Elstar

An attractive late-season apple with a very good flavour, quite widely available in Continental Europe and the USA. Often imported by UK supermarkets for their "value" ranges - but Elstar is actually a very good quality apple, related to Golden Delicious and (more distantly) Cox's Orange Pippin

The skin can have a marbled appearance, often with a soft sheen to it. It tends to lack the perfect smoothness of many modern varieties. The underlying colour is golden yellow but overlaid with deep red. The flavour can be more intense than is often the case with other Golden Delicious offspring, but it retains the appealing sweetness - usually described as 'honeyed' in most apple text books. It also inherits the good keeping qualities of Golden Delicious.

Elstar apple trees for sale (2010/2011 season)

Uses

Flavour quality - Very good
Flavour style - Sweet/Sharp
Good for eating fresh
Picking season - Late
Use / keeping - 1-2 months

Growing

Cropping - Heavy
Fertility - Self-sterile
Flowering group - 3
Gardening skill - Average
Disease resistance - Poor
Attractive fruit

Climate

Suitable for warm climates
Suitable for temperate climates

Pollination partners for Elstar

Elstar is in flowering group 3. It is self-sterile and needs a pollination partner nearby. The following varieties will pollinate Elstar:

Important: advice about pollination

Horticultural characteristics of Elstar apple trees

Whilst most supermarket varieties require a warm or hot climate, Elstar tolerates cooler climates although it benefits from a sunny aspect. It is generally easy to grow, and crops heavily. The main problem facing gardeners is that it is a bit susceptible to disease and aphids

Historical details

Developed in the Netherlands in the 1950s, a cross between Golden Delicious and Ingrid Marie - the latter being an offspring of Cox's Orange Pippin.

More information

More information and discussion about Elstar apple trees on the main Orange Pippin website.

Example trees as supplied (container-grown only)

This is an illustration of what our products look like as delivered. Please remember that trees are natural products, so this information is for general guidance only. The trees at this stage are 1-2 years old, and will get larger as they grow older, the likely mature heights are indicated in the ordering section above. The trees you receive may differ in some respects from those shown here, for some of the following reasons:

Many of these photos were taken in early autumn - trees delivered during winter will not have leaves.
There can be a considerable size variation between different varieties of the same species.
Some varieties naturally "feather" or produce many side branches at an early age. Others may not feather at all.
In some cases we may have to "tip" the tops of trees to fit in our delivery cartons. Please do not be alarmed, as this will be carried out immediately prior to despatch, and is actually good practice when planting a new tree.

For comparison purposes the model in our photos is 5ft 6" / 1m 68cm tall. Click any of the images to view a larger one.