Bumper crops of apples and pumpkins at National Trust gardens despite drought and record-breaking hot summer

Despite the UK experiencing the hottest summer on record with drought conditions recorded in many places, gardeners are reporting an unusually abundant year for orchard fruit and pumpkins, thought to be the result of a combination of weather factors including last year’s wet conditions, the warm and dry spring and plenty of sun.

This is in stark contrast to last year when wet weather reduced fruit harvests and increased slug and snail activity resulting in pumpkin and squash crops being decimated with Kingston Lacy in Dorset managing to save only half of its usual crop and Dunham Massey near Manchester losing all its pumpkin plants.

Commenting on this year’s harvest, Rebecca Bevan, the National Trust’s Plant Health and Sustainability Consultant, says: “Climate change has brought us some very challenging growing conditions over recent years with extremes of wet and dry weather and many storms.

“It’s heartening however that sometimes the conditions lead to good outcomes and certainly fruit harvests are a success story for 2025.

“This year’s apple and other tree fruit harvests – including much of the abundance in hedgerows – is likely due to the wet conditions last year which meant trees were in good health when they began to make their flower buds in late summer. This was followed by a dry and sunny spring resulting in abundant flowers being pollinated by insects and forming fruit. Lots of sun over the summer was then ideal for ripening the fruit.

“Last year’s wet weather also recharged ground water levels, resulting in the soil staying moister for longer in many areas which probably helped plants like pumpkins get established despite the lack of rain.”

This year at Cotehele in Cornwall – site of the Trust’s only Mother Orchard which is home to 125 varieties of apple tree and three other orchards – the trees have produced thousands of apples far earlier than expected.

Head Gardener David Bouch said: “Despite the record-breaking temperatures we have had an amazing crop of apples, due to the combination of last year’s weather and the warm, mild spring resulting in bountiful blossom.

“Our apples ripened around three weeks early, so we had to make the decision to put on an extra weekend of apple picking to ensure the apples didn’t go to waste with visitors able to pick their own to enjoy at home.

“A month ago, I wasn’t overly confident because the fruit was very small which is usually the case in very dry summers, but the apples have swollen quickly over the last couple of weeks, thanks to the rain we’ve had.”

At Buckland Abbey near Plymouth in Devon the apple harvest is also running ahead of schedule, while the kitchen garden is overflowing with squash and pumpkins. Head Gardener Sam Brown commented: “We have about 50 per cent more squash and pumpkins than usual. We’d normally harvest them in mid-October but are about to start now – around six weeks earlier. There are 20 varieties this year, alongside apples that we’ve been picking since August.”

National Trust properties in the south-east are also reporting bumper yields.

Claire Primett, Head Gardener at Hughenden in Buckinghamshire said: “Typically 40 per cent of the trees fruit each year, but this year it is almost double that which means we have a very busy harvesting period ahead of us! We only have a few pear trees, but these are fruiting well and the ‘Aylesbury Prune’ was prolific.”

At The Vyne in Hampshire the orchard of 40 heritage apple varieties is seeing its best harvest in recent years.

Gardener Emma Greenwood says: "Crops have arrived a little earlier than usual but it's the volume of apples that's extraordinary. ‘Autumn Pearmain’, ‘Frogmore Prolific’ and ‘Golden Reinette’ are all old varieties that have delivered huge crops in recent days, as have local Hampshire apples including ‘Benenden Early’ and ‘Hibb’s Seedling’.

"Varieties that traditionally have produced very little fruit are performing strongly too, such as ‘Flower of Kent’, reputed to be the apple which inspired Newton’s theory of gravity. The Vyne's single peach and apricot trees have also fruited, which is rare.

"Staff and volunteers have risen to the challenge, with extra support drafted in to help hand-pick the fruit, once we've done ripeness checks. The apples are then ready for visitors to take home, for a small donation."

At Sissinghurst, in Kent Gardener Olivia Steed-Mundin commented: “This is the best apple yield I’ve seen in six seasons. ‘Kidd’s Orange Red’ and ‘James Grieve’-—two traditional varieties—have had an exceptional year, likely thanks to last year’s wet weather coupled with relatively low yield last year, which has boosted the vigour of the fruiting spurs this year. Harvest started in mid-August for our earliest varieties, three weeks earlier than usual.

“Our pumpkins are thriving too, especially the heritage varieties like ‘Marina di Chioggia’ and ‘Rouge Vif d’Etampes’. They have loved the heat over the summer, but they are also very thirsty plants so might have yielded even better if we’d had more rain.

“Some are already ripe, and they store beautifully for up to six months if cured properly. The important thing is to allow the skin to cure, ie harden which helps them keep well, this can be done by placing them in dry, sunny and warm environment for a few weeks- a greenhouse or sunny windowsill is ideal. After that they should be stored in dry, coolish conditions for long term storage.”

It’s a similar picture across the rest of the country too.

In Wales, a bumper crop of vintage apples has been reported this year at Erddig. Andrew Degg, Head Gardener says: “We've already picked the same amount as our full harvest last year and we have lots more trees to go.

“We’ve drafted in an army of apple pickers including volunteers and staff, and we’ve even invited members of the public to join in to help us maximise this year’s harvest.

“Usually, we pick about two tonnes and this year we are on target for four tonnes. It’s been an amazing year for apples here in north Wales.

“Apple picking at Erddig is always a highlight the whole team and all our great volunteers help pick over 180 different varieties of apple trees we have here which include some great rare Welsh heritage varieties such as ‘St Cecilia’ and ‘King of the Pippins.’”

The apples are sold with Erddig apple festival this year the last weekend of September and first week of October.

In the East of England at the Wimpole Estate in Cambridgeshire, Ciaran Taylor, Head Gardener says: “It’s shaping up to be a bumper harvest at Wimpole! The very warm summer has hurried things along, and both our apples and pumpkins are ripening earlier than usual this year. We’re hoping for over six tonnes of apples, while still leaving plenty to tumble into the orchard, where they’ll feed birds, insects and other wildlife.

“Most of our apples will be pressed into juice, but you’ll also find them on our produce stall, and we’ll be sharing them with our local Food Hub – just as a quarter of all our Walled Garden harvest always is.

“No autumn at Wimpole would be complete without pumpkins. It looks like we’ll have a magnificent crop with plans for colourful displays to light up the Glasshouse and Hardwicke Gate, before many of the pumpkins are shared with visitors and local foodbanks towards the end of October.”

And in the Midlands, Head Gardener at Wightwick Manor and Gardens near Wolverhampton, James Carnell, agrees ‘it feels like a good year for fruit’. The garden’s three orchards have yielded a “bumper” crop just in time for the annual Apple Harvest Weekend (20 & 21 September), when visitors can pick their own. The apples – including many heritage varieties not seen in shops – are ripening around three weeks earlier and are noticeably sweeter this year.

“The sunshine has really boosted the sugar content in the fruit. The apples are smaller, but there are loads of them! Even some trees that rarely fruit are laden this year.”

The crop is a vast improvement over 2023, when the harvest event had to be cancelled because of a lack of fruit.

The success hasn’t been confined to southerly gardens. Beningbrough Hall in North Yorkshire has seen a “really good year” for apples and pears, with its trees yielding at least 25 per cent more fruit than normal. Sam Shipman, Head Gardener commented: “One apple tree, ‘Irish Peach’, normally gives just one or two apples, but this year it has produced around 40. And the fruit is “well ahead” and ready for picking two to three weeks early.”

Top tips from National Trust experts for caring for apples and pumpkins on the lead up to Halloween

• Pick and handle apples gently to avoid bruising. Check apples have no blemishes and are dry before storing
• Small quantities of apples can be stored in the salad tray in a fridge. To store large quantities of apples, ideally wrap your fruit in paper (newspaper is fine) and then keep it cool. An unheated garage is a good place. Check your apples once a week and remove any with decay or mould, to stop it spreading
• Some National Trust places, like Beningbrough, store their apples in traditional wooden racks. But you can use crates – just make sure fruit isn’t touching and has good airflow
• If storing your apples is tricky, consider making juice or stewing the fruit with sugar and freezing them for use in crumbles or pies. Alternatively put slices of apple into a low oven and dehydrate them to make apple crisps
• You can’t control the weather, but looking after your apple tree/s will maximise chances of a good harvest. In winter, prune out diseased/dying/crossing branches and aim to create an open ‘goblet’ shape that lets the air and sunlight in. Removing straggly new growth in summer will encourage blossom.
• Choose an apple variety bred for your local conditions. Your local fruit nursery, fruit group or local National Trust property can help.
• Pumpkins should be picked with a bit of stalk attached and then placed in a dry, well-ventilated place like a greenhouse or sunny windowsill to dry out for a couple of weeks to help them ‘cure’. After this they are ready to be stored almost anywhere until Halloween or beyond.