Lord Grosvenor

Apple

Lord Grosvenor

Origin/History

Origin unknown. Lord Grosvenor is noted as one of the most prolific of all apples.

Tree

Growth not very strong. Fertility excellent. Does well on dry soil. Generally needs thinning to secure well-shaped fruit. Leaf very pale green, large, upfolded, very lax.

Fruit

Size and Form: Medium, measuring approximately 3¼ inches high by 3½ inches wide. Shape conical, distinctly ribbed, and irregular.

Skin: Pale yellow, changing to white at maturity.

Stem: Medium length, much swollen at the end, set in a wide, deep cavity.

Cavity: Wide and deep.

Calyx/Eye: Closed, situated in an unusually puckered and wrinkled basin.

Basin: Unusually puckered and wrinkled.

Flesh/Flavor: White, juicy, and acid. Cooks excellently.

Core/Seeds: Not described in source.

Season

August to September.

Uses

Culinary. Cooks excellently. One of the most prolific of all apples; generally requires thinning to secure well-shaped fruit.

Subtypes/Variants

Not described in source.

Other

A specimen of Lord Grosvenor is held in the USDA ARS collection under Plant Introduction number PI 104730, received from Glenn Dale, Maryland, and reported by the Indiana station. (H.H. Fisher, A Survey of Apple Clones in the United States, 1963.)

Book Sources

Described in 2 period pomological works

Bunyard, A Handbook of Hardy Fruits (1920)
Fisher, A Survey of Apple Clones in the United States (1963) — listed as Lord Grosvener

Nursery Catalog Sources

Found in 9 catalogs (1897–1917) from England, Illinois

Kelway & Son , Langport, Somerset , England — 1897
George Bunyard & Co. , Royal Nurseries, Maidstone, Kent , England — 1900
Central Experimental Farm , Dominion Department of Agriculture, Agassiz, British Columbia (under test; Bulletin No. 3, Second Series) — 1900
Benjamin Buckman (personal inventory) , Farmingdale , Illinois — 1901
James Veitch & Sons , Ltd., Royal Exotic Nursery, Chelsea, London (also Coombe Wood, Langley, and Feltham) , England — 1911
Thomas Rivers & Son , Sawbridgeworth, Hertfordshire , England — 1913
Benjamin Buckman (personal inventory) , Farmingdale , Illinois — 1913
George Bunyard & Co. , Royal Nurseries, Maidstone, Kent , England — 1914
George Bunyard & Co. , Royal Nurseries, Maidstone, Kent , England — 1917

View original book sources (2)

LORD GROSVENOR. Culinary, August to September, medium, 3¼ by 3½, conical, distinctly ribbed, irregular. Colour, pale yellow, changing to white. Flesh, white, juicy, acid, cooking excellently. Eye, closed, in an unusually puckered and wrinkled basin. Stem, medium much swollen at end, in a wide deep, cavity. Growth, not very strong ; fertility, excellent. Leaf, very pale green, large, upfolded, very lax. Origin, unknown. One of the most prolific of all apples ; it generally needs thinning to secure well shaped fruit ; it does well on dry soil.

— E.A. Bunyard, A Handbook of Hardy Fruits (1920)

Lord Grosvener PI No. 104730 Received From: Glenn Dale, Md. Reporting Sta.: InL

— H.H. Fisher (USDA ARS), A Survey of Apple Clones in the United States (1963)

Lord Grosvener