Red Windsor® apple trees
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.
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.
Perhaps most important of all, Red Windsor has a good robust apple flavour with some aromatic qualities. It is fairly well balanced, both sweet and sharp, perhaps slightly sharper than Cox.
Red Windsor is grown commercially on a small-scale in the UK, and sometimes marketed as Sweet Lilibet.
Red Windsor apple trees for sale
Pot-grown
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 £42.00
Very small tree
(< 1.7m after 10 years)
PG2Premium cordon 12L pot-grown tree M9 rootstock £43.50
Small tree
(1.5m-2.5m after 10 years)
PG32-year bush-trained 12L pot-grown tree M26 rootstock £39.50
Medium tree
(2m-3m after 10 years)
PG42-year bush-trained 12L pot-grown tree MM106 rootstock £39.50
Large tree
(3m-4m after 10 years)
PG5Premium half-standard 12L pot-grown tree MM106 rootstock £44.50
Large tree
(3m-4m after 10 years)
PG6Espalier 12L pot-grown tree MM106 rootstock £59.50
Large tree
(3m-4m after 10 years)
Contact us
PG7Fan-trained 12L pot-grown tree MM106 rootstock £59.50
Large tree
(3m-4m after 10 years)
Contact us
Bare-root
BR1Cordon-trained bare-root tree M9 rootstock £33.95
Small tree
(1.5m-2.5m after 10 years)
BR22-year bush-trained bare-root tree M9 rootstock £29.95
Small tree
(1.5m-2.5m after 10 years)
BR31-year bare-root tree M26 rootstock £19.95
Medium tree
(2m-3m after 10 years)
BR42-year bush-trained bare-root tree M26 rootstock £29.95
Medium tree
(2m-3m after 10 years)
BR51-year bare-root tree M116 rootstock £19.95
Large tree
(3m-4m after 10 years)
Out of stock
BR61-year bare-root tree MM106 rootstock £19.95
Large tree
(3m-4m after 10 years)
BR72-year bush-trained bare-root tree MM106 rootstock £29.95
Large tree
(3m-4m after 10 years)
BR82-year bare-root tree MM106 rootstock £29.95
Large tree
(3m-4m after 10 years)
Out of stock
How to grow
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.
Interestingly, Red Windsor is reasonably disease-resistant - this is despite the fact that neither of its parents have a good track-record in this respect.
The blossom also has some resistance to late frosts.
Red Windsor is a naturally small / weak-vigour tree and grows in a compact style, so it is a good choice if you are short of space. Maiden trees tend to be quite small, without side shoots. If you intend to train the tree as a half-standard then use MM106 or MM111 rootstocks.
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.
Advice on fruit tree pollination.
History
Red Windsor was developed in Herefordshire in the 1980s as a red sport of Alkmene. Its parentage is Cox's Orange Pippin and Duchess of Oldenburg.
Red Windsor characteristics
- CroppingHeavy
- Picking seasonMid
- Keeping (of fruit)1 week
- Fruit persistenceNormal ripening
- Flavour qualityGood
- WildlifeRHS perfect for pollinators
- Flavour style (apples)Aromatic
- Food usesEating fresh
- Discoloration of fruitOxidising
- Gardening skillBeginner
- Self-fertilitySelf-fertile
- Flowering group2
- Pollinating othersAverage
- PloidyDiploid
- VigourAverage vigour
- Bearing regularityRegular
- Fruit bearingSpur-bearer
- Organic cultureSuitable
- Disease resistanceGood
- ScabVery resistant
- Climate suitabilityTemperate climatesMild damp climates
- Summer average maximum temperaturesCool ( 20-24C / 68-75F)Cold (< 20C / 67F)
- Frost resistance of blossomSusceptible
- Country of originUnited Kingdom
- Period of origin1950 - 1999
- Flower colourWhite
- Leaf colourGreen
- Fruit colourRed
