This is the classic English apple, often regarded as the finest of all dessert apples. It sets the benchmark for flavor in apples to which all others aspire. The aromatic complexity and depth of flavours in a good Cox's Orange Pippin are remarkable. In our personal experience pear, melon, freshly-squeezed Florida orange juice, and mango are all readily evident in a good example.
Cox's Orange Pippin is a mid/late season variety and is probably at its best if picked when fully ripe, or picked slightly under-ripe and left in storage for a month or so - it is not a long-keeper though.
Although primarily considered a variety for eating fresh, Cox is an excellent apple for juice / cider blends as well. It is also a versatile culinary apple, with an inherently sweet flavor when baked, and is a common ingredient in English apple preserves, chutneys, and mincemeat.
**All prices include delivery (except certain fan-trained or espalier-trained trees). We offer a discount on orders of multiple bare-root trees for delivery at the same time - this will be shown at the checkout.
Fan-trained and Espalier trees: Prices of these trees do NOT include delivery as these require special delivery arrangements - click here for details.
Delivery period: Pot-grown trees can be delivered from September onwards. Bare-root trees can be delivered from mid-November onwards. Within those periods you can specify your preferred month of delivery during the checkout process. It is best to order as soon as you can to ensure items are reserved for you.
*Mature heights: Height shown is the approximate height of the tree when mature (after 5-10 years), not the height when supplied. See photos of trees as supplied. Actual mature heights may vary considerably dependent on your local conditions and training and pruning regime.
Stock availability: Items showing as 'sold out' will probably be available again next season. If you would like to reserve in advance use our enquiry form - this does not commit you to anything.
Cox's Orange Pippin is self-sterile and needs to be pollinated by another tree of a different variety nearby. Since it flowers in the middle of the blossom season it can be pollinated by most other apple trees.
Our online pollination checker lists suitable pollination partners for this variety.
More advice about pollination.
Cox's Orange Pippin is not as easy to grow as some varieties, but don't let this put you off. Its remarkable flavour makes it worth perservering. The main problem is the poor disease resistance, which is best addressed by a spraying regime (organic or conventional). It can be grown without any treatments but cropping may then be lighter (which is not necessarily a bad thing because lighter crops sometimes develop better flavour). As a rule it does much better in the drier parts of the UK.
With regard to pollination, Cox's Orange Pippin is somewhat unusual because it is available in both self-fertile and self-sterile forms. In general we recommend that you try to have a nearby pollination partner as this will improve cropping even if you have a self-fertile Cox selection.
The bottom line is that if you are serious about apples then you absolutely must try growing Cox's Orange Pippin, because it is the benchmark for apple flavour.
Planting instructions.
Pruning instructions.
England, early 19th century. The parentage is unknown but it is possibly a seedling of Ribston Pippin.
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