Ashmead's Kernel Apple
Pollination & Compatibility Guide
Ashmead's Kernel apple pollination guide: triploid russet, bloom group 4, needs two diploid partners. Cider and dessert use, storage and layout notes.
Ashmead's Kernel is a Triploid (Needs 2 Partners)
Ashmead's Kernel is a triploid: its pollen is sterile, so it cannot fertilise anything — not even the trees planted to pollinate it. It needs TWO compatible pollinizers from bloom group 3–5, which will also pollinate each other.
- Chromosome Ploidy
- triploid
- Required Companions
- 2 Diploid Partners (3-Way)
- Bloom Group
- Group 4 (Late-Spring)
- Harvest Timing
- Late (-15d from Golden Delicious)
Flowering Period & Overlap Window
Apple flowering periods are classified into numbered bloom groups (1 through 6). A variety reliably cross-pollinates with cultivars in its own group or adjacent groups (±1 group).
Any compatible diploid apple flowering within Group 3 to 5 provides matching blossom overlap.
Compatible Pollination Partners (75)
| Cultivar | Bloom Group | Overlap Type | Harvest | Primary Uses | Interactive Test |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Group 4 | Full Overlap | Late ±5d delta | Fresh Eating | Test Cross | |
| Group 4 | Full Overlap | Mid ±5d delta | Fresh Eating | Test Cross | |
Hawkeye (Original Delicious) | Group 4 | Full Overlap | Mid ±5d delta | Fresh Eating | Test Cross |
Kandil Sinap | Group 4 | Full Overlap | Late ±5d delta | Fresh Eating | Test Cross |
| Group 4 | Full Overlap | Mid ±5d delta | Fresh Eating | Test Cross | |
Snow (Fameuse) | Group 4 | Full Overlap | Mid ±10d delta | Fresh Eating | Test Cross |
| Group 4 | Full Overlap | Mid ±15d delta | All-Purpose | Test Cross | |
Melrose | Group 4 | Full Overlap | Late ±15d delta | All-Purpose, Storage | Test Cross |
Tolman Sweet | Group 4 | Full Overlap | Late ±15d delta | Cooking, Cider | Test Cross |
Beni Shogun | Group 4 | Full Overlap | Mid ±20d delta | Fresh Eating | Test Cross |
SweeTango® | Group 4 | Full Overlap | Early ±20d delta | Fresh Eating | Test Cross |
Tydeman's Late Orange | Group 4 | Full Overlap | Late ±20d delta | Fresh Eating | Test Cross |
| Group 4 | Full Overlap | Late ±25d delta | All-Purpose | Test Cross | |
Newtown Pippin | Group 4 | Full Overlap | Late ±25d delta | All-Purpose, Storage | Test Cross |
White Winter Pearmain | Group 4 | Full Overlap | Late ±25d delta | All-Purpose, Storage | Test Cross |
Incompatible Varieties & Exclusions (13)
These varieties overlap in flowering time with Ashmead's Kernel but cannot fertilise it due to sterile pollen (triploids) or shared genetic incompatibility alleles.
Arkansas Black produces no viable pollen, so it cannot serve as a pollinizer.
Baldwin produces no viable pollen, so it cannot serve as a pollinizer.
Belle de Boskoop produces no viable pollen, so it cannot serve as a pollinizer.
Blenheim Orange produces no viable pollen, so it cannot serve as a pollinizer.
Bramley's Seedling produces no viable pollen, so it cannot serve as a pollinizer.
Fall Pippin produces no viable pollen, so it cannot serve as a pollinizer.
Jonagold produces no viable pollen, so it cannot serve as a pollinizer.
Karmijn de Sonnaville produces no viable pollen, so it cannot serve as a pollinizer.
Mutsu (Crispin) produces no viable pollen, so it cannot serve as a pollinizer.
Orleans Reinette produces no viable pollen, so it cannot serve as a pollinizer.
Spigold produces no viable pollen, so it cannot serve as a pollinizer.
Stayman Winesap produces no viable pollen, so it cannot serve as a pollinizer.
Zabergau Reinette produces no viable pollen, so it cannot serve as a pollinizer.
Grower Commentary: Ashmead's Kernel Triploid Pollination and Late Flavour
Ashmead's Kernel is an old English russet, and our record classes it as triploid, measured in the NFC accession work, so its pollen is sterile. Plant it with two diploid cultivars that flower in bloom group 4 and cross-pollinate each other. A single companion is not enough, because Ashmead's Kernel cannot pollinate anything, including the tree beside it.
Harvest falls about two weeks before Golden Delicious in maritime north-west European conditions, but the fruit does not taste its best then. Acid is sharp and the sugar comes through in storage, so treat it as a winter apple and let it mellow for a few weeks. Uses are dessert and cider, where the high acid and intense flavour make a strong blending component.
The catalogue notes good resistance to most diseases, and the russet skin copes with wet weather better than many smooth-skinned apples. Fruit is small, so thin carefully to hold size, and plan for direct sales to customers who know the variety; it rarely suits supermarket specifications.
Key Orchard Considerations for Ashmead's Kernel
Plant two compatible bloom group 4 diploids so that pollinizers also set fruit on each other.
Russeting is part of the character; thin lightly to keep fruit from staying small.
Pick, then store for flavour; suits farm gate, cider blending and specialist markets.
Take Ashmead's Kernel from Planning to Planting
Use Kropigo's free browser tools to model your block density, tree counts, and pollinizer rows, then maintain permanent orchard records row by row.
Pollination Checker
Check Ashmead's Kernel against supported cultivars with compatible flowering and pollination data.
Commercial Block Planner
Calculate high-density tree spacing, row geometry, and establishment costs.
Block Record Keeping
Track pruning, chemical thinning, and harvest tallies block by block from the orchard.