Apple (Malus) Red Windsor® M26

A sport of 'Alkmene' also known as 'Red Alkmene', 'Red Windsor' holds the RHS Award of Garden Merit and is prized for its naturally compact habit and disease resistance. 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.

Blossom with some useful frost resistance appears in March and April, followed by deep red fruit ready to eat from mid-September. The crisp, juicy flesh has a lovely aromatic, well-balanced sweet-sharp flavour, and the fruit keeps for up to a month. It's a reliable, quick-fruiting variety — you could see your first apples within a year of planting.

'Red Windsor' is partially self-fertile and will crop well alone, though it fruits even better with a pollination partner in the same period (Group 2) or an adjacent group (1 or 3). It has good resistance to many common diseases, including strong scab resistance, making it a particularly good choice for humid, western parts of the country. 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.