If you are new to growing apple trees, Red Windsor is one of the easiest and most reliable of all apple varieties.
It is self-fertile, so there is no need to worry about pollination partners. It grows naturally in a neat and tidy fashion, and crops heavily. The apples can be picked over several weeks so you don't have to deal with a glut. It seems untroubled by the usual diseases of apples, and the blossom also has some resistance to frost. Finally, and perhaps most important of all, it has a good robust apple flavour with some aromatic qualities.
Red Windsor is a red sport (natural mutation) of a German variety called Alkmene, derived from Cox's Orange Pippin - hence the good flavour. It has a noticeably redder and less Cox-like appearance than Alkmene, although the characteristic Cox flushed striping can usually be discerned.
Red Windsor is grown commercially on a small-scale in the UK, and sometimes marketed as Sweet Lilibet.
**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.
Red Windsor is self-fertile and does not need a pollination partner, although fruiting may be improved if there is a compatible tree of a different variety nearby.
Our online pollination checker lists suitable pollination partners for this variety.
More advice about pollination.
Red Windsor is a great mid-season apple variety for the UK garden. It is easy to grow and crops heavily. As mentioned above, it is self-fertile, a rare feature in apple varieties.
Red Windsor is reasonably disease-resistant and the blossom also has some resistance to late frosts. The tree grows in a compact style, so it is a good choice if you are short of space.
Being a mid-season variety, Red Windsor is also a good choice for difficult situations where light is limited, or where the summer growing season is short.
Planting instructions.
Pruning instructions.
Developed in Herefordshire in the 1980s as a red sport of Alkmene.
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