How do the fruits of the apple tree ‘Cardinal Bea‘ taste? Everything you need to know about growing and caring for the Cardinal Bea apple can be found in this article.
With its medium-sized fruits and its juicy flesh, the ‘Cardinal Bea’ apple is in no way inferior to its pompous name. Today it is only rarely used for extensive apple cultivation, but apples are still a welcome guest in orchards or in private gardens. In our article, we will reveal the advantages of the Cardinal Bea apple variety and what you need to know about cultivation and care of the old fruit variety.
contents
- Apple ‘Cardinal Bea‘: profile
- Origin and history
- Taste and properties of the apple ‘Cardinal Bea‘
- Cultivation and care of the apple variety ‘Cardinal Bea‘: This must be observed
- Harvest and use apple variety ‘Cardinal Bea
Apple ‘Cardinal Bea‘: profile
| fruit | medium to large in size; predominantly dark red in color |
| taste | Sweet |
| Yield | high and regular |
| Harvest time | from mid-October |
| Ripe for enjoyment | October to November |
| Shelf life | bad |
| growth | medium strength |
| climate | not suitable for locations at risk of late frost |
| Diseases and pests | susceptible to Monilia pathogens |
Origin and history
Even if the ‘Cardinal Bea apple is inspiring many people today, its creation was anything but planned: in the In the 1930s, Jesuits found the variety as a chance seedling in Baden-Württemberg and cultivated the Cardinal Bea apple from there at. The apple variety owes its unusual name to its Christian discoverers. They named the apple variety after the Roman Catholic Curia Cardinal Augustin Bea, who lived between 1881 and 1968 and also came from Baden-Württemberg.
Taste and properties of the apple ‘Cardinal Bea‘
The large to medium-sized, predominantly dark red apples with which the ‘Cardinal Bea‘ apple variety adorns itself are particularly attractive. The sugar content of the fine-celled pulp is high, the feeling in the mouth is more soft and juicy than crunchy.
Cultivation and care of the apple variety ‘Cardinal Bea‘: This must be observed
‘Cardinal Bea‘ is a robust apple variety. It grows rather moderately strong, whereby the growth naturally depends on the site conditions and the base - i.e. the root part of the tree. Due to the medium-strong growth, a regular, annual pruning of the apple tree is necessary, but the work is limited, especially on poorly growing roots. Unfortunately, the Cardinal Bea ‘apple tree is reluctant to branch out, so that without a cut a stiff, upright bush without much fruit wood can easily emerge. Especially the upbringing and maybe even the formation - that is, aligning and tying the branches - is important with this variety.
In a suitable location and with the right care, the ‘Cardinal Bea‘ apple variety is able to carry regularly and deliver consistently high yields. Such a suitable location should not be very endangered by late frost and also not have too light, sandy soil. In normal, fertile garden soil, however, the tree normally grows without major problems with pests and diseases. Only fruit rot is a problem for the variety: the fruits are relatively easily affected by various fungal pathogens such as the Monilia fruit rot infested. So if you have ever had problems with this disease in your garden, you should not choose this apple variety.
tip: The Cardinal Bea apple is a good pollinator for many apple tree varieties and is best served by ‘Cox orange‘Or‘ Idared ‘, but also the‘ White Clear Apple ‘dusted.
In the Planting an apple tree In general, and also with Cardinal Bea-Apfel, the best starting conditions should be created. Because the roots of the young trees do not yet reach deep, it is best to help them out with high-quality peat-free potting soil. For the first time, this provides nutrients for good growth and brings the tree through the first winter without any problems. In the further course of growth, the trees of the Cardinal Bea apple have a comparatively low nutrient requirement. The annual fertilization with a small amount of a mainly organic universal fertilizer like ours Plantura organic universal fertilizer is completely sufficient to meet the needs of the large tree.
Harvest and use apple variety ‘Cardinal Bea
From mid / late October you can pick and enjoy the juicy fruits of the Cardinal Bea apple. They are ripe for consumption from October to November, because unfortunately the autumn apple only has a limited shelf life. If you still want something from the apple for a longer period of time, you should process your fruit into apple juice, because this is ideal as a juice or cider apple. But the variety can also be used as a table apple because of its harmonious taste and fine aroma. Of course, Cardinal Bea apples can also be used for baking and cooking without any problems.
The variety ‘Cardinal Bea’ cannot be stored long enough for you? A very durable variety is the ‘Ribston Pepping‘, Which has low demands and an excellent, sweet-wine taste.
