Fiesta is a relatively new English apple, developed in Kent in the 1970s but with a very traditional English style and flavour. Cox's Orange Pippin is one of its parents, and it has inherited the classic Cox aromatic sweet/sharp flavour. Visually it also looks the part, with the attractive orange flush so typical of traditional English apples.
Although primarily an eating apple, Fiesta produces an excellent sweet apple juice and this is a good way to deal with a surplus of apples. It can also be used as a substitute for Cox's Orange Pippin in apple cookery - slices keep their shape when cooked.
Unlike Cox's Orange Pippin, Fiesta also stores very well and remains firm and sweet - a quality it probably inherits from its other parent, an American variety called Idared.
Fiesta is grown commercially on a small-scale in the UK and France, sometimes marketed as Red Pippin. It is easy to grow and a reliable cropper, making it an excellent choice for the small orchard or for the garden.
**All prices include delivery (except certain fan-trained or espalier-trained trees). We offer a discount on orders of multiple bare-root trees for delivery at the same time - this will be shown at the checkout.
Fan-trained and Espalier trees: Prices of these trees do NOT include delivery as these require special delivery arrangements - click here for details.
Delivery period: Pot-grown trees can be delivered from September onwards. Bare-root trees can be delivered from mid-November onwards. Within those periods you can specify your preferred month of delivery during the checkout process. It is best to order as soon as you can to ensure items are reserved for you.
*Mature heights: Height shown is the approximate height of the tree when mature (after 5-10 years), not the height when supplied. See photos of trees as supplied. Actual mature heights may vary considerably dependent on your local conditions and training and pruning regime.
Stock availability: Items showing as 'sold out' will probably be available again next season. If you would like to reserve in advance use our enquiry form - this does not commit you to anything.
Fiesta is partially self-fertile, but fruiting will be improved if there is a compatible tree of a different variety nearby. Since it flowers in the middle of the blossom season it can be pollinated by most other apple trees.
Our online pollination checker lists suitable pollination partners for this variety.
More advice about pollination.
Fiesta is easy to grow and is an excellent substitute for Cox, inheriting much of the rich aromatic flavour - but few of the horticultural difficulties.
Fiesta trees tend to grow in a rather haphazard fashion, so this is perhaps not the best variety to choose if you want the tree to be a feature in the garden.
Planting instructions.
Pruning instructions.
Developed in the 1970s at the East Malling Research Station in Kent, UK. Fiesta is a cross between Cox's Orange Pippin and Idared. It is sometimes known as 'Red Pippin'.
