Gloucestershire Orchard Group

Conserves, promotes and celebrates traditional orchards in Gloucestershire

How to get fruit identified

1. Send at least three specimens of each cultivar (variety). The specimens should be typical of the cultivar, neither bruised nor imperfect, and should have reached maturity, showing characteristic size and colour.
2. If possible, a sample of young shoot with foliage.
3. Give as many details as possible, eg the soil, age of the tree, how regularly it crops, its habit (photo helpful), and the source of supply if known.
4. An s.a.e. for the reply.

If a tree is known to have been raised from a pip, it is a new and therefore nameless cultivar and its fruit should not be sent for identification.

Number each sample and keep a record of the tree, bush or plant from which it was taken, as fruit cannot be returned. Apples and pears are best numbered in biro or marking ink on the skin. Plums and soft fruit should be securely packed in separate, clearly numbered bags. Do not use stick-on labels as they are liable to become loose in the post.

Pack in newspaper, polystyrene granules or similar material, in a strong box that will not be crushed in the post, and mark the wrapper "FRUIT NAMING". Do not use a box that has contained, for example, soap, as the smell masks the characteristic flavour of the fruit.