Rubaiyat® apple trees

(Rubayat)

• Check pollinators >

• Picking season: Very late
• Self-fertility: Not self-fertile
• Flowering group: 6

Rubaiyat is one of the best examples of a red-fleshed apple. In a good year the bright red skin blends seamlessly into the bright red flesh - an effect you rarely see in any apple.

Like many red-fleshed apples the blossom is a darker pink than regular apples, and quite attractive.

The apples ripen very late in the season, early November in north-west Europe. They do not keep and although the flavour can be acceptable in some years it may not be edible.

Overall we think Rubaiyat is a remarkable apple, but it requires dedication and experience to get the best results.

Rubaiyat organic apple trees for sale

• 11 yeartree on M116 rootstock23.95€
  Medium tree (2m-3.5m after 10 years) Bare-root
  

  Sold-out
• 21 yeartree on MM111 rootstock23.25€
  Large tree (3m-5m after 10 years) Bare-root
  

  Sold-out

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If you do not hear from us by March you can contact us to pre-order for next autumn.

Growing and Training

Rubaiyat is not easy to grow. It flowers quite late when not many other apples are around to pollinate it. Fruit quality can be quite variable from one season to the next. The extent and intensity of the red flesh is also variable.

The tree grows with a distinctly upright habit.

History

Rubaiyat was developed in the 1940s in California by Albert Etter. It was one of many red or pink-fleshed apple varieties that he raised from seeds of an old American pink-fleshed apple variety called Surprise.

Rubaiyat characteristics

• Gardening skillExperienced
• Self-fertilityNot self-fertile
• Flowering group6
• Disease resistancePoor
• Picking seasonVery late
• Season of use2-3 weeks
• Food usesEating freshCulinary
• Country of originUnited States
• Period of origin1900 - 1949
• Flesh colourPink / Red
• Fruit colourRed

Similar varieties

• 
  Early Red Meat
  Early Red Meat is an early season apple with a marbled red / pink flesh. It produces a dark pink apple juice.
• 
  Pink Pearl
  Pink Pearl features bright pink flesh, and pink apple blossom.
• 
  Red Devil
  Red Devil is a versatile English eating apple, and produces a sweet red-tinted juice.
• 
  Roberts Crab
  Roberts Red or Roberts Crab is an unusual red-fleshed crab-apple, with dark pink blossom, and purple fruits.

More about apple trees

While the vast majority of apples have white or cream-coloured flesh, some varieties have red flesh. Those with the most intense red flesh are usually descended from a red-fleshed crab-apple called Malus niedzetzkyana found in central Asia. The red colouration in this species also extends to the blossom, leaves and young shoots. 

Other varieties feature pink flesh or pink / marbled flesh, and these are often more palatable. 

The juice of red-fleshed apples is usually light or dark pink, and makes an attractive alternative to regular apple juice.

These varieties are of interest because of their ornamental qualities, and also because the anthocyanin compounds which give the flesh its colour are thought to have anti-oxidant properties.