This ornamental apple is bearing a good crop of fruit beside the South Walk.
Malus ‘John Downie’ is a vigorous tree which can reach 10m in height. During spring a profusion of pink buds open to reveal white star-shaped flowers, and in autumn a mass of red-orange flushed fruits are produced. These are valuable for making crab apple jelly. Crab apples are self-fertile and are often grown as companions for other apple trees to encourage their pollination. M. ‘John Downie’ was raised in 1875 and named by E Holmes to commemorate the Scottish nurseryman John Downie. Containing approximately 30 species the genus Malus occurs in Europe, Asia and North America. The genus is subdivided into three categories: apples, smaller crab apples, and wild species. All bear simple, alternate leaves; a corymb or raceme of five-petaled flowers; and rounded fleshy pomes (fruits), which retain their calyx.