Redfree Apple
Pollination & Compatibility Guide
Redfree apple pollination guide: diploid, early bloom group 2, scab-resistant early red dessert apple. Compatible partners and early harvest notes.
Redfree is Self-Sterile (Needs 1 Partner)
Redfree needs at least one compatible pollinizer from bloom group 1–3 to set a reliable crop.
- Chromosome Ploidy
- self sterile
- Required Companions
- 1 Diploid Partner
- Bloom Group
- Group 2 (Early-Spring)
- Harvest Timing
- Early (-30d 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 1 to 3 provides matching blossom overlap.
Compatible Pollination Partners (65)
| Cultivar | Bloom Group | Overlap Type | Harvest | Primary Uses | Interactive Test |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Jonamac | Group 2 | Full Overlap | Early ±5d delta | All-Purpose | Test Cross |
| Group 2 | Full Overlap | Mid ±5d delta | All-Purpose | Test Cross | |
| Group 2 | Full Overlap | Early ±5d delta | Fresh Eating | Test Cross | |
Summerred | Group 2 | Full Overlap | Early ±5d delta | All-Purpose | Test Cross |
| Group 2 | Full Overlap | Early ±5d delta | Fresh Eating | Test Cross | |
Mollie's Delicious | Group 2 | Full Overlap | Early ±10d delta | Fresh Eating | Test Cross |
Sansa | Group 2 | Full Overlap | Early ±10d delta | Fresh Eating | Test Cross |
Jersey Mac | Group 2 | Full Overlap | Early ±15d delta | Fresh Eating | Test Cross |
| Group 2 | Full Overlap | Mid ±15d delta | All-Purpose | Test Cross | |
Macoun | Group 2 | Full Overlap | Mid ±15d delta | Fresh Eating | Test Cross |
| Group 2 | Full Overlap | Early ±15d delta | Fresh Eating | Test Cross | |
| Group 2 | Full Overlap | Late ±20d delta | All-Purpose | Test Cross | |
Duchess of Oldenburg | Group 2 | Full Overlap | Early ±30d delta | Cooking | Test Cross |
| Group 2 | Full Overlap | Late ±30d delta | Cider, All-Purpose | Test Cross | |
Winter Banana | Group 2 | Full Overlap | Late ±30d delta | All-Purpose | Test Cross |
Incompatible Varieties & Exclusions (12)
These varieties overlap in flowering time with Redfree but cannot fertilise it due to sterile pollen (triploids) or shared genetic incompatibility alleles.
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.
Gravenstein 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.
Ribston Pippin produces no viable pollen, so it cannot serve as a pollinizer.
Roxbury Russet produces no viable pollen, so it cannot serve as a pollinizer.
Spigold produces no viable pollen, so it cannot serve as a pollinizer.
Tompkins King produces no viable pollen, so it cannot serve as a pollinizer.
Grower Commentary: Redfree Early Dessert Fruit and Scab Resistance
Redfree is a diploid, self-sterile apple released in 1981 by the Purdue, Rutgers and Illinois programme from Raritan and a Melba and Malus floribunda-derived selection. It carries scab resistance and flowers early, in bloom group 2, with viable pollen. Pick partners that open in the same window; a later-flowering diploid will miss it.
Fruit ripens about a month before Golden Delicious in maritime north-west European conditions, making it a useful early-season red dessert apple. It is a short-keeping fruit: harvest on colour and taste, and sell within days to a few weeks through farm gate or local markets.
Early flowers are exposed to spring frost, so choose an airy site and keep a frost plan for bloom, including a way to monitor orchard temperature on cold spring nights. Thin to hold fruit size, and keep the canopy open for light and airflow. Check crop load again in early summer, because a heavy set on an early variety can stall fruit size. Scab resistance trims spring sprays, but keep scouting for mildew and insect pressure.
Key Orchard Considerations for Redfree
Group 2 bloom opens early; avoid frost pockets and match partners to the same early flowering window.
Thin after set to hold fruit size and reduce limb breakage on early crops.
Pick on colour and sell fresh; best for farm gate and local markets rather than cold storage.
Take Redfree 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 Redfree 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.