Malus domestica 'Ben's Red' (D)

RHS Plant Profile
apple 'Ben's Red'

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An early, dessert apple with pale yellow skin flushed dark red all over, and crisp, sweet, often pink-tinged flesh. Spreading trees lack vigour, and tend to produce heavy crops only every other year, in early autumn, the fruit storing for a few weeks. Requires a group 1, 2 or 3 pollinator

Position

Full sun

Soil Types

Clay, Loam, Sand

Max Height

4-8 metres

Max Spread

4-8 metres

Size

Time to Maturity
10–20 years
Max Spread
4-8 metres
Max Height
4-8 metres

Growing Conditions

Clay Loam Sand
Moisture
Moist but well–drained or Well–drained
pH
Acid or Alkaline or Neutral

Position

Full sun
Aspect
South–facing or West–facing
Exposure
Sheltered
Hardiness

Hardiness Ratings

All ratings refer to the UK growing conditions unless otherwise stated. Minimum temperature ranges (in degrees C) are shown in brackets

  • H1A: under glass all year (>15C)
  • H1B: can be grown outside in the summer (10 - 15)
  • H1C: can be grown outside in the summer (5 - 10)
  • H2: tolerant of low temperatures, but not surviving being frozen (1 to 5)
  • H3: hardy in coastal and relatively mild parts of the UK (-5 to 1)
  • H4: hardy through most of the UK (-10 to -5)
  • H5: hardy in most places throughout the UK even in severe winters (-15 to -10)
  • H6: hardy in all of UK and northern Europe (-20 to -15)
  • H7: hardy in the severest European continental climates (< -20)
H6

Colour & Scent

Season Stem Flower Foliage Fruit
Spring
Summer
Autumn
Winter

Botanical Details

Family
Rosaceae
Native to GB/Ireland
No
Foliage
Deciduous
Habit
Spreading branched
Genus
Malus are small to medium-sized deciduous trees with showy flowers in spring and ornamental or edible fruit in autumn; some have good autumn foliage colour
Name Status
Accepted
Horticultural Group

Horticultural Classification Codes

Horticultural Classification Codes are often given to genera which have a large number of species or cultivars. They are used to categorise cultivated plants based on specific, shared characteristics such as shape, colour, size or flowering time, and can be displayed as letters or numbers

For example:
Dahlia ‘Sunset Kate (Sin) = Single flower
Rosa ‘Marigold’ (HT) = Hybrid Tea

Dessert apples are sweet and juicy and are best eaten fresh and raw

How to Grow

Cultivation

Prefers deep, fertile, moist but well-drained, neutral soil in a sunny, sheltered position. Will not thrive on very acid soils, shallow chalk soils or with shade for more than half the day. May require fruit thinning to improve fruit size and quality. See apple cultivation

Propagation

Propagate by chip budding in late summer, or grafting in mid-winter. Will also root from cuttings. Plants grown from pips are unlikely to resemble the parent

Suggested planting locations and garden types

  • City and courtyard gardens
  • Cottage and informal garden
  • Wildlife gardens
  • Edible fruit
  • Wall side borders

Pruning

Prune according to chosen training method. See apple pruning

Pests

May be susceptible to aphids, including rosy apple aphid and woolly aphid, fruit tree red spider mite, codling moth and other caterpillars

Diseases

May be susceptible to apple canker, apple scab, blossom wilt, brown rot, fireblight, honey fungus and powdery mildews