Heritage Apples

Why save our heritage apples?

What are the risks involved if we lose these apples and why is it so important?

Our food heritage at risk

Orchards were once widespread across the country, but over the past 100 years they have been steadily disappearing. The commercial orchards that survive tend to grow a limited range of apples because most supermarkets demand a consistently-sized and flavoured product, available all year round.

A broken chain

All apple trees belonging to one variety have been carefully propagated through grafting and budding, forming a continuous genetic link with the past. Unless someone makes the effort to carry on growing and grafting from a particular variety, it can become extinct and the chain is broken.

Loss of diversity

By becoming reliant on a very limited number of varieties, our food supply may be vulnerable if we are hit be a particular disease or pest. Heritage collections form a valuable genetic bank which we may need to draw on in order to develop resistant new varieties.

A haven for wildlife

Traditional orchards are a haven for wildlife. They combine elements of woodland, meadow, grassland and pasture and provide a rich habitat for plants, insects and animals. The branches are home to beetles and birds, several rare species like the noble chafer beetle and lesser spotted woodpecker are partial to apple trees above all others. The spring blossom attracts pollinators and the fruits provide an important food source for autumn and winter too as windfalls continue to feed birds, hedgehogs and badgers.

Image: Clockwise from top right: The Black-winged Humble-bee, The Eyed Hawk Moth, Apple Blossom, The Red Admiral Butterfly

Heritage orchards & climate change

Biodiversity is important as it helps to ensure natural environments are sustainable and resilient. Healthy ecosystems are better able to withstand challenges including those arising from local disasters or as a result of climate change. Orchards are also helping us to understand these global changes. The flowering dates of apple trees, which are highly sensitive to environmental conditions, are used by climate scientists to monitor seasonal variation. As some traditional orchards are centuries old they provide a unique opportunity to map this variation through many years.

Image: Non-pariel Apple, with its fruit set for growth May 5th, 1727

Get involved

The Royal Horticultural Society is the UK’s leading gardening charity. We aim to enrich everyone’s life through plants, and make the UK a greener and more beautiful place.