874 – 24 January 1965) was a British statesman, military officer, and writer who was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1940 to 1945 (Winston Churchill in the Second World War, ...

was also believed to have ordered fruit trees and plants for his

Chartwell Chartwell is a English country house, country house near Westerham, Kent, in South East England. For over forty years, it was the home of Sir Winston Churchill. He bought the property in September 1922 and lived there until shortly before his ...

estate in

Westerham Westerham is a town and civil parishes in England, civil parish in the Sevenoaks District of Kent, England. It is located 3.4 miles east of Oxted and 6 miles west of Sevenoaks, adjacent to the Kent border with both Greater London and Surrey. I ...

Kent Kent is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Essex across the Thames Estuary to the north, the Strait of Dover to the south-east, East Sussex to the south-west, Surrey to the west, and Gr ...

. There are also surviving Laxton apple trees at

Bank Hall Bank Hall is a Jacobean mansion in Bretherton, Lancashire, England. It is a Grade II* listed building and is at the centre of a private estate, surrounded by parkland. The hall was built on the site of an older house in 1608 by the Banastres w ...

Bretherton Bretherton is a small village and civil parish in the Borough of Chorley, Lancashire, England, situated to the south west of Leyland and east of Tarleton. The population of the civil parish at the 2011 census was 669. Its name suggests pre-c ...

Lancashire Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated ''Lancs'') is a ceremonial county in North West England. It is bordered by Cumbria to the north, North Yorkshire and West Yorkshire to the east, Greater Manchester and Merseyside to the south, and the Irish Sea to ...

Growing

The 'Laxton Superb' is self-fertile, but cross pollination will maximise the yield. It generally flowers from April to May in the northern hemisphere. The tree often provides a heavy crop which is best harvested in October.Bunyard, E.A. (1920) "A Handbook of Fruits", P96. It has a strong tendency to biennial (every other year) bearing.

References

{{Apples, state=collapsed British apples Dessert apples Apple cultivars

History

Growing

See also

References