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Duchess Of Oldenburg Apple on G.11 (Spring 2026)


An extremely cold-hardy, disease-resistant culinary apple from Russia. Also known as Oldenburg, Oldenburgh, Borowitsky, Baroveski, Barowiski, Charlamowsky.

Very hardy, precocious, and productive, the mature Duchess is a roundish, mid-sized tree that is quite easy to grow. It is resistant to all major apple diseases with the exception of fireblight. As an antique variety, it does tend to biennialism and will need to be thinned diligently to maintain annual bearing.

Primarily a culinary apple, Duchess has red stripes and blush over a greenish yellow background, and it is speckled with russet lenticels. The flesh is tinged yellow, fine grained, firm, and aromatic. The flavor is too acidic to make it an attractive dessert apple, but it is an outstanding cooking apple. Duchess does not store well, but it can be picked before it is fully ripe and it has a long harvest season that requires several pickings and makes it a great apple for the home grower.

Duchess was among the first four Russian apples to arrive in America, imported from London by the Massachusetts Horticultural Society in 1835. The other three were Alexander, Tetovsy, and Red Astrachan.

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Very hardy, precocious, and productive, the mature Duchess is a roundish, mid-sized tree that is quite easy to grow. It is resistant to all major apple diseases with the exception of fireblight. As an antique variety, it does tend to biennialism and will need to be thinned diligently to maintain annual bearing.

Primarily a culinary apple, Duchess has red stripes and blush over a greenish yellow background, and it is speckled with russet lenticels. The flesh is tinged yellow, fine grained, firm, and aromatic. The flavor is too acidic to make it an attractive dessert apple, but it is an outstanding cooking apple. Duchess does not store well, but it can be picked before it is fully ripe and it has a long harvest season that requires several pickings and makes it a great apple for the home grower.

Duchess was among the first four Russian apples to arrive in America, imported from London by the Massachusetts Horticultural Society in 1835. The other three were Alexander, Tetovsy, and Red Astrachan.


The Fruit

Fruit Type

Category: Apple
Subcategory: Heirloom, Disease-Resistant, Cold-Hardy, Hot-Climate, Dessert

Fruit Uses & Storage

Uses: fresh eating, baking, jelly, sauce
Storage duration: less than one month (approximate, depending on storage conditions)

Fruit Appearance

Skin color: red
Flesh color: yellow

Fruit Origins

Parentage: unknown
Origin: Russia
Introduced in: 1835
Introduced by:

The Environment

Calendar & Geography

USDA zones: 3 - 8
Chill hours: Not yet determined
Ripening date: Aug 18 (approximate, in New York State) 28 days before McIntosh

Tree Height & Spacing

Rootstock: G.11 Rootstock
Rootstock size class: Dwarf (25% of Standard)
Tree spacing (natural spread of tree): 8'
Good for wildlife planting? N

Diseases & Pests

Apple Scab: Resistant
Powdery Mildew: Resistant
Fireblight: Susceptible
Cedar-Apple Rust: Resistant

Pollination

Pollination Factors

Bloom group: 2
Is it self-fertile? N
Is it fertile? Y
Ploidy: Diploid
Rootstock size class: Dwarf (25% of Standard)

Pollination Partners

This table shows the first few results from a full search for pollenizers of Duchess Of Oldenburg Apple on G.11. Please see our Pollenizer Search to run other queries and read how the application uses various factors. Also read more about fruit tree pollination.

Tree Ships Currently in Stock
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Sansa Apple on G.11 2026 141
CrimsonCrisp™ Apple on G.214 2026 141
Newtown Pippin Apple on G.41 2026 134
Golden Russet Apple on G.214 2026 128
Porter's Perfection Apple on G.41 2026 125
Sweet Sixteen Apple on G.41 2026 119
Empire Apple on G.214 2026 115
Williams' Pride Apple on G.11 2026 111

See all pollination matches for Duchess Of Oldenburg Apple on G.11


SF 21.26; Hayts 62.1-63.2; V 2.57-58; PG 1.24





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