Cameo® Apple
Pollination & Compatibility Guide
Cameo apple pollination guide: diploid, bloom group 4, good fire blight resistance. Compatible partners, trellis training and storage notes.
Cameo is Self-Sterile (Needs 1 Partner)
Cameo needs at least one compatible pollinizer from bloom group 3–5 to set a reliable crop.
- Chromosome Ploidy
- self sterile
- Required Companions
- 1 Diploid Partner
- Bloom Group
- Group 4 (Mid-Spring)
- Harvest Timing
- Late (+15d from Golden Delicious)
Flowering Period & Overlap Window
Apple flowering periods are classified into numbered bloom groups (1 through 6). A variety reliably cross-pollinates with cultivars in its own group or adjacent groups (±1 group).
Any compatible diploid apple flowering within Group 3 to 5 provides matching blossom overlap.
Compatible Pollination Partners (74)
| Cultivar | Bloom Group | Overlap Type | Harvest | Primary Uses | Interactive Test |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Group 4 | Full Overlap | Late Concurrent (±0d) | Fresh Eating | Test Cross | |
| Group 4 | Full Overlap | Late Concurrent (±0d) | Fresh Eating | Test Cross | |
| Group 4 | Full Overlap | Late ±5d delta | All-Purpose | Test Cross | |
| Group 4 | Full Overlap | Late ±5d delta | All-Purpose | Test Cross | |
| Group 4 | Full Overlap | Late ±5d delta | All-Purpose, Storage | Test Cross | |
Newtown Pippin | Group 4 | Full Overlap | Late ±5d delta | All-Purpose, Storage | Test Cross |
White Winter Pearmain | Group 4 | Full Overlap | Late ±5d delta | All-Purpose, Storage | Test Cross |
| Group 4 | Full Overlap | Late ±5d delta | All-Purpose, Cider | Test Cross | |
York Imperial | Group 4 | Full Overlap | Late ±5d delta | All-Purpose, Storage | Test Cross |
Beni Shogun | Group 4 | Full Overlap | Mid ±10d delta | Fresh Eating | Test Cross |
| Group 4 | Full Overlap | Late ±10d delta | Cooking | Test Cross | |
Tydeman's Late Orange | Group 4 | Full Overlap | Late ±10d delta | Fresh Eating | Test Cross |
| Group 4 | Full Overlap | Late ±15d delta | Fresh Eating | Test Cross | |
| Group 4 | Full Overlap | Mid ±15d delta | All-Purpose | Test Cross | |
Melrose | Group 4 | Full Overlap | Late ±15d delta | All-Purpose, Storage | Test Cross |
Incompatible Varieties & Exclusions (14)
These varieties overlap in flowering time with Cameo but cannot fertilise it due to sterile pollen (triploids) or shared genetic incompatibility alleles.
Arkansas Black produces no viable pollen, so it cannot serve as a pollinizer.
Ashmead's Kernel produces no viable pollen, so it cannot serve as a pollinizer.
Baldwin produces no viable pollen, so it cannot serve as a pollinizer.
Belle de Boskoop produces no viable pollen, so it cannot serve as a pollinizer.
Blenheim Orange produces no viable pollen, so it cannot serve as a pollinizer.
Bramley's Seedling produces no viable pollen, so it cannot serve as a pollinizer.
Fall Pippin produces no viable pollen, so it cannot serve as a pollinizer.
Jonagold produces no viable pollen, so it cannot serve as a pollinizer.
Karmijn de Sonnaville produces no viable pollen, so it cannot serve as a pollinizer.
Mutsu (Crispin) produces no viable pollen, so it cannot serve as a pollinizer.
Orleans Reinette produces no viable pollen, so it cannot serve as a pollinizer.
Spigold produces no viable pollen, so it cannot serve as a pollinizer.
Stayman Winesap produces no viable pollen, so it cannot serve as a pollinizer.
Zabergau Reinette produces no viable pollen, so it cannot serve as a pollinizer.
Grower Commentary: Cameo Late Bloom, Trellis Training and Storage
Cameo is a diploid, self-sterile apple that arose as a chance seedling in a Washington State orchard. Its parentage is not established, so no named cultivar is excluded by descent. It flowers late, in bloom group 4, with viable pollen, so pair it with other late-flowering diploids rather than early bloomers.
Harvest comes about two weeks after Golden Delicious in maritime north-west European conditions, and the record lists dessert and keeper uses. The fruit is firm, sweet with a lively edge, and striped red over cream, and it keeps well in cold storage, which suits wholesale and packhouse marketing.
The catalogue notes good resistance to fire blight, a real advantage in warm, wet bloom periods, though it is not immunity. Cameo suits trellised, higher-density systems on dwarfing rootstocks. Manage crop load, pick in more than one pass for even colour, and keep the canopy open to light so colour develops evenly across the tree.
Key Orchard Considerations for Cameo
Use a dwarfing rootstock on a trellis; thin to a regular crop load each year.
Good resistance helps in warm bloom; still scout and remove any strikes.
Pick in passes for colour; cold storage suits wholesale and winter farm gate.
Take Cameo from Planning to Planting
Use Kropigo's free browser tools to model your block density, tree counts, and pollinizer rows, then maintain permanent orchard records row by row.
Pollination Checker
Check Cameo against supported cultivars with compatible flowering and pollination data.
Commercial Block Planner
Calculate high-density tree spacing, row geometry, and establishment costs.
Block Record Keeping
Track pruning, chemical thinning, and harvest tallies block by block from the orchard.