Some apple trees take much longer than others to carry fruit. Don't despair! The oldest tree in our little orchard - a "Suntan", took years longer than others, and now, for the first time, about 4 years after planting (it was about 2-3 years old when we planted it) we shall be getting a decent amount of fruit. (If nothing awful happens)

Thankyou for replying. I'll try to be patient :0)

Um, I hope you don't mind my asking the reason (if there is any) behind your choice of avatar? I'm intrigued. Who stole what silver?

LOL! It's the name of my horse. She won a big silver trophy when she was young. After we got home I discovered that someone had complained that she wasn't eligible to be in the class (she was, people are petty) so I felt as if she'd stolen the silver. :o)

She's concerned about the lack of apples too.

Oh my word, then we'd better address this quickly! I don't know much about Katy, it must be fairly new, and maybe some kind of cross(?) but I wholeheartedly approve your other choices ( - FAR too good for a horse! ;o) )

Katy/Katie/Katja (it seems to have lots of names) is a descendant of Discovery. Has lots and lots of bright red and yellow eating apples. I'd recommend it as its a reliable heavy cropper and the apples are sweet and very juicy. Every year I have to thin out the baby apples and some years the branches become so heavy I have to take some of the apples off as there is a risk of the branches breaking. Stolen Silver doesn't mind eating unripe apples. Fortunately.

She also approves of the nearby orchard which has ancient apple trees in it that produce far too many apples for the owners to use so I can pick up the windfalls by the carrierbagful. Its a tough task but someone (furry) has got to eat them.

So it doesn't sound as though she's going hungry, then?
I am afraid I have to admit being too greedy when it comes to apples, and don't take off nearly as many of the baby fruit as I should. We prop the branches up with big sticks and feed the trees a lot! June drop isn't really adequate. I have recently bought yet another Bramleys Seedling tree - one can never have enough decent cooking apples, and, much as I adore the Italians, their apples are pants and not worth the effort of picking.... :o)

Italian apples? I don't think I know of any Italian apple varieties.

sorry no apples are to good for best friends.Daniel Reed (my four legged best friend) always gets the best ,well some pretty decent ones at least

No, I haven't bothered to acquaint myself with them after the first taste. The only half decent one is a cooker/eater called Rosa romana , and it's nowt nor summat. Not a particularly good example of either. Of course, everywhere you see "Grenni Smeet" and "deli-shuss", and Fuji and Pink Lady are very common, but the rest tend to be of horrid texture and little flavour. I get the impression that Italians are not great apple eaters - pears are better. Their cherries and apricots, however, are unsurpassed. We had cider withdrawal symptoms when we first came out here, and tried making our own, but the apples were totally inadequate and inappropriate, and it was a BIG, sticky disappointment! Whenever friends drive across Europe to come a-visiting, we ask if they will bring cider, lawnfood and cheddar cheese! (Oh, and Bramleys!) Well, a girl has to get her priorities right.
Jenfren, you are very like us: I am afraid our cats are getting shamefully good at emotional blackmail, and get given far too much scrummy food that was supposed to be for us. Daughter would be outraged if we dared to tell her.