Apple ‘Ellison’s orange’

‘Ellison’s Orange’ is a much-loved English dessert apple, raised in Lincolnshire around 1900 and a cross between Cox’s Orange Pippin and Calville Blanc d’Hiver. Fruits are medium-sized, yellowish-green flushed and striped red, with crisp juicy flesh and a distinctive aniseed note behind the usual sweet-sharp apple flavour.

Heavy, reliable cropper, ripening in late September and eaten best straight off the tree. Good disease resistance, though like most Cox-family apples it benefits from a sheltered spot.

Plant in full sun in fertile, well-drained soil. Partially self-fertile but crops more heavily with a pollination partner nearby. Prune in winter to build an open framework, keep summer growth in check.

A firm favourite for a kitchen garden, an orchard, or grown as a trained fan or espalier on a sunny wall.