Apple (Malus) Kidd's Orange Red M26

Raised in New Zealand in 1924 from a cross including 'Cox's Orange Pippin', 'Kidd's Orange Red' holds the RHS Award of Garden Merit and is regarded as one of the finest dessert apples for flavour — aromatic, sweet, and complex, arguably rivalling its famous parent. Grafted onto the semi-dwarfing M26 rootstock, it makes a compact, manageable tree reaching around 3m in height and spread, ideal for the average garden.

Pale pink blossom appears in spring, followed by medium-sized fruit with irregular russet patches over a yellow skin flushed orange-red, giving it a distinctive marbled look. The creamy white flesh is crisp, sweet, and richly aromatic, mellowing into a wonderful flowery quality as it matures. Harvest from mid-October, with the fruit storing well into the new year.

'Kidd's Orange Red' is not self-fertile, so a pollination partner is essential — choose a variety in the same period (Group 2 or 3, depending on source) or an adjacent group. Note that it's incompatible specifically with 'Cox's Orange Pippin' as a pollinator, so avoid pairing the two. It's a moderately vigorous, upright-spreading tree that produces spurs freely and may need fruit thinning to keep sizes good. M26 typically needs staking for the first few years while the root system establishes, and trees usually begin cropping within a year or two.

Plant in full sun in moist, well-drained soil, and prune each winter to maintain an open, productive shape. As with all apple varieties, the pips contain small amounts of naturally occurring toxins, so they're best removed if the fruit is being used for cooking with children in mind.

Each tree is hand-selected before dispatch. Available from Pengelly Garden Centre.