A rare apple tree, named after National Trust Cymru’s Llanerchaeron, has had its future secured after the property’s garden team grafted a new crop of trees.

Llanerchaeron is one of only six locations - four in Ireland and one in Cornwall - where the rare Llanerchaeron Peach apple variety is known to exist.

Sheltered by ancient walls, this curious variety of apple can be found growing on a sprawling, gnarled tree at the edge of the walled garden. Its original name lost to the annals of history, was registered in 2022 as ‘Llanerchaeron Peach’ by members of Welsh charity Marcher Apple Network.

Its name refers to the tree at Llanerchaeron and ‘Peach’ due to its resemblance to the fruit’s shape and colour.

Head Gardener in the Walled Garden at Llanerchaeron, Ceredigion
Head Gardener in the Walled Garden at Llanerchaeron, Ceredigion (National Trust)

To secure the future of this rare variety of apple, the gardening team at Llanerchaeron set about grafting new trees from the original ancient apple tree. In the first crop, the team successfully grafted around 25 new Llanerchaeron Peach apple trees.

These rare trees have now found new homes across Ceredigion and beyond.

A couple will be planted at Llanerchaeron and others were available to be purchased at last month’s Apple Weekend to support the ongoing conservation work in the garden.

Alex Summers, Head Gardener for National Trust Cymru in Carmarthenshire and Ceredigion said: “We wanted to share this rare apple with the local community to ensure the future of this special tree. Knowing that trees grafted from the collection of heritage apples that we care for are now distributed in the local community is really important for the future of this collection.”

One of the rare trees has been gifted to Penyrheol Comprehensive School in Swansea. Together with Head Gardener Alex, the school has planted the Llanerchaeron Peach alongside other apple varieties, Nolan Pippin, Afal Aeron and Howgate Wonder as part of a new garden area in the school grounds.

National Trust
Llanerchaeron Peach apple on display at Llanerchaeron. (National Trust)

Karen Jones, Assistant Headteacher at Penyrheol Comprehensive School said: “We are delighted with the opportunity and learning that was provided by the National Trust when they visited our school. Our pupils have benefited enormously from the tree planting, and we look forward to watching them grow. We are now forging further and stronger links with the Trust so that we can work together once again on future projects.”

National Trust Cymru hope to continue to graft trees from the heritage orchard collection in Llanerchaeron to play their part in securing the future of Wales’ apple heritage. The garden team at Llanerchaeron cares for a further 52 varieties of heritage apple trees. Among them are grand espaliers, including that of a majestic Bramley. Other familiar favourites growing in the orchard include Egremont Russet, Ashmead’s Kernel, and the famous Welsh Bardsey apple.

Cared for by National Trust Cymru, the elegant Georgian Villa at Llanerchaeron near Aberaeron, is surrounded by a traditional Welsh working estate, together with a productive walled garden. Visitors stepping through the garden gate will find a remarkably unaltered 18th-century walled garden that has been producing fruit and vegetable trees for over 200 years.

Llanerchaeron, including the walled garden is open Wednesday to Sunday until 3 November, and weekends only during November and December.

National Trust Cymru are inviting people to explore traditional orchards at their gardens and estates across Wales to mark National Apple Day on Monday 21 October. A list of the top orchards to visit in Wales can be found online: www.nationaltrust.org.uk/visit/wales/gardens-parks