Discovery

A popular disease resistant early dessert apple.

Origin: Essex UK, 1949

Pollination: Discovery is self-sterile and would require a pollinator to produce a crop. Pollination partners

British-grown All our bare-root trees are personally hand-grafted by our Nursery Manager and grown on at our nursery in Kent. We have Defra and Plant Healthy certification. Find out more ...

Discovery apple trees for sale

1-year maiden trees

These are the most versatile choice for home orchards, community fruit tree projects, and for training on in any form you require.

Form	Rootstock	Price	Quantity
Maiden	M27Very dwarfing	£24.50	< 5 in stock
Maiden	M9Dwarfing	£24.50
Maiden	M26Semi-dwarfing	£24.50
Maiden	MM106Semi-vigorous	£24.50	< 5 in stock
Maiden	M25Very vigorous	£24.50	< 5 in stock

If you do not see the rootstock you require it is likely we can graft a tree especially for you - click here for more details of our custom-grafting service.

Pre-trained trees

These trees have already had some formative training in the nursery.

Form	Rootstock	Price	Quantity
Espalier (1 tier)	MM106Semi-vigorous	£39.50
Fan Trained	MM106Semi-vigorous	£39.50

Orders placed now will be delivered in the winter 2024/25 planting season.

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History and description of Discovery

Discovery apple was raised about 1949 by a farm worker called Dummer of Langham, Essex, UK from a Worcester Pearmain crossed possibly with a Beauty of Bath. The story is that Dummer had raised a number of Worcester Pearmain seedlings and chose the best one to plant in his garden. As he only had one arm, he needed assistance from his wife. But she broke her ankle and as a result the seedling was left for weeks simply covered by sacking. However, it survived and grew into a tree which produced good quality fruit which kept longer than most very early apples and unlike others did not drop. The tree came to the attention of the nurseryman Jack Matthews of Thurston, Suffolk who bought grafts and marketed the variety under the name Thurston August. It was renamed Discovery in 1962. It has now become the main early commercial variety in the UK.

Medium sized, flat-round fruit. Bright scarlet flush over a pale greenish yellow skin speckled with small russet dots. Attractive looking. Creamy white flesh often stained pink under the skin. Crisp and juicy. Quite good, distinctive, slightly sharp flavour. Keeps very well for such an early variety. Grown commercially and sold in shops it is picked too early and lacks flavour. But if allowed to ripen properly on the tree it develops a beautiful red skin colour which seeps into its flesh and a very good flavour.

Can be a slow growing tree. Partial tip bearer. Good disease and frost resistance. Slow to come into bearing but crops heavily once mature.

Characteristics of Discovery apple trees

Use	Dessert
Colour	Red
Flavour	Sweet-Sharp
Fruit size	Medium
Picking time	Mid/Late Aug
Season of use	Aug-Sept
Tree vigour	Moderate
Tree habit	Upright-spreading
Fruit-bearing	Partial tip-bearer
Cropping	Good
Disease resistance	Scab - Resistant Mildew - Very resistant
Suitable for	Dry Regions Late Frost Northern Britain
Special features	Good for Juice
Pollination date	11
Pollination group	C
Self-fertility	Self-sterile
Pollinators	Pollination partners
Parentage	Beauty of Bath Worcester Pearmain
Progeny	Nuvar® Long Harvest Red Devil
Sports	Rosette