The Redlove apple owes its name to its dark red flesh. We introduce you to the apple and its peculiarities in cultivation and care.
Red-fleshed apples are often considered particularly sour and inedible. It is different with the apple varieties, which are summarized under the name 'Redlove': Thanks to years of breeding work, the apples not only shine with their clearly red-colored flesh, but also with their pleasant taste. In this article we will tell you what distinguishes the Redlove apples and which varieties belong to them.
Redlove: history and origin
Red-fleshed apples are a real eye-catcher with their color, but they are often quite sour. For this reason, the plant breeder Markus Kobelt has set himself the task of developing a red-fleshed apple variety that not only shines with its color but also with its taste. According to their own statements, it took almost 20 years of targeted crossing and selection until 2009, with the 'Redlove Circe', the first red-fleshed dessert apple came onto the market. The brand name 'Redlove' is composed of the English words "red" (red), which is intended to refer to the red coloring of the fruit flesh, and "love" (love), which refers to the heart-shaped pattern of the apple in longitudinal section. Other red-fleshed apple varieties such as 'Redlove Sirena' or 'Redlove Odysso', which are selections that differ only slightly from the original variety, followed. Even today, Markus Kobelt continues to grow the red-fleshed apple varieties in his home town of St. Gallen in order to further increase the variety of red-fleshed apples.
Various Redlove Varieties
To date, eight different Redlove apple varieties have come onto the market, all of which differ in certain characteristics. However, the similarities outweigh the differences. All Redlove apples are characterized by red flesh, which has a heart-shaped pattern when cut lengthwise. The red color of the flesh is caused by a 30-up to 40 times higher anthocyanin content. The anthocyanins not only provide the distinctive color, but also act as antioxidants. As a result, the pulp not only hardly browns when it comes into contact with air, but is also particularly he althy for us. The pink to dark red apple blossoms are also a typical feature of the Redlove varieties. In addition, all currently available Redlove varieties are considered resistant to scab. The breeder is also currently working on the development of fire blight resistant varieties.
Redlove Odysso
The 'Redlove Odysso' is especially known for its large fruits and its pleasantly mild taste.
- Appearance and Shape: Large, tall fruits; extremely high proportion of dark red top color when fully ripe and light russeting.
- Pulp: Firm, fine-celled pulp with high juiciness.
- Flavour: Next to 'Redlove Kohlhaas' one of the sweetest Redlove apples with high sugar content and low acidity.
- Growth: Medium to strong, upright, slender habit with a final height of 3 to 4 m; weak to medium branching.
- Cultivation types: Suitability for low stem, espalier fruit or half stem.
- Location: Sunny to partially shaded position; nutrient-rich, humus-rich garden soil preferred, depending on the rootstock.
- Flowering: Pink flowering from April to May.
- Care: Regular pruning is recommended due to the low level of branching.
- He alth: Good frost hardiness; scab resistant, little powdery mildew.
- Harvest: Ready for picking from the beginning of October, ready for consumption from the middle/end of October.
- Storage: Best before April if stored correctly.
Redlove Era
Since 2010, 'Redlove Era' has been convincing with its berry aroma and is ideal for direct consumption.
- Appearance and shape: Medium-sized, round fruits; The shell is almost fluorescent and has slight russeting.
- Pulp: Firm, medium-celled pulp with a fine texture.
- Flavour: Sweet and sour apple with balanced acid-sugar ratio; pleasant berry aroma and surprisingly round taste.
- Growth: Slow-growing, spherical tree crown; low to medium branching.
- Cultivation types: Suitability for low stem, espalier fruit or half stem.
- Location: Sunny untilpartial shade.
- Flower: Pink flowers from April to May, particularly prolific.
- He alth: Scab Resistant.
- Harvest: Ready for picking and enjoyment from mid-September.
- Storage: Best before December if stored properly.
Redlove Circe
Anyone looking for an early-ripening, red-fleshed apple variety is well advised to go with the 'Redlove Circe' - the juicy apples are ready to eat from mid-August.
- Appearance and shape: Medium-sized, round fruits; smooth, almost fluorescent skin with a high proportion of dark red overcolor when fully ripe without russeting.
- Flesh: Firm, juicy flesh with a beautiful shade of pink.
- Flavour: Refreshing taste with slight sweetness and some acidity, light perfume and lovely aroma.
- Growth: Medium to strong, semi-upright, slender habit with a final height of 3 to 4 m.
- Cultivation forms: Suitability for low trunk, espalier fruit or half trunk
- Location: Sunny to partially shaded position; nutrient-rich and humus-rich garden soil preferred, depending on the rootstock.
- Flower: Pink flowers from April to May, very prolific.
- He alth: Scab Resistant.
- Harvest: Ready for picking and enjoyment from mid-August.
- Storage: Can be stored until September if stored correctly.
Redlove Calypso
Small, but powerful - the small apples of the 'Redlove Calypso' may look inconspicuous at first, but they convince with their special aroma.
- Appearance and shape: Small, rounded to flattened fruits; green base color with up to 70% dark red top color and slight russeting.
- Pulp: Very firm, fine-celled pulp that does not lose its structure even during storage; particularly juicy.
- Flavour: Particularly aromatic taste with a sweet and sour note.
- Growth: Slow to medium-growing with good branching; Final size about 3 to 4 m.
- Cultivation types: Suitability for low stem, espalier fruit or half stem.
- Location: Can be grown up to medium altitudes; prefers nutrient-rich soil depending on rootstock; preferably sunny or semi-shady location.
- Flower: Crimson flowers from April to May.
- He alth: Scab Resistant.
- Care: Tends to alternate, cutand thinning should therefore be done carefully.
- Harvest: Ready for picking from mid-September; Ready for consumption about 1 to 3 weeks later; only develops its full aroma during storage.
- Storage: Can be stored until November if stored correctly.
Redlove Kohlhaas
'Redlove Kohlhaas' is still considered the mildest of the Redlove apples and has a particularly beautiful red and white marbling of the flesh.
- Appearance and shape: Small fruits with a cylindrical, elongated exterior; dark red body color.
- Flesh: White-red marbled with good firmness; particularly juicy, often the casing is also full of juice at harvest time.
- Flavour: Particularly mild and sweet with a high sugar content, almost like fruit juice.
- Growth: Slow to medium-growing with good branching.
- Cultivation forms: standard, half-stem.
- Location: Sunny to partial shade; humus-rich and nutrient-rich soil is optimal, can vary due to grafting on different rootstocks.
- Flower: Pink flowers in May, extremely prolific.
- He alth: Scab resistant, low mildew.
- Harvest: Ready for picking and enjoyment from mid-September.
- Storage: Best before Christmas if stored correctly.
Redlove Lollipop
Pink blossoms, pink flesh and particularly juicy - the apples of the 'Redlove Lollipop' are particularly pretty and delicious.
- Appearance and shape: Very small, rounded, regularly shaped apple; Skin colored pink-red when fully ripe.
- Pulp: Pulp has marbling that matches the skin; firm and crisp pulp; particularly fine-celled with lots of juice.
- Flavour: Very sweet aroma, hardly acid.
- Growth: Slow-growing, good branching; Final height approx. 3 m.
- Cultivation forms: clear stem, low stem, trellis, half stem.
- Location: Sunny and shady position with nutrient-rich, humic garden soil; Soil claims are affected by each grafting pad.
- Flowering: Pink flowering from mid-April to late May.
- He alth: Resistant to scab, low susceptibility to powdery mildew.
- Harvest: Ready to pick and enjoy from the end of August.
- Storage: Can only be stored for a few days; stays on the tree until the end of Septemberfresh.
Redlove Jedermann´s
The 'Redlove Jedermann's' pleases almost every gardener with its mild, sweet taste and impresses with its easy cultivation.
- Appearance and shape: Large apple with a distinct red color when fully ripe.
- Flesh: Crisp, firm flesh; very juicy.
- Flavour: Sweet with mild acidity and hardly any astringency, so hardly any furry or tight feeling on the tongue in the finish; round, full-bodied aroma.
- Growth: Medium-growing with good branching; flat side shoots; Final height 2 to 3 m.
- Cultivation types: low stem, espalier, half stem.
- Location: Full sun to part shade; Soil should be rich in nutrients and humus - can vary depending on the grafting rootstock.
- Flowering: Pink flowers from about mid-April to late May.
- He alth: Scab Resistance.
- Harvest: Ready to pick and enjoy from mid to late September.
- Storage: Best before January if stored correctly.
Tip: All Redlove varieties prefer nutrient-rich soil. Before you plant the apple tree, it is therefore particularly important to thoroughly prepare the site. Especially if the soil in the garden is rather nutrient-poor, it can make sense to enhance the tree's new location with a good garden soil, for example our Plantura organic universal soil. Due to the optimal nutrient composition, the soil ensures a particularly good start at the new location.
Use Redlove Apples
As a red-fleshed apple variety, the appearance of the Redlove varieties is a big plus. But the apples can also convince with another property: In contrast to many other red-fleshed apple varieties, the Redlove apples are also wonderfully suitable for fresh consumption or as table fruit due to their milder taste. But their red flesh predestines the fruit for other tasks. The red color remains during processing, which is why the Redlove varieties are particularly popular for baking or canning to create colorful eye-catchers. In addition, their juice also has an attractive red color - Redlove apples are therefore often used as cider apples.
You haven't found the right apple variety yet? Certainlyfind the right apple in our article on old and tried apple varieties.