The 'Red Star Reinette' used to be the classic Christmas apple because of its almost perfectly star-shaped shell points. The old variety is still very popular today because of its good taste and robustness.
The 'Red Star Reinette' used to be widespread and well known. You can still find them in many fruit tree nurseries today, not least because they can be grown in many different locations. Apart from its interesting appearance, to which it owes its name, the fruit of the 'Red Star Reinette' boasts good storage properties and a very pleasant taste.
Apple variety 'Red Star Reinette': profile
| Synonyms | 'Calville Etoilée', 'Pomme de Coeur', 'Herzapfel', 'Rote Herbstrenette', 'Christmas Apple' |
| Fruit | small to medium sized; Crimson, Scarlet, or Dark Red Bodycolor |
| Flavour | moderately juicy, slightly aromatic, sweet and sour |
| Yield | low to good; may tend to alternation |
| Harvest time | early September to mid-October |
| Maturity for pleasure | October to November |
| Shelf Life | good; Can be stored until January |
| Growth | strong |
| Climate | high site tolerance |
| Diseases and Pests | slightly susceptible to specks and codling moths |
Origin and history of the apple variety
Not much is known about the origin of the 'Red Star Reinette'. Their origin is assumed to be in Belgium, Luxembourg or the Netherlands. It can be considered certain that the variety is already well over 200 years old, since it was first described in 1790 in Maastricht in Dutch Limburg. The different synonyms of the 'Red Star Reinette' indicate that the variety gained some popularity at least in France: 'Calville Etoilée' and 'Pomme de Coeur' the apple is called there. Other German names are, for example, 'Herzapfel', 'RoteHerbstrenette' and of course Christmas apple.
Red star reindeer: taste and properties
The fruit of the 'Red Star Reinette' is small to medium-sized, round or flat-topped with an even surface. The skin is shiny and smooth, hardly greasy and somewhat tough. The body color is washed out crimson, scarlet or dark red. The eponymous star or triangular cork spots (lenticels) on the bowl are striking. The lenticels can partially merge into each other. The flesh of the 'Rote Sternrenette' variety is yellowish white and sometimes shows red vascular bundles and a red tint just under the skin. The meat is hardly sensitive to pressure, medium-firm and moderately juicy. It tastes sweet and sour and slightly aromatic, but slightly perfumed and overall very pleasant.
Special features of growing and caring for the star reindeer
The advantages of the 'Red Star Reinette' include the high resistance to many diseases and frost as well as the late, long and frost-proof flowering, which provides a lot of pollen for pollination and as food for insects. Something special is the great location tolerance: the tree of the 'Red Star Reinette' prefers deep, well moist soil and humid locations, but it still produces tasty fruits even on calcareous or poor soil.
On the other hand, the strong vegetative growth is a disadvantage, which can easily lead to fluctuating ( alternating) yields due to frost, drought or other adversities. It is also very important for regular harvests that you prune the apple tree properly. Overall yields are low to good. Late flowering also poses a problem in this regard: In some cases, insects are missing as pollinators at this time, so that only a few fruits are formed.
Last but not least, the 'Red Star Reinette' is slightly susceptible to specks (relative calcium deficiency) and the codling moth.
All in all, the 'Rote Sternrenette' is a good collector's variety, from which tasty but only few fruits can be expected. In small gardens, the strong-growing variety 'Rote Sternrenette' will only succeed on small rootstocks such as MM106. On meadow orchards or in large orchards, it grows very well on seedling bases such as Bittenfelder.
Good pollinators are: 'Ontario', 'James Grieve', 'Weiser Klarapfel', 'Baumanns Renette', 'Gloster', 'Grahams Jubilee' and 'Landsberger Renette'.
Tip: You want insects in your gardenpromote to ensure pollination of your apple tree? A simple option is to sow a flower meadow like the Plantura Beneficial Magnet in tubs, boxes or as a real meadow in your garden.
Red Star Reindeer: Harvesting and Storage
Depending on the weather, the 'Red Star Reinette' is ready to pick between the beginning of September and mid-October. The ripeness for consumption thus sets in between October and November. Because the fruits are not wind resistant, it is possible that some may be shaken off by autumn storms before harvest. However, the 'Red Star Reinette' is so little sensitive to pressure that the fallen fruit can often still be used - but not stored.
Apples picked early almost never rot in storage. In good conditions - darkness, coolness and medium-high humidity - the 'Rote Sternrenette' makes a very good table apple until around January and can of course be used as a polished Christmas apple at Christmas. From about February, however, the fruit becomes mealy.
The 'Red Star Reinette' is also suitable for making juice.
The 'Zabergäu Renette' can be stored better than the 'Red Star Renette' - the variety can be stored until March. In this article we present the 'Zabergäu Renette' and things worth knowing about its cultivation and care.