Pixie apple

Pixie is a small apple which is big on flavour. The exact parentage is not known, but it is thought to be Cox's Orange Pippin or Sunset. Since Sunset is also an offspring of Cox it is not surprising that Pixie both looks and tastes very similar to Cox. The flavour is extremely good, tending to be slightly sharper than a Cox, especially just after picking - but it's a refreshing sharpness and certainly not acidic. Pixie is also juicier and crisper than a Cox.

As its name suggests, Pixie tends to be a rather small apple, and for this reason it is not grown commercially. However it makes an ideal apple tree for the garden, since it grows easily and crops well without much effort required on the part of the gardener! It is also resistant to the main diseases of apples, scab and mildew. The main problem is a tendency to over-crop and produce lots of very small apples, but this can be prevented by simply removing a lot of the fruitlets immediately after the tree has blossomed, and in this way some good-sized apples can be produced. Pixie also seems to grow well on dwarfing rootstocks such as M9 and M27, so it will fit in quite a small space.

Pixie is one of the later-ripening varieties, and is ready for picking around the middle of October. It tastes nice straight from the tree, but like many late varieties it also keeps well. In fact, in good conditions the flavour can improve, up to December or January - put the apples in plastic bag with a few holes in, and store in a refrigerator or a cold but frost-free outbuilding.

Anyone who likes a Cox-style apple will definitely appreciate Pixie, and it undoubtedly belongs to the small band of Cox-style apples which come close to the balance and depth of their illustrious parent.