Charles Ross apple trees
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- Picking season: Mid
- Self-fertility: Not self-fertile
- Flowering group: 3
- Awards: RHS AGM (current) 1993
Charles Ross is a large versatile English apple. It can be eaten fresh, and has a sweet Cox-style flavour. It is also a good baking apple, and useful for apple tarts because slices keep their shape when cooked.
Charles Ross is a mid-season variety, and also keeps fairly well, although the flavour fades in storage.
The large apples are very attractive, and look great in a fruit bowl - indeed this is one of the prettiest Cox-style apples.
Charles Ross apple trees for sale
Pot-grown
All our pot-grown trees are grown for us to our specification by the Frank P Matthews nursery.
All pot-grown trees are suitable for planting out in the garden, some are suitable for growing in containers.
PG12-year bush-trained 11.5L pot-grown tree M27 rootstock£60.50
Grown for us by Frank P Matthews nursery
Very small tree
(< 1.7m after 10 years)
PG22-year bush-trained 12L pot-grown tree M26 rootstock£56.50
Grown for us by Frank P Matthews nursery
Medium tree
(2m-3m after 10 years)
PG32-year bush-trained 12L pot-grown tree MM106 rootstock£56.50
Grown for us by Frank P Matthews nursery
Large tree
(3m-5m after 10 years)
Bare-root
BR11-year bare-root treeM26 rootstock£34.95
Medium tree
(2m-3m after 10 years)
BR22-year bush-trained bare-root treeM26 rootstock£43.00
Medium tree
(2m-3m after 10 years)
BR32-year bare-root treeM116 rootstock£43.00
Medium tree
(2m-3m after 10 years)
BR41-year bare-root treeMM106 rootstock£34.95
Large tree
(3m-5m after 10 years)
BR52-year bush-trained bare-root treeMM106 rootstock£43.00
Large tree
(3m-5m after 10 years)
Need help? Ask our fruit tree experts
Call us on 01759 392007 or fill in our contact form.
Tree specification
Photos of trees as supplied |
Tree sizes and forms
Pre-ordering
Pre-order now for delivery in September 2025
Delivery charges
Delivery for a single tree starts at £9.95, it is calculated based on your postcode.
Growing and Training
Charles Ross is an excellent garden apple variety. It is easy to grow and has some natural disease resistance.
This is also a good variety if you have chalky soil, as it is more tolerant of alkaline conditions than most apple trees.
Note that in the early years Charles Ross is a weak grower and is unlikely to produce many shoots, therefore keep pruning to a minimum until the tree has become well established.
History
Charles Ross was raised by Mr Charles Ross, who worked at Welford Park Gardens near Newbury, Berkshire, UK in the 1890s.
It is a cross between Cox's Orange Pippin and Peasgood Nonsuch.
Charles Ross characteristics
- Gardening skillBeginner
- Self-fertilityNot self-fertile
- Flowering group3
- Pollinating othersAverage
- Fruit bearingSpur-bearer
- Climate suitabilityTemperate climatesMild damp climates
- Picking seasonMid
- CroppingGood
- Keeping (of fruit)1-2 months
- Food usesEating freshCulinaryDual purpose
- Disease resistanceGood
- Scab (Apple and Pear)Very resistant
- Country of originUnited Kingdom
- Period of origin1850 - 1899
- Fruit colourOrange / Red
- AwardsRHS AGM (current)
British-grown trees 
Unlike many garden centres and online retailers, the vast majority of our fruit trees are grown in the UK.
Find out more.
In addition, all our trees are certified under the Plant Healthy scheme, supervised by the Plant Health Alliance.
Other stakeholders include Defra and the RHS. The scheme aims to improve UK biosecurity by setting standards
for all growers and retailers involved in selling plants in the UK.
Find out more
Guaranteed fruit trees
When you buy your fruit tree from Orange Pippin Fruit Trees we guarantee it for the first season in your garden whilst it gets established. If it doesn't grow successfully, we'll either replace it the following season or offer a refund - subject to some conditions.
Find out more.
More about apple trees
If space is limited these dual-purpose apples are well worth considering. Pick them slightly early to use in the kitchen, or let them ripen and you can eat them fresh.
Early-season dual-purpose apples include Katy and James Grieve, which are both sharp enough to use in pies and crumbles, but also pleasant for eating fresh (particularly if you like a sharper apple). Traditional English varieties like Blenheim Orange and Ribston Pippin come into their own later in the autumn.
