The message . com
from "cliff_the_gardener" contains
these words:


When it comes to growing fruit in a limited space I do believe you need
to make the choice between wanting to grow a heritage variety because
it is a heritage variety ( and may suffer from a selection of ailments)
through to the more modern offerings. In my book I want taste and
reliability. I don't want a fest one year and nothing the next.
Equally I don't want to be spraying for a host of problems either. So
I spend my time going through the books, which is why I have affection
for Martin Crawford's book Directory of Apple Cultivars. That can lead
to a choice of older cultivars or to more recent introductions.


For grouping fruit by characteristics - well in the main text no.
There are a couple of books, that are hard to get hold of, which serve
as keys to apple identification. One of them Apples - A guide to the
Identification of International Varieties, John Bultitude ISBN
0333385365. Bultitude was the UK expert in apples until his death in
1979; he devised a system of classification to aid apple
identification. This involved grouping the apples into eight, Group
VI: Mainly red (Worcester type) mainly dessert apples, and group VIII
skin mainly russet (Egremont Russet type) dessert apples. In the table
he lists the shape of fruit and its season. The book itself is in
alphabetical order.

'Apples: a Field Guide' by Michael Clark deals with apples in these
groups. It is readily available. It was published in 2003.
Janet G