Benoni apple
A mid-season heritage variety from Massachusetts, USA, with a pleasant sweet flavor.
Benoni is a pleasant early or mid-season heritage apple from Massachusetts, USA, ripening in late August in most areas where it is grown. It has an attractive yellow skin predominantly (sometimes entirely) covered with a red / orange flush. The flesh is light, fairly soft, and with a mild sweet flavor. The skin is noticeably greasy, and the apples do not keep.
Benoni comes into bearing at a young age and crops well, but has a tendency to over-crop and then lapses into biennial bearing - cropping every alternate year. This can sometimes be corrected by heavily thinning the crop in late spring of the "on" year, thereby preventing the tree exhausting itself and allowing fruit buds to develop for the following year.
Benoni was introduced to the UK by the famous Rivers of Sawbridgeworth nursery in the late 19th century. Mr Rivers took the sensible step of sending samples to the noted fruit enthusiast Robert Hogg, who included an entry for it in his influential book "The Fruit Manual", and described it as "a delicious dessert apple". Although not widely grown in the UK, Benoni's muted orange-flushed skin gives it the appearance of a typical English apple.
Summary
- Species: Malus domestica
- Origin: Dedham, Massachusetts, United States
- Introduced: 1830s
- Developed by: Mr Mason Richards
- Orange Pippin Cultivar ID: 157400
- We are grateful to Brogdale Farm - home of the UK National Fruit Collection - for providing samples of this variety.
Identification
- Fruit colour: Red / Orange flush
- Flesh colour: Cream
Using
- Good for eating fresh
- Flavour quality: Good
- Flavour style: Sweeter
- Ripening period: Early-Mid season
- Use / keeping: 1 week
Growing
- Cropping: Heavy
- Flowering period: Mid season
- Flowering group: 3
- Fertility: Self-sterile
- Triploid: No
- Vigour: Average growth
- Biennial tendency
- Gardening skill: Some skill needed
- Precocity: Precocious
Climate
- Suitable for temperate climates
Benoni identification photos from official fruit collections
ARS GRIN
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Benoni identification photos from website visitors
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 Benoni trees have been registered - click the name to view more details of each tree.
You can also view these trees on a map.
United Kingdom
- Warren in GLASGOW, STRATHCLYDE
Mature heights for Benoni trees
This table shows the likely mature height for a Benoni 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 |
4.6 ft 1.4 m |
5.5 ft 1.7 m |
| M27 | 2.8 ft 0.9 m |
3.5 ft 1.1 m |
4.2 ft 1.3 m |
5.3 ft 1.6 m |
6.3 ft 1.9 m |
| M9 | 4.2 ft 1.3 m |
5.3 ft 1.6 m |
6.3 ft 1.9 m |
7.9 ft 2.4 m |
9.5 ft 2.9 m |
| Bud.9 | 4.2 ft 1.3 m |
5.3 ft 1.6 m |
6.3 ft 1.9 m |
7.9 ft 2.4 m |
9.5 ft 2.9 m |
| Geneva 11 | 4.2 ft 1.3 m |
5.3 ft 1.6 m |
6.3 ft 1.9 m |
7.9 ft 2.4 m |
9.5 ft 2.9 m |
| Geneva 16 | 4.9 ft 1.5 m |
6.1 ft 1.9 m |
7.4 ft 2.3 m |
9.2 ft 2.8 m |
11.0 ft 3.4 m |
| M26 | 5.3 ft 1.6 m |
6.6 ft 2.0 m |
7.9 ft 2.4 m |
9.8 ft 3.0 m |
11.8 ft 3.6 m |
| Geneva 30 | 5.6 ft 1.7 m |
7.0 ft 2.1 m |
8.4 ft 2.6 m |
10.5 ft 3.2 m |
12.6 ft 3.9 m |
| MM102 | 5.6 ft 1.7 m |
7.0 ft 2.1 m |
8.4 ft 2.6 m |
10.5 ft 3.2 m |
12.6 ft 3.9 m |
| M7 | 6.3 ft 1.9 m |
7.9 ft 2.4 m |
9.5 ft 2.9 m |
11.8 ft 3.6 m |
14.2 ft 4.3 m |
| M116 | 6.3 ft 1.9 m |
7.9 ft 2.4 m |
9.5 ft 2.9 m |
11.8 ft 3.6 m |
14.2 ft 4.3 m |
| MM106 | 7.0 ft 2.1 m |
8.8 ft 2.7 m |
10.5 ft 3.2 m |
13.1 ft 4.0 m |
15.8 ft 4.8 m |
| MM111 | 8.1 ft 2.5 m |
10.1 ft 3.1 m |
12.1 ft 3.7 m |
15.1 ft 4.6 m |
18.1 ft 5.6 m |
| Bud.118 | 9.1 ft 2.8 m |
11.4 ft 3.5 m |
13.7 ft 4.2 m |
17.1 ft 5.2 m |
20.5 ft 6.3 m |
| M25 | 10.2 ft 3.1 m |
12.7 ft 3.9 m |
15.2 ft 4.7 m |
19.0 ft 5.8 m |
22.8 ft 7.0 m |
From an idea by N. Buck - more details.
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