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Rome Beauty apple



Rome Beauty is a popular American good cooking apple, which retains its shape when cooked.  It can also be eaten fresh, but the flavor is nothing special - this is an apple for cooking with.

Rome Beauty is of the few heirloom US varieties that is now widely-grown outside the USA - it can be found in many of the warmer apple-growing regions. Unlike most apple varieties, it has a very low chilling requirement which means it can be grown in areas which do not have cold winters.

Although not perhaps the greatest apple when it comes to flavor, Rome Beauty is well-regarded by apple breeders. It is an attractive apple with a good clean appearance, little troubled by disease, and a very reliable and heavy cropper.  These qualities have led to it being incorporated in numerous breeding programs.

Last updated 18 Jan 2013.

An extremely attractive and productive red cooking apple, widely-grown in North America.

Origins

  • Species: Malus domestica
  • Originates from: Ohio, United States
  • Introduced: 1816
  • Orange Pippin Cultivar ID: 120200
  • Some historical details taken with kind permission from 'The New Book of Apples' by Joan Morgan and Alison Richards , illustrated by Elisabeth Dowle, published by Ebury Press, 2002.
  • We are grateful to Brogdale Farm - home of the UK National Fruit Collection - for providing samples of this variety.

Identification

  • Fruit colour: Red

Using

  • Good for cooking
  • Cooking result: Keeps shape

Growing

  • Flowering period: Late season
  • Flowering group: 5
  • Fertility: Self-fertile
  • Triploid: No

Climate

  • Suitable for warm climates
  • Low-chill requirement

Disease resistance

  • Fireblight  - Very susceptible
  • Cedar apple rust  - Very susceptible

Relationships to other varieties

Offspring of this variety:

Sports (natural genetic mutations) of this variety:

References and further reading

  • Cedar-Apple Rust  
    Author: Stephen Vann, University of Arkansas, Division of Agriculture (FSA7538)
    Rated as highly susceptible - control always needed where CAR is prevalent.

Rome Beauty identification photos from official fruit collections


UK National Fruit Collection

©Crown Copyright more >
UK National Fruit Collection

Rome Beauty identification photos from website visitors


Rome Beauty apples in New York state tape


Rome Beauty apples in New York state

Rome Beauty apples, Brogdale Farm, England tape


Rome Beauty apples, Brogdale Farm, England


Rate this variety for flavor

Current rating: 5.0 out of 5. Total votes cast: 2
 

Visitor comments

(Use the form at the bottom to add your own comments about this variety)

09 Dec 2010 Dennis SmithCALIFORNIA, United States
Does this rome beauty apple have at least some red flesh inside. Many of the rome apples I buy in Los Angeles have much red flesh.
08 Jun 2010 NathanielTN, United States
I love Roman Beauty apples.I think their great to eat when ripe.And great for cooking Apple Pies and other backed apple good's.
09 Sep 2009 Angel HaggarWESTMONT,IL, United States
i found apples exactly as you described on a county strip by the railroad tracks. I picked two bushels and was quite disappointed in eating them, but I hear they make good applesauce. I also juiced them to make cider. Real cider takes several weeks, so I can't tell you how it tastes yet but don't worry about the worms. Just slice up the apples to make apple sauce or apple butter and cut out the yucky parts. I have see lots of worm evidence, but no actual worms. :)
18 May 2009 MollyOREGON, United States
There is an enormous old apple tree in my backyard with the most beautiful, bright-red apples one could imagine. While attractive, they are surely the worst apples I have ever eaten. Mealy, bland, and infested with little worms- yuck. I'm afraid to even use them for cooking since they seem to be infested. Too bad. There is a honeybee hive in the tree so spraying is not an option.

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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 Rome Beauty trees have been registered - click the name to view more details of each tree.

You can also view these trees on a map.

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Latest harvest records for this variety

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