A very beautiful heirloom apple that stores well.
Blenheim Orange Apple on G.969 (Spring 2025)
An English heirloom preferred for baking. Also known as Kempster's Pippin.
Blenheim Orange is a triploid, so two other apple varieties will be needed to obtain full pollination. It is also very prone to biennialism, so regular pruning and thinning will be necessary to maintain annual production. As it is partially tip bearing, this tree is not ideal for espalier. This tree is extremely vigorous once established.
Ripening mid-season, the apples are large with red striping and flushing over a yellow background. The flesh is creamy, coarse, and somewhat dry with an excellent nutty flavor. This variety is a preferred English baking apple; it does not hold its shape, but melts into a fine puree.
Blenheim Orange was first grown around 1740 by a Mr Kempster in his garden at Old Woodstock, Oxfordshire (near Blenheim), England. It was presented to the London Horticultural Society in 1819, and it received the Banksian Medal in 1822.
Please Confirm
The Fruit
Fruit Type
Category: Apple
Subcategory:
Heirloom
Fruit Uses & Storage
Uses: fresh eating, baking, sauce
Storage duration: three plus months (approximate, depending on storage conditions)
Fruit Appearance
Skin color: red
Flesh color: white
Fruit Origins
Parentage:
Origin: England
Introduced in: 1819
Introduced by: John Turner
The Environment
Calendar & Geography
USDA zones: 4 - 8
Chill hours: 800
Ripening date: Sep 30 (approximate, in New York State) + 15 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
Apple Scab: Susceptible
Fireblight: Resistant
Powdery Mildew: Resistant
Pollination
Pollination Factors
glossary
Bloom group: 3
Is it self-fertile? N
Is it fertile? N
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 Blenheim Orange 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 Blenheim Orange Apple on G.969
Featured Products
A few things we're loving right now...
Arkansas Black Apple on G.214
Hosui Pear on OHxF 97
An Asian pear of exceptionally high quality.
Honeycrisp Apple on G.214
The rock-star, cold-hardy apple from Minnesota.
Contender Peach on BY520-9. Nematode Resistant Peach/nectarine
An excellent late-blooming, yellow-fleshed peach.