If you want to grow the best-tasting apple in the world, this is probably it. This unassuming apple has perhaps the most remarkable flavour of any variety. The balance between sweetness and sharpness is often a good indicator of flavour quality in apples - and in Rubinette that balance is close to perfection.
Most people who try Rubinette agree it is the best apple they have ever eaten - here is a selection of the tasting notes from our sister website about Rubinette:
Although it is a cross between Cox's Orange Pippin and Golden Delicious, the depth and subtlety of Rubinette's flavour comes almost entirely from Cox's Orange Pippin.
**All prices include delivery. We offer a discount on orders of multiple bare-root trees for delivery at the same time - this will be shown at the checkout.
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.
Rubinette is self-sterile and needs to be pollinated by another 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.
The main issue with Rubinette is its tendency to produce a large quantity of small apples. This is easily addressed by thinning the fruitlets in late spring just after the blossom finishes - allow no more than 1 fruit per set of blossoms. An unusual feature of Rubinette is that fruit size usually improves as the tree gets older, with good size being achieved about 3 years after planting.
Rubinette can be grown with some success without any chemical treatments (we do ourselves) but spraying against scab (using either conventional or organic pesticides) should give better results in wetter climates. Keep the ground around the tree free from grass and use a mulch to suppress weeds. Religiously clear up all old fruit and fruitlets to deny pests and diseases a home over winter.
Rubinette is a good choice for apple enthusiasts in warmer areas of Europe who have not been able to achieve satisfactory results growing Cox's Orange Pippin. Rubinette performs much better than Cox in warmer climates, such as southern France and Spain. However it is equally at home in cooler temperate climates and can be grown anywhere that Cox can be grown.
Most growers also find that Rubinette maintains a consistently high quality flavor every year, regardless of the weather.
Rubinette Rosso is a sport of the original variety, with more prominent red coloration, but the same flavour and growth characteristics.
Planting instructions.
Pruning instructions.
Developed in the mid-20th century by Walter Hauenstein, a grower from Rafz in Switzerland (and sometimes known as Rafzubin). Rubinette is a marriage of two of the world's greatest apple varieties - Cox's Orange Pippin and Golden Delicious.
