• Record your blossom dates!
  • Our fruit tree register lets you record your spring blossom dates from year to year.More>
Orange Pippin logo
All about apples, pears, plums, and cherries - and orchards where they are grown

Pitmaston Pine Apple

/ 5 see reviews
Pitmaston Pine Apple

Pitmaston Pineapple is an old English russet apple from the West Midlands area.  It was originally raised as a seedling of Golden Pippin in the late 18th century, but presented to the London Horticultural Society in 1845 by Mr Williams of Pitmaston near Worcester.  It crops heavily but has a tendency to biennial bearing - fruiting only every other year.

Its most notable feature is the unusual and prominent pineapple-like flavour.  The flavour of apples can be most simply defined on a scale from very acidic to very sweet, but many varieties exhibit other flavour overtones on top of this basic axis, and Pitmaston Pineapple is the best example of a small group of apples where a musky pineapple-like flavour comes to the fore.

Pitmaston Pine Apple apple identification images

All images copyright Orange Pippin unless otherwise stated.

  • Pitmaston Pine Apple
  • Pitmaston Pine Apple

USDA identification images for Pitmaston Pine Apple

The identification paintings in the USDA Pomological Watercolor Collection span the years 1886 to 1942.

    Citation: U.S. Department of Agriculture Pomological Watercolor Collection. Rare and Special Collections, National Agricultural Library, Beltsville, MD 20705.

    Parents and other ancestors of this variety


    Visitor reviews

    • 26 Dec 2023 
      It did have the front taste of pineapple. Found in the fall at 4000 ft altitude in North Carolina in a very old abandoned farm. Nice lady told me the name.
    • 30 Sep 2023 
      I love apples and have tried many but must admit these are one of the best varieties I have ever tasted. The texture and flavour is perfect. Bought from a wonderful organic farm shop.
    • 11 Oct 2022 
      Variable cropper, but superb this year. A novelty apple that intrigues thepublic when they see and taste them.
    • 23 Aug 2020  WALMER, United Kingdom
      Beautiful flavour, small apples, very sweet sometimes almost sherbet. Flavour changes depending on when you eat them. I prefer leaving them a while. My all time favourite.
    • 28 Feb 2019  SUFFOLK, United Kingdom
      Bursting with flavour! A small apple but very worthwhile
    • 20 Nov 2015  LANARKSHIRE, United Kingdom
      The yellow fruit flavours in this variety do indeed resemble pineapple. It has very good texture too - not mealy at all.
    • 18 Oct 2014  United Kingdom
      the best flavoured of my 20 dessert vars. pity about the size
    • 11 Oct 2010  DERBYSHIRE, United Kingdom
      This is a lovely-eating and reliable little apple in my experience, on two different sites and soils and over several seasons in the Derbyshire Peak District. It is also very beautiful: on M27, at least, its habit seems naturally elegant and well proportioned, while the glowing gold of the fruit against the dark green foliage can lift the greyest afternoon.
    • 09 Aug 2010  CORNWALL, United Kingdom
      Given regular pruning, biennial bearing is not a problem with this variety. I do not remember having a year without a reasonable crop after growing it In Devon and N. Wales for over 20 years.

    Tree register

    United States

    United Kingdom

    France

    Canada

    Australia

    Spring blossom records for this variety

    2022 season

    • 28th April  2022  - tree owned by Hugh in Kingsbridge, United Kingdom

    2020 season

    • 15th April  2020  - tree owned by Jerry in Point Reyes Station, United States

    2019 season

    • 20th April  2019  - tree owned by Jerry in Point Reyes Station, United States

    2018 season

    • 6th May  2018  - tree owned by Bill in Smeeton Westerby, United Kingdom
    • 27th April  2018  - tree owned by Jerry in Point Reyes Station, United States

    2017 season

    • 8th May  2017  - tree owned by Hugh in Kingsbridge, United Kingdom
    • 3rd April  2017  - tree owned by Jerry in Point Reyes Station, United States

    2016 season

    • 16th May  2016  - tree owned by Bill in Smeeton Westerby, United Kingdom

    2014 season

    • 2nd May  2014  - tree owned by Michael in Halifax, United Kingdom
    • 31st April  2014  - tree owned by Bill in Smeeton Westerby, United Kingdom
    • April  2014  - tree owned by Karen in Leeds, United Kingdom

    2013 season

    • 15th May  2013  - tree owned by Jean in Martock, United Kingdom
    • 11th May  2013  - tree owned by Chris in Oxford, United Kingdom

    Record your blossom dates in our Fruit Tree Register - more >>.


    Harvest records for this variety

    2020 season

    • 3rd week August  2020  - tree owned by Jerry in Point Reyes Station, United States

    2019 season

    • 4th week August  2019  - tree owned by Jerry in Point Reyes Station, United States

    2018 season

    • 1st week October  2018  - tree owned by Ann in Nottingham, United Kingdom
    • 2nd week September  2018  - tree owned by Jerry in Point Reyes Station, United States

    2016 season

    • 1st week October  2016  - tree owned by Bill in Smeeton Westerby, United Kingdom

    2014 season

    • 3rd week September  2014  - tree owned by Bill in Smeeton Westerby, United Kingdom

    2012 season

    • 3rd week October  2012  - tree owned by Jean in Martock, United Kingdom

    2009 season

    • 3rd week October  2009  - tree owned by Clare in Bodorgan, United Kingdom
    • 3rd week September  2009  - tree owned by Jean in Martock, United Kingdom

    Origins

    • Species: Malus domestica - Apple
    • Parentage: Seedling of Golden Pippin
    • Originates from: Worcester, United Kingdom
    • Introduced: 19th century
    • Developed by: Mr Williams
    • UK National Fruit Collection accession: 1955-024
    • 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.

    Identification

    • Country of origin: United Kingdom
    • Period of origin: 1750 - 1799
    • Fruit colour: Green / Yellow
    • Flower colour: White
    • Leaf colour: Green
    • Popularity: Rarely grown
    • Annual cycle: Deciduous

    Using

    • Picking season: Late
    • Keeping (of fruit): 2-3 weeks
    • Flavour quality: Good
    • Flavour style (apples): Sweeter
    • Cropping: Heavy
    • Food uses: Eating fresh
    • Food uses: Juice
    • Wildlife: RHS Plants for Pollinators

    Growing

    • Gardening skill: Average
    • Flowering group: 4
    • Pollinating others: Average
    • Ploidy: Diploid
    • Vigour: Average vigour
    • Bearing regularity: Biennial tendency
    • Growth habit: Upright
    • Fruit bearing: Spur-bearer
    • Self-fertility: Not self-fertile

    Climate

    • Climate suitability: Temperate climates
    • Climate suitability: Mild damp climates
    • Summer average maximum temperatures: Cool ( 20-24C / 68-75F)

    Other qualities

    • Disease resistance: Average
    • Scab (Apple and Pear): Very resistant

    Where to buy trees

    The following tree nurseries offer Pitmaston Pine Apple apple trees for sale:


    Where to buy fresh fruit

    The following orchards grow Pitmaston Pine Apple:

    United States


    United Kingdom


    Canada


    Australia




    References

    • Apples of England (1948)
      Author: Taylor

    Varieties you viewed