A highly flavored, late-season dessert apple, perfect for organic production.
Edelborsdorfer Apple on B.118 (Spring 2026)
The oldest German heirloom dessert apple and the favorite of Queen Charlotte. Also known as Queen Charlotte's Apple, Borsdorf.
Edelborsdorfer is a long-lived, hardy, and productive tree with a roundish habit. It blooms late enough to avoid most frosts. It should be thinned diligently to avoid biennialism. No susceptibilities have been reported for this variety, and it has demonstrated some resistance to mildew and fireblight.
The small-medium fruit is greenish yellow and flushed with pink on the exposed cheek. The flesh is coarse, crisp, and tender. It is tinged yellow and has a vinous, spicy flavor with aromas of cinnamon and rose. Edelborsdorfer is a very high-quality dessert apple.
This is one of the oldest known apples, and it is the oldest documented variety from Germany. It is mentioned by the Cistercians (an offshoot of the Benedictine monastic order) early in the 12th century, and it was later a favorite of Queen Charlotte, wife of George III, for whom the apple was first cultivated in England.
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The Fruit
Fruit Type
Category: Apple
Subcategory:
Heirloom, Disease-Resistant, Cold-Hardy, Hot-Climate, Dessert
Fruit Uses & Storage
Uses: fresh eating, baking
Storage duration: one to three months (approximate, depending on storage conditions)
Fruit Appearance
Skin color: yellow
Flesh color: off-white
Fruit Origins
Parentage: unknown
Origin: Germany
Introduced in: 1100s
Introduced by:
The Environment
Calendar & Geography
USDA zones: 5 - 7
Chill hours: Not yet determined
Ripening date: Sep 15 (approximate, in New York State) + 0 days after McIntosh
Tree Height & Spacing
glossary
Rootstock: B.118 Rootstock
Rootstock size class: Semi-Standard (90% of Standard)
Tree spacing (natural spread of tree): 24'
Good for wildlife planting? N
Diseases & Pests
glossary
Powdery Mildew: Resistant
Fireblight: Resistant
Pollination
Pollination Factors
glossary
Bloom group: 4
Is it self-fertile? N
Is it fertile? Y
Ploidy: Diploid
Rootstock size class:
Semi-Standard (90% of Standard)
Pollination Partners
This table shows the first few results from a full search for pollenizers of Edelborsdorfer Apple on B.118. 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 Edelborsdorfer Apple on B.118
GD 1.122; SF 7.12; Dwarf 5B6
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