Sundowner® apple
A late-season apple from Australia, whose varietal name is Cripps Red and which is related to Pink Lady®.
Sundowner® is the lesser-known sibling of Pink Lady®. On this website we tend to use the term "sibling" when talking about apple varieties with common parents. However unlike human children, apple siblings are nearly always raised in separate places by different growers, maybe decades or even centuries apart. However Pink Lady® and Sundowner® really are siblings - not only do they share the same parentage - Golden Delicious and Lady Williams - but they were developed at the same time by the same fruit breeder, John Cripps of Western Australia. Pink Lady® and Sundowner® are trademarks - the actual variety names are Cripps Pink and Cripps Red respectively.
Sundowner® is very much a warm-climate apple. That means it needs long hot summers to ripen, but it also has a low-chill requirement so it can tolerate winters where temperatures are rarely below freezing. (Apples originated in mountainous central Asia and need a period of very cold weather each winter as part of their annual growing cycle).
Sundowner® does not have the distinctive pink blush of Pink Lady®, being a more conventional "bi-coloured" red apple. The flavour is less delicate than Pink Lady®, and slightly more distinctive - in this respect it is probably the better apple.
Although primarily an apple for eating fresh, Sundowner® can be used in the kitchen - it keeps its shape when cooked. For an example see this recipe for Rustic Apple Tart.
Also known as
- Cripps Red
Summary
- Species: Malus domestica
- Parentage: Golden Delicious and Lady Williams
- Origin: Western Australia, Australia
- Introduced: 1970s
- Developed by: John Cripps
- Orange Pippin Cultivar ID: 120900
Identification
- Fruit colour: Red / Green
- Fruit size: Medium
Using
- Good for eating fresh
- Good for cooking
- Cooking result: Keeps shape
- Flavour quality: Very good
- Flavour style: Sweet/Sharp
- Ripening period: Very-Late season
- Use / keeping: 3 months or more
Growing
- Flowering group: 3
- Fertility: Self-sterile
- Triploid: No
- Vigour: Average growth
- Gardening skill: Average Requires a warm climate
- General disease resistance: Average
Climate
- Suitable for warm climates
- Suitable for temperate climates The tree should grow but the apples may not ripen
- Low-chill requirement
Relationships to other varieties
Parents and other ancestors of this variety:
- Golden Delicious (parent)
- Lady Williams (parent)
Siblings of this variety (same parentage):
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 Sundowner® trees have been registered - click the name to view more details of each tree.
You can also view these trees on a map.
Australia
- Dianne Russell in DAYBORO, QUEENSLAND
Mature heights for Sundowner® trees
This table shows the likely mature height for a Sundowner® 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 Sundowner® apples for sale. map >
United Statesmap >
-
Californiamap >
- Prevedelli Farms, Watsonville
-
Oregonmap >
- Haury Farms, Salem
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