Cox's Orange Pippin

I once swore I would never grow a cox. Having had a friend who had one in his Oxford garden, I decided it wasn't worth growing. The tree never set any fruit, was prone to powdery mildew and sat in the middle of the garden looking sad and unhealthy. I felt life was just too short to bother with such a sensitive grower.

I had a few spare rootstock cuttings, and just for the sake of it, pocketed a bit of grafting wood from my in-laws Cox. The graft took, I bunged it into a space last autumn, and now I have a Cox cordon. I would have taken this fruit off the maiden tree if I hadn't been distracted by the trauma of bereavement, but at last, I have my first, home-grown cox. Only about 18 inches tall, but growing strongly.

It will be an interesting experiment, as all of the other apples are healthy and virtually disease free under local conditions.