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Expert help available for Kidd's Orange Red apple trees

Kidd's Orange Red apple trees

Pick: Late-season    Flowering group: 3       Uses: Eat fresh | Juicing 
RHS AGM for Kidd's Orange Red
  • Kidd's Orange Red apple tree
  • Kidd's Orange Red apple tree juice
  • Kidd's Orange Red apple tree blossom

Kidd's Orange Red is one of the select band of apple varieties which can truly be said to rival the definitive Cox's Orange Pippin for flavour. It is primarily a sweet apple, but unlike most sweet apples it has a rich complexity to the flavours too. Kidd's Orange Red is fairly crisp but also pleasantly chewy, and each bite seems to release yet more juice and flavour. It's in some ways reminiscent of a good French dessert wine - sweet, but with a good kick to it.

Kidd's Orange Red is a popular garden variety in the UK, so much so that it has come to be regarded as a typical 'English' apple. However it was actually raised in New Zealand at the start of the 20th century by J.H. Kidd, who was an enthusiast of the English Cox's Orange Pippin apple which is one of the parents of Kidd's Orange Red.

The tree grows attractively, and the crimson pink blossom is a particular feature.

Although primarily an apple for eating fresh, Kidd's Orange Red also produces a high quality sweet apple juice, with a pleasing thick texture.

Captain Kidd is a 'sport' with a stronger red colour but identical in other respects.

Order now for delivery September 2013 onwards

Kidd's Orange Red apple trees for sale

Mature height*Supplied asPrice**
inc. delivery		Quantity
required

Pot-grown fruit trees (Delivery start September 2013)

Medium (2.2m - 3m)2-year bush-trained - 12L pot - M26 rootstock £38.00
Large (3m - 4m)2-year bush-trained - 12L pot - MM106 rootstock £38.00

Bare-root fruit trees (Deliveries start November 2013)

Small (1.8m - 2.5m)1-year - Bare-root - M9 rootstock £29.00
Small (1.8m - 2.5m)2-year - Bare-root - M9 rootstock £36.00
Large (3m - 4m)1-year - Bare-root - MM106 rootstock £29.00
Large (3m - 4m)1-year - Bare-root - MM106 rootstock
Captain Kidd		£29.00
Large (3m - 4m)2-year - Bare-root - MM106 rootstock £33.00
Large (3m - 4m)Half-standard - Bare-root - MM106 rootstock £35.00

Bare-root cordon fruit trees (Deliveries start November 2013)

Small (1.8m - 2.5m)Cordon - Bare-root - M9 rootstock £34.00

Trained fruit trees - pot-grown (Delivery start September 2013)

Price excludes delivery and delivery restrictions may apply
Large (3m - 4m)Fan 4-arm -12L pot - MM106 rootstock £49.00Enquire
Large (3m - 4m)Espalier 2-tier -12L pot - MM106 rootstock £49.00Enquire

**All prices include delivery (except certain fan-trained or espalier-trained or mature 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.

2-year pot-grown Fan-trained and Espalier trees: Prices of these trees do NOT include delivery as they require special delivery arrangements. Delivery is not possible to all areas. Click here for details or contact us to find out more. These restrictions do not apply to our 1-year part-trained trees or cordons.

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 - see our Tree Height Calculator.

Fruit tree guarantee

Stock availability: Items showing as 'sold out' will probably be available again next season. Click here to be notified when we get more trees of this variety.



Alternatives to Kidd's Orange Red apple trees

Alternative fruit trees - Cox's Orange Pippin apple trees
Mid-season  (3)  
Eat | Cook | Juice 

Cox's Orange Pippin apple trees

Cox is widely acknowledged as having the best flavour of any apple variety.
Alternative fruit trees - Rubinette apple trees
Late-season  (3)  
Eat 

Rubinette apple trees

Considered by many to be the best-tasting apple available, Rubinette has a perfect sweet / sharp flavour.
Alternative fruit trees - Sunset apple trees
Late-season  (3)  SF  
Eat | Juice 

Sunset apple trees

Sunset is a popular garden alternative to Cox, easier to grow, with a sweet aromatic flavour.
Alternative fruit trees - Adams Pearmain apple trees
Late-season  (3)  
Eat 

Adams Pearmain apple trees

Adams' Pearmain is a popular Victorian-era English apple with a distinctive 'pearmain' shape.




Summary features of Kidd's Orange Red

Growing

Uses

Identification

  • Country of origin: New Zealand
  • Period of origin: 1900 - 1949
  • Fruit colour: Orange / Red
  • Blossom colour: Pink - dark
  • Leaf colour: Green
  • Popular variety

Climate



Pollination guide for Kidd's Orange Red

Kidd's Orange Red is in flowering group 3. Kidd's Orange Red 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.



How to grow Kidd's Orange Red apple trees

It often seems that apples with the best flavor are the most difficult to grow, but this is not the case with Kidd's Orange Red. It is very easy to grow, generally problem-free, and makes an excellent garden variety for most regions, including cool temperate climates and warmer climates. It forms an attractive-looking tree with long branches which grow vertically when the tree is young but then bend over with fruit as the tree comes into bearing. (If necessary, tie the young branches towards the horizontal to improve the appearance - this will also help cropping). Certainly worth considering as a feature apple tree.

The only caveats are that the fruit ripens late in the season, and benefits from being planted in a sunny spot in the garden. It is not a heavy-cropper, although cropping is reliable.

Fruit size can be on the small size but this can be corrected by moderate thinning as the fruitlets start to form.

Kidd's Orange Red is a good choice if you are not keen on pruning, as its branches and fruiting spurs do not become congested as the tree ages.



Varieties with similar picking times to Kidd's Orange Red

<== Pick slightly earlierAbout the same timePick slightly later ==>
Annie Elizabeth
Blenheim Orange
Bramley 20
Bramley's Seedling
Catshead
Chivers Delight
Christmas Pippin
Dumelow's Seedling
Empire
Fameuse
Golden Delicious
Golden Noble
Golden Pippin
Golden Russet
Howgate Wonder
Jonathan
Jupiter
Karmijn de Sonnaville
King of the Pippins
Lady (Api)
Laxton's Superb
Pixie
Rajka
Rosemary Russet
Rubinette
Saturn
Scotch Bridget

Adams Pearmain
Barnack Beauty
Calville Blanc
Claygate Pearmain
Cornish Aromatic
Cornish Gilliflower
Court Pendu Plat
Edward VII
Elstar
Fiesta
Freyberg
Herefordshire Russet
Idared
Jonagold
Lane's Prince Albert
Lemon Pippin
Newton Wonder
Orleans Reinette
Red Falstaff
Tydeman's Late Orange
Zabergau Reinette

Ashmead's Kernel
Keepsake
Mutsu (Crispin)
Spartan
Sturmer Pippin
Winter Gem
Yorkshire Greening



Historical details

Kidd's Orange Red was developed in the 1920s by New Zealand apple enthusiast J.H. Kidd. It is a cross between Cox's Orange Pippin and Delicious.



Botanical name

Malus domestica Kidd's Orange Red



Related variety collections

Top 5 apple varieties with the best flavour, Cox's Orange Pippin substitutes, Apple varieties suitable for organic culture, Apple trees for southern Europe


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