Ambrosia apple
A sweet modern apple variety from western Canada, quite similar to Golden Delicious. Discovered as a chance seedling in an orchard in British Columbia.
Ambrosia is an attractive medium-sized apple, with a pink-tinged orange/red flush over a yellow background. As such it is very much in tune with the modern preference for "bi-coloured" apples.
The flavor is pleasant and sweet, but one-dimensional in that there is no acidity to balance the sweetness - which is not necessarily a bad thing of course. The texture is essentially crisp, but not as crisp or hard as a Braeburn or Jazz - it is more the slightly softer crunch you might find in a Golden Delicious. Ambrosia benefits from being kept chilled and eaten from the fridge, because the crispness fades fairly quickly once it is left in the fruit bowl, and at this point it can become slightly pear-like. If you wanted to pigeon-hole Ambrosia, it is best thought of as a red/orange colored Golden Delicious with a flavor which is not quite as sweet. Certainly anyone who likes Golden Delicious but wants something a little bit different will like Ambrosia.
Ambrosia originates from western Canada and as with most modern varieties, production and quality are closely-controlled by the brand owners- PICO (Okanagan Plant Improvement Company) in western Canada. New plantings are also being established in Washington State in the USA, and in the Piedmont region of Italy. Although Canada is usually considered as a cold-climate growing region, the Similkameen and Okanagan valleys of southern British Columbia are semi-arid and apples are grown alongside grape vines and other warm-climate crops.
Ambrosia is unlikely to be available to private individuals, but when grown in commercial orchards, the best rootstock appears to be M26 rather than the more usual M9.
Unlike most other modern varieties, Ambrosia is not the result of a lengthy scientific breeding programme, but instead originated the old-fashioned natural way as a chance seedling in an orchard. Ambrosia was discovered by Wilfrid and Sally Mennell growing in their orchard of Jonagold trees in the Similkameen Valley in British Columbia, western Canada. The parentage is therefore unknown, but it seems likely that it is a cross between Jonagold, and Golden Delicious which had been growing in the same area previously. In terms of both flavor and appearance Ambrosia is almost exactly what you might expect such a cross to be like, with the flavor very much from the Golden Delicious side of the mix (bearing in mind that Golden Delicious is also one of the parents of Jonagold), but the visual appearance quite influenced by the Jonathan.
We are grateful to Elam's Organics for information about the origins of Ambrosia. For more details see: http://organicambrosiaapples.com/origins.html
Summary
- Species: Malus domestica
- Parentage: Probably Golden Delicious and Jonagold or Starking Delicious
- Origin: British Columbia, Canada
- Introduced: 1987
- Developed by: Discovered by Wilfred Mennell of Keremeos, BC
- Orange Pippin Cultivar ID: 120800
Identification
- Fruit colour: Red
- Flesh colour: Cream
Using
- Good for eating fresh
- Flavour style: Sweeter
Growing
- Flowering period: Mid-Late season
- Flowering group: 4
- Fertility: Self-sterile
- Triploid: No
- Vigour: Average growth Growth slows when fruiting begins
- Fruit bearing: Spur-bearer
Climate
- Suitable for temperate climates
- Tolerates cold winters Sensitive to frost.
Relationships to other varieties
Parents and other ancestors of this variety:
- Delicious (parent) - Probable parent
- Golden Delicious (parent) - Probable parent
- Jonagold (parent) - Possible parent
Fruit tree register
Do you have a tree of this variety in your garden or orchard? If so please register the details here and contribute to our international register of fruit trees.
The following Ambrosia trees have been registered - click the name to view more details of each tree.
You can also view these trees on a map.
India
- Vishal Singh in SHIMLA, HIMACHAL PRADESH
Mature heights for Ambrosia trees
This table shows the likely mature height for a Ambrosia tree taking into account the vigor of the variety, the rootstock, and soil conditions.
| Rootstock | Soil quality | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Poor | Below average | Average | Above average | Very good | |
| P22 | 2.5 ft 0.8 m |
3.1 ft 0.9 m |
3.7 ft 1.1 m |
4.3 ft 1.3 m |
4.9 ft 1.5 m |
| M27 | 2.8 ft 0.9 m |
3.5 ft 1.1 m |
4.2 ft 1.3 m |
4.9 ft 1.5 m |
5.6 ft 1.7 m |
| M9 | 4.2 ft 1.3 m |
5.3 ft 1.6 m |
6.3 ft 1.9 m |
7.4 ft 2.3 m |
8.4 ft 2.6 m |
| Bud.9 | 4.2 ft 1.3 m |
5.3 ft 1.6 m |
6.3 ft 1.9 m |
7.4 ft 2.3 m |
8.4 ft 2.6 m |
| Geneva 16 | 4.2 ft 1.3 m |
5.3 ft 1.6 m |
6.3 ft 1.9 m |
7.4 ft 2.3 m |
8.4 ft 2.6 m |
| Geneva 11 | 4.9 ft 1.5 m |
6.1 ft 1.9 m |
7.4 ft 2.3 m |
8.6 ft 2.6 m |
9.8 ft 3.0 m |
| M26 | 5.3 ft 1.6 m |
6.6 ft 2.0 m |
7.9 ft 2.4 m |
9.2 ft 2.8 m |
10.5 ft 3.2 m |
| Geneva 30 | 5.6 ft 1.7 m |
7.0 ft 2.1 m |
8.4 ft 2.6 m |
9.8 ft 3.0 m |
11.2 ft 3.4 m |
| MM102 | 5.6 ft 1.7 m |
7.0 ft 2.1 m |
8.4 ft 2.6 m |
9.8 ft 3.0 m |
11.2 ft 3.4 m |
| M7 | 6.3 ft 1.9 m |
7.9 ft 2.4 m |
9.5 ft 2.9 m |
11.0 ft 3.4 m |
12.6 ft 3.9 m |
| M116 | 6.3 ft 1.9 m |
7.9 ft 2.4 m |
9.5 ft 2.9 m |
11.0 ft 3.4 m |
12.6 ft 3.9 m |
| MM106 | 7.0 ft 2.1 m |
8.8 ft 2.7 m |
10.5 ft 3.2 m |
12.3 ft 3.8 m |
14.0 ft 4.3 m |
| MM111 | 8.4 ft 2.6 m |
10.5 ft 3.2 m |
12.6 ft 3.9 m |
14.7 ft 4.5 m |
16.8 ft 5.2 m |
| Bud.118 | 9.1 ft 2.8 m |
11.4 ft 3.5 m |
13.7 ft 4.2 m |
15.9 ft 4.9 m |
18.2 ft 5.6 m |
| M25 | 10.5 ft 3.2 m |
13.1 ft 4.0 m |
15.8 ft 4.8 m |
18.4 ft 5.6 m |
21.0 ft 6.4 m |
From an idea by N. Buck - more details.
Where to buy apples
The following orchards and suppliers offer Ambrosia apples for sale. map >
United Statesmap >
-
Georgiamap >
- Mercier Orchards, Blue Ridge
-
Indianamap >
- HighPoint Orchard & Farm Market, Greensburg
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Michiganmap >
- Rennhack Orchards, Hart
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New Yorkmap >
- Bellinger's Apple Orchard, Fultonville
-
North Carolinamap >
- Justus Orchards, Hendersonville
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Oregonmap >
- Haury Farms, Salem
-
Tennesseemap >
- Hurricane Hollow Apple Orchards, Buffalo Valley
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Wisconsinmap >
- Pleasant View Orchard, Niagara
Canadamap >
-
British Columbiamap >
- Blush Lane Organic Orchard, Keremeos
- Orchard Corners Organics, Kelowna
- Raven Ridge Cidery / Kelowna Land & Orchards, Kelowna
- Roseridge Orchards, Kelowna
- Starry Night Meadows Farm, Mayne Island
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Ontariomap >
- Cleaver Orchards, Simcoe
- Quint Ferri North Farm / T & K Ferri Orchards, Brampton
- DeVries Fruit Farm, Fenwick
- Juicy-Fruit Orchards, Thedford
- Moore Orchards, Cobourg
Indiamap >
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Himachal Pradeshmap >
- Vishal Singh, District Shimla
Rate this variety for flavor