Apple Ben’s Red A seedling of Devonshire Quarrenden bred in Cornwall in the 1830s, early dessert Apple Ben’s Red is very like its parent, but with a better flavour. Medium-sized, flattened round fruit, pale yellowish green with a heavy maroon flush and a few russet dots; the flesh is pink-tinged, crisp, juicy and sweet, with a taste reminiscent of strawberries. Small, spreading tree, but a heavy cropper. Spur-bearer. Tendency to biennial bearing; thin the fruit to avoid this. A ‘pitcher’ – can be grown on its own roots from cuttings. Site: Some shelterSoil: Any reasonably well drainedPosition: Crops best in full sunPick: Early SeptemberKeep: SeptemberHardiness: HardyPollination: Pollination Group 2 (pollinates with Groups 1, 2 and 3)Uses: Eating apple Learn more about fruit tree rootstocks During the bareroot season, our apples are pre pruned before being dispatched by mail order.