Charles Ross

A very handsome traditional English dual purpose apple.

Origin: Berkshire UK, 1890

Pollination: Charles Ross is partially self-fertile and would produce some crop without a pollinator but would benefit considerably from a pollinator.Find pollination partners >

British-grown All our bare-root trees are personally hand-grafted by our Nursery Manager and grown on at our nursery in Kent. We have Defra and Plant Healthy certification. More ...

We are now closed for the season. Ordering for winter 2025/26 will be enabled from Thursday 1st May 2025.

History and description of Charles Ross

Raised from Peasgood Nonsuch x Cox's Orange Pippin by Charles Ross, gardener to Capt Carstairs of Welford Park, Berkshire. It was originally named Thomas Andrew Knight after the famous pomologist. It received an Award of Merit from the RHS in 1899. It was renamed in the same year and received a First Class Certificate from the RHS as Charles Ross. Formerly grown on a small scale in the UK. A very handsome, prized exhibition variety.

Large, round-conical fruit. Greenish yellow skin covered with orange red flush and distinct broken red lines. Some russet patches. Creamy white, crisp, juicy flesh. Pleasant, sweet, lightly aromatic flavour. Loses flavour in storage. Dual purpose. Keeps some of its shape when cooked.

Moderately vigorous, upright, hardy tree. Partially self-fertile, good cropper. Resistant to scab but susceptible to capsid bug. Suitable for growing in northern Britain, on chalky soils and in coastal regions.

Characteristics of Charles Ross apple trees

Use	Dual Cul & Des
Colour	Flushed
Flavour	Sweet
Fruit size	Medium
Picking time	Mid Sep
Season of use	Sep-Dec
Tree vigour	Moderate
Tree habit	Upright-spreading
Fruit-bearing	Spur-bearer
Cropping	Good
Disease resistance	Scab - Resistant
Suitable for	Chalky Soils Hardy Late Frost Northern Britain
Special features	Good for Juice
Pollination date	11
Pollination group	C
Self-fertility	Partially self-fertile
Pollinators	Pollination partners
Parentage	Cox's Orange Pippin Cox's Orange Pippin Peasgood's Nonsuch Peasgood's Nonsuch
Progeny	Eros Jumbo