Kidd's Orange Red - Eating Apples
Kidds Orange Red is a New Zealand bred variety with all the traits of a classic English apple. One parent is Cox's Orange Pippin which may well go some way to explain its deliciously aromatic flavour. The yellow skin becomes mostly covered with a red blush as it ripens and there is a little russeting, making a Kidds Orange Red apple a very handsome fruit, while the tree in flower is a beautiful sight. The firm flesh is firm and chewy, holding its juiciness to the last chomp. The trees are much less tempermental that their Cox parent and the fruit are superb for juicing. Pick in mid-October and your fruit will store till the new year.
Kidd's Orange Red Apple Tree History and Parentage:
Mr Kidd bred this variety in the 1920's from Cox's Orange Pippin and Red Delicious. It was introduced to the UK in 1932.
Apple Tree Pollination Guide for Kidd's Orange Red
In flower in the mid-late season, Kidd's Orange Red is self-sterile and requires a partner to cross-pollinate with. If in doubt, we always recommend using a crab apple tree, as they are very ornamental, bear great fruit for cooking with and are the best pollinators.
Rootstocks and Cultivation Notes
All of these trees are on MM106 rootstocks, the best all-round rootstock; these are suitable for wire-trained forms and larger orchard trees, up to 4 metres high. Much more disease resistant that a Cox, Kidd's Orange Red is still susceptible to canker, which tends to be more of a problem in the damper areas in the West of the country, and we don't recommend them for organic growing. They are hardy trees and will do very well in Scotland and the North. They are not the most vigorous tree and the crops are reliable, though not very large. The bright side of that is that mature trees need little pruning and you won't have to spend much time thinning the fruit - just pick off any small, malformed and diseased ones.
If you are unclear about fruit tree sizes take a look at our Guide to Fruit Tree Sizing
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