The Zabergäu Renette apple is an old and very easy-care variety that is often eaten as a table apple. We reveal what the ‘Zabergäu Renette’ apple variety tastes like, how you can recognize it and which special features have to be taken into account during cultivation.
If you are looking for an easy-care, high-yielding apple variety, ‘Zabergäu Renette’ could be the right choice for you. Among the numerous Apple varieties ‘Zabergäu Renette’ is a rather unknown variety from the Renette group. In doing so, ‘Zabergäu Renette’ has numerous advantages that make it particularly attractive for hobby gardeners makes: This renette is characterized by its mild, sweet and sour aroma in particular, but also by its easy-care nature the end.
contents
- ‘Zabergäu Renette’: profile
- Origin and history of the apple variety
- Properties and taste of the ‘Zabergäu Renette’
- Special features in cultivation
- Harvest time and use of the ‘Zabergäu Renette’ variety
‘Zabergäu Renette’: profile
| Synonyms | 'Zabergäu', 'Hausener Graue Renette' |
| fruit | great; green with reddish stripes |
| taste | sweet and sour, juicy |
| Yield | middle; tends to alternate with increasing age; starting early |
| Harvest time | from October on |
| Ripe for enjoyment | from November on |
| Shelf life | very good; storable until March |
| growth | initially strong, later weaker |
| climate | broadly cultivable; not very frost hardy; susceptible to powdery mildew in very warm areas |
| Diseases and pests | susceptible to fruit tree cancer and speck |
Origin and history of the apple variety
The apple variety ‘Zabergäu Renette’ was created in Hausen an der Zaber in Baden-Württemberg in 1885 and named after the area of the same name. The variety is a random seedling, so it was not bred in a planned manner. The ‘Zabergäu Renette’ is also known under the name ‘Zabergäu’ or ‘Hausener Graue Renette’.
Properties and taste of the ‘Zabergäu Renette’
The Zabergäu Renette scores especially with its large, evenly shaped apples, which can weigh up to 210 grams. The skin of the fruit is leathery and green, but towards maturity the apples of the Zabergäu Renette show a slightly reddish striped color. The cinnamon-brown rust, which often covers the whole apple, is particularly decorative. In the warehouse, the color of the apples then changes to yellow.
Many people are particularly impressed by the taste of the Zabergäu Renette apple: it is delicately sweet and sour, but less acidic than the variety ‘More beautiful from Boskoop’. The pulp is yellowish, medium firm and juicy. During storage, however, the apples increasingly lose their acidity and become crumbly.
Special features in cultivation
Especially at a young age, the ‘Zabergäu Renette’ apple variety impresses with its strong growth, which, however, decreases sharply with increasing age. The Zabergäu Renette apple is particularly popular because of its high resistance and its easy-care nature. The late onset and long-lasting flowering ensures a low susceptibility to frost, in addition, the variety is hardly attacked by scab. As a result, ‘Zabergäu Renette’ is considered to be particularly profitable. With increasing age, however, the apple tree tends to alternate, which means that its fruit yield fluctuates strongly every two years. Another disadvantage of the ‘Zabergäu Renette’ apple variety is the trees' increased susceptibility to cancer. In addition, some of the fruits tend to have specks, a deficiency symptom that manifests itself in small brown spots. Since it is a triploid apple variety, it is unsuitable as a pollen donor and needs apple trees of other, diploid varieties in its vicinity in order to be fertilized. Likewise, the ‘Zabergäu Renette’ cannot be used as a pollinator for other apple trees. Good pollinators are ‘Laxtons Superb’, ‘Elstar’, ‘Cox Orange’, ‘Golden Delicous’, ‘Goldparmäne’ and ‘Klarapfel’.
Harvest time and use of the ‘Zabergäu Renette’ variety
From October the ‘Zabergäu Renette’ apples will be ready for harvest and can be picked. They are ripe for enjoyment from November. From this point onwards, Zabergäu-Renette apples prove to be real all-rounders. From fresh consumption to applesauce to cider there are almost no limits to the use. The ‘Zabergäu Renette’ is also ideal for baking in the cold season. But if you can't process all apples at once, you don't need to worry: The ‘Zabergäu Renette’ shines with one particularly good shelf life - this way the apples can be stored well into March - are increasing floury. You can find out how to best store the ‘Zabergäu Renette’ apples over the winter in our article on the right one Storage of apples.
