The ‘Rote Sternrenette’ used to be the classic Christmas apple because of its almost perfectly star-shaped peel points. Even today, the old variety is very popular because of its good taste and robustness.
The ‘Rote Sternrenette’ used to be widespread and well known. They can still be found today in many fruit tree nurseries, not least because they can be grown in many different locations. Apart from its interesting appearance, from which it owes its name, the fruit of the ‘Rote Sternrenette’ trumps with good storage properties and a very pleasant taste.
contents
- Apple variety ‘Rote Sternrenette’: Profile
- Origin and history of the apple variety
- Red starred: taste and characteristics
- Special features when cultivating and maintaining the star reed
- Red star ribbon: harvest and storage
Apple variety ‘Rote Sternrenette’: Profile
| Synonyms | ‘Calville Etoilée’, ‘Pomme de Coeur’, ‘Heart apple’, ‘Red autumn stenette’, ‘Christmas apple’ |
| fruit | small to medium in size; purple, scarlet or dark red covering color |
| taste | moderately juicy, slightly aromatic, sweet and sour |
| Yield | low to good; can tend to alternation |
| Harvest time | Beginning of September to mid-October |
| Ripe for enjoyment | October to November |
| Shelf life | Well; storable until January |
| growth | strong |
| climate | high location tolerance |
| Diseases and pests | easily susceptible to speck and codling moth |
Origin and history of the apple variety
Not much is known about the origin of the ‘Rote Sternrenette’. Its origin is believed to be in Belgium, Luxembourg or the Netherlands. What is certain is that the variety is well over 200 years old, as it was first described in Maastricht in the Dutch city of Limburg in 1790. The different synonyms of the ‘Rote Sternrenette’ indicate that the variety is at least also achieved some popularity in France: ‘Calville Etoilée’ and ‘Pomme de Coeur’ the apple is made there called. Other German names are for example ‘Herzapfel’, ‘Rote Herbstrenette’ and of course Christmas apple.
Red starred: taste and characteristics
The fruit of the ‘Red Star Renette’ is small to medium-sized, rounded or flat-round with an even surface. The skin is shiny and smooth, hardly greasy and somewhat tough. The body color is washed out purple, scarlet or dark red. The star- or triangular-shaped cork stains (lenticels) on the bowl, which give it its name, are striking. The lenticels can partly merge into one another. The pulp of the Rote Sternrenette ’variety is yellowish white and sometimes shows red vascular bundles and a red color directly under the skin. The meat is hardly sensitive to pressure, is medium firm and moderately juicy. It tastes sweet and sour and slightly aromatic, but slightly perfumed and overall very pleasant.
Special features when cultivating and maintaining the star reed
The advantages of the ‘Red Star Renette’ include its high resistance to many diseases and frost as well as the late, long and frost-proof flowering, the plenty of pollen for pollination and as food for insects offers. Something special is the great tolerance of the location: the tree of the ‘Rote Sternrenette’ prefers deep, good ones Moist soils and humid locations, but also on calcareous or poor soils it still produces tasty ones Fruit.
A disadvantage, however, is the strong vegetative growth, which can easily lead to fluctuating (alternating) yields due to frost, drought or other adversities. For regular harvests it is also very important that you have the Cut the apple tree correctly. Overall, the yields are low to good. The late flowering is also a problem in this regard: at this time insects are sometimes missing as pollinators, so that only a few fruits are formed.
Last but not least, the ‘Rote Sternrenette’ is slightly prone to speck (relative calcium deficiency) and the Codling moth.
All in all, the ‘Rote Sternrenette’ is a good lover variety from which tasty, but only a few fruits can be expected. In small gardens, the vigorous variety ‘Rote Sternrenette’ can only be grown on small rootstocks such as the MM106. In orchards or in large orchards, it grows on seedling bases such as B. Bittenfelder very well.
Good pollinator varieties are: ‘Ontario‘, ‘James Grieve‘,‘ Weißer Klarapfel ’,‘ Baumanns Renette ’,‘ Gloster ’,‘Graham's anniversary' and 'Landsberger Renette‘.
Tip: Would you like to encourage insects in your garden in order to ensure the pollination of your apple tree? One simple option is to sow a meadow of flowers like this Plantura beneficial insect magnet in buckets, boxes or as a real meadow in your garden.
Red star ribbon: harvest and storage
Depending on the weather, the ‘Rote Sternrenette’ is ready to be picked between the beginning of September and the middle of October. It is ready for consumption between October and November. Because the fruit is not windproof, it is possible that some are shaken off by autumn storms before harvest. However, the ‘Rote Sternrenette’ is so insensitive to pressure that the windfalls can often still be used - but not stored.
Apples picked early almost never rot in the warehouse. In good conditions - darkness, coolness and medium-high humidity - the ‘red star ring’ is about up to January a very good table apple and can of course be used as a polished Christmas apple at Christmas will. From around February, however, the fruit becomes floury.
The ‘Rote Sternrenette’ is also suitable for making juice.
The ‘Zabergäu Renette’ can be stored better than the ‘Red Star Renette’ - the variety can be stored until March. In this article we will introduce you to the ‘Zabergäu Renette‘And useful information about their cultivation and care.
