Red Windsor® apple trees

Red Windsor has received the RHS Award of Garden Merit

Red Windsor is listed in the RHS Plants for Pollinators

Picking season: Mid Early September
Self-fertility: Self-fertile
Flowering group: 2
Awards: RHS AGM (current)

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.

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Red Windsor 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£63.00
Grown for us by Frank P Matthews nursery
Very small tree (< 1.7m after 10 years)
PG2Premium cordon 12L pot-grown tree, M9 rootstock£61.50
Grown for us by Frank P Matthews nursery
Small tree (1.5m-2.5m after 10 years)
PG32-year bush-trained 12L pot-grown tree, M26 rootstock£58.00
Grown for us by Frank P Matthews nursery
Medium tree (2m-3m after 10 years)
PG42-year bush-trained 12L pot-grown tree, MM106 rootstock£58.00
Grown for us by Frank P Matthews nursery
Large tree (3m-5m after 10 years)
PG5Premium half-standard 12L pot-grown tree, MM106 rootstock£63.50
Grown for us by Frank P Matthews nursery
Large tree (3m-5m after 10 years)

Bare-root

BR11-year bare-root tree,M9 rootstock£38.50
Small tree (1.5m-2.5m after 10 years)
BR2Cordon-trained bare-root tree,M9 rootstock£46.25
Small tree (1.5m-2.5m after 10 years)
BR31-year bare-root tree,M9 rootstock£34.95
Small tree (1.5m-2.5m after 10 years)
BR42-year bush-trained bare-root tree,M9 rootstock£45.00
Small tree (1.5m-2.5m after 10 years)
BR5Spindlebush bare-root tree,M9 rootstock£44.50
Small tree (1.5m-2.5m after 10 years)
BR61-year bare-root tree,M26 rootstock£35.50
Medium tree (2m-3m after 10 years)
BR72-year bush-trained bare-root tree,M26 rootstock£43.50
Medium tree (2m-3m after 10 years)
BR81-year bare-root tree,M116 rootstock£34.95
Medium tree (2m-3m after 10 years)
BR9Spindlebush bare-root tree,M116 rootstock£43.00
Medium tree (2m-3m after 10 years)
BR101-year bare-root tree,MM106 rootstock£35.50
Large tree (3m-5m after 10 years)
BR112-year bush-trained bare-root tree,MM106 rootstock£43.50
Large tree (3m-5m after 10 years)
BR122-year bare-root tree,MM106 rootstock£43.00
Large tree (3m-5m after 10 years)
BR13Spindlebush bare-root tree,MM106 rootstock£44.50
Large tree (3m-5m after 10 years)
BR142-year half-standard bare-root tree,MM106 rootstock£46.50
Large tree (3m-5m after 10 years)
BR151-year bare-root tree,MM111 rootstock£35.50
Large tree (3m-5m after 10 years)
BR162-year bare-root tree,MM111 rootstock£43.50
Large tree (3m-5m after 10 years)
BR17Spindlebush bare-root tree,MM111 rootstock£44.50
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

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.

Recommended pollinators for Red Windsor apple trees

Red Windsor is self-fertile, so you do not need another variety to pollinate it to produce fruit. However you are likely to get a better crop if you plant any of the following pollinator varieties nearby. If you are not sure about pollination requirements don't hesitate to ask us. More pollinators >

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

Growing

Gardening skillBeginner
Self-fertilitySelf-fertile
Flowering group2
Pollinating othersAverage
Fruit bearingSpur-bearer
Climate suitabilityTemperate climatesMild damp climates

Using

Picking seasonMid
CroppingHeavy
Keeping (of fruit)1 week
Food usesEating fresh

Problems

Disease resistanceGood
Scab (Apple and Pear)Very resistant

Identification

Country of originUnited Kingdom
Period of origin1950 - 1999
Blossom colourWhite
Fruit colourRed
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 while 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

For apples the mid-season period usually starts in early September and finishes later in September when the late-season varieties start arriving.

Mid-season apples are best eaten straight from the tree. However unlike early-season apples, they will usually keep fresh for a couple of weeks in a fridge. On the other hand, just like early apples, mid-season apples ripen quite quickly so be sure to keep a close watch on them in early September and see if they are ready to pick.

Another thing you notice with mid-season apples is they still have that fresh zing you get with the early varieties, but the flavours are now more nuanced and interesting.

Some really good apple varieties fall into this category - including Red Windsor, Red Devil, and Lord Lambourne. These are un-fussy apples with good flavours, ideal for taking to work for a mid-morning snack.

And the famous Cox's Orange Pippin also just about falls into this category.

This variety description was produced by Orange Pippin staff from first-hand research. Last checked: 2025.

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Mid-season eating apples
Red Windsor®