Ben's Red 
 
Syn. Red Roller, Red Box, Red Robin, 
~ Sport of Devonshire Quarrenden ~ 
 
Dessert, Juicer, 
 
1830 Benjamin Roberts, Trannack, Penzance, Cornwall
 
Self-Sterile (needs a pollinator)
 
Early Harvester – August
 
Flat apple with deep marron skin with distinctive orange stripes paired with a delightfully sweet strawberry/raspberry like flavour. Thought be raised from a Devonshire Quarrenden seedling possibly pollinated by Farleigh Pippin by Benjamin Roberts at Trannack around 1830. Popularity rocketed in 1890 when a Kent nurseryman G Bunyard of Maidstone, Kent sold to local farms & shortly received RHS Award of Merit 1899! Became very popular in kent in the 1900’s & acres of trees were re-worked to Ben’s red from Worcestshire Pearmain but after the introduction of lime sulphur sprays in the 1920’s growers soon reworked them back. Often erroneously sold at market as just ‘Quarenden’ after its parent it’s now quite a rare apple to find & largely now only found in Farm Shops. Early flowering so adds immediate interest to those sunless, dull days.
 
These are small sprawling trees which a very heavy croppers in the right conditions however can sometimes exhibit biennial cropping but a lovely apple none the less. Interestingly this is a ‘Pitcher’ type apple as it can be reliably grown by rooting cuttings as well as rootstock grafting.