In message , David Hill
writes
".......... You can get a selection of different apples
grafted to your basic rootstock AFAIK the limit is three different, so you
can have an early cropper a
late cropper and possibly a cooker too. ....."

Sounds good but you might have problems with pollination as many apples need
another variety (Or 2 in some cases) to pollinate them, and they have to be
in flower at the same time.

OTOH if there are other apple trees in the neighbourhood a family tree
makes some sense. Even a modest one after a few years can carry enough
crop to be overwhelming for early apples. The only problem is keeping
the two (harder three) parts of the tree growing in balance.

Incidentally - any recommendations for a good flavoured reliable early
apple to grow and fruit well on heavy clay in N Yorkshire ? Not in a
frost pocket but very windy.

Regards,
--
Martin Brown