A very beautiful heirloom apple that stores well.
Karmijn De Sonneville Apple on G.969 (Spring 2025)
An intensely flavored Cox's Orange Pippin offspring from the Netherlands. Also known as Karmine, Carmine, Sonneville.
This tree is vigorous and horizontally branching. It is a triploid and two pollenizers will be needed for full fertility. Karmijn is susceptible to fireblight and scab, and somewhat susceptible to powdery mildew and canker. It's extreme beauty and amazing flavor make the horticultural difficulties worth the effort.
With its orange-red burnished appearance and gold flecked russeting, this mid-sized apple is even more beautiful than its parent, Cox's Orange Pippin. The flesh is coarse and firm, and it is the most highly flavored of all the Cox's offspring. In UCSC Farm & Garden, Orin Martin writes: "The intensely flavored, rich, even sharp blend of sugars and acids will overwhelm the entry-level apple eater–they should be dispatched to look for a sugary sweet Fuji, leaving the Karmijn tasting to more sophisticated palettes ... The flavor mellows somewhat after about a month in storage." Some apple aficionados actually consider Karmijn to be superior to the beloved Cox's.
Karmijn was bred from a cross of Cox's and Jonathan in 1949 at the Wageningen Research Station by Piet de Sonnaville. It was released in 1971.
The Fruit
Fruit Type
Category: Apple
Subcategory:
Hot-Climate
Fruit Uses & Storage
Uses: fresh eating, baking
Storage duration: three plus months (approximate, depending on storage conditions)
Fruit Appearance
Skin color: red
Flesh color: cream
Fruit Origins
Parentage: Cox's Orange Pippin x Jonathan
Origin: Netherlands
Introduced in: 1971
Introduced by: Piet de Sonnaville, Wageningen Research Station
The Environment
Calendar & Geography
USDA zones: 5 - 8
Chill hours: Not yet determined
Ripening date: Sep 22 (approximate, in New York State) + 7 days after McIntosh
Tree Height & Spacing
glossary
Rootstock: G.969 Rootstock
Rootstock size class: Semi-Dwarf (45% of Standard)
Tree spacing (natural spread of tree): 12'
Good for wildlife planting? N
Diseases & Pests
glossary
Fireblight: Susceptible
Powdery Mildew: Susceptible
Apple Scab: Susceptible
Perennial Canker: Susceptible
Pollination
Pollination Factors
glossary
Bloom group: 4
Is it self-fertile? N
Is it fertile? Y
Ploidy: Triploid
Rootstock size class:
Semi-Dwarf (45% of Standard)
Pollination Partners
This table shows the first few results from a full search for pollenizers of Karmijn De Sonneville Apple on G.969. Please see our Pollenizer Search to run other queries and read how the application uses various factors. Also read more about fruit tree pollination.
See all pollination matches for Karmijn De Sonneville Apple on G.969
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