My feeling about grocery store vs. orchard vs. home grown apples is like my feeling about grocery store vs. farm vs. home grown tomatoes. They have their place, but only rarely are they the same. That’s my feeling about Cosmic Crisp. Maybe, grown at home it will be an excellent apple in the league of Liberty or Akane, or even Jonagold (usually my favorite). Or, having been developed for WA apple industry, best suited for irrigated, fertilized high desert. Just like some grocery tomato cultivars are bred for greenhouse and machine packaging, shipping, and grocery store management.
Time and home garden experience will tell. If worse comes to worst, my Cosmic Crisp can be top worked in eight years with something else.
I think Cosmic is all hype IMO. Tried it multiple times, wasn’t impressed in the slightest. Many had what I’d consider bitter pit. All they had was curb appeal on the size. Same deal with “Wild Twist”, I’ll give credence it was crunchy/juicy but overall still stank. I’ve had tree ripened apples that put both these club apples to absolute shame.
Of the dozen or so cosmic crisps I’ve tried over the past month, I had only one that had that “Wow” factor. There was a lot with the bitter skin and many just didn’t have much going on other than a pleasing texture with some sweetness. I bet that in a home orchard setting they would be great but that goes for most apples if you ask me.
I have Honeycrisp grafted onto my Granny Smith tree. They are awesome here in the hills of the SF Bay Area. As I’m near the coast we do get cool night. Ripens middle of August.
I have to agree with you here. I have had my HC since 2013. Probably only 2-3 years of actual fruit, very few pieces of small fruit even then. One year they all had bitter pit. None of my other apple trees had that during that year. The HC always has leaves that look like it has a calcium or magnesium deficiency. I have applied so many mineral supplements but it is just the characteristic of the HC. I am very disaapointed in the fruit itself. The actual tree rootstock and branching looks fine. I am going to do what you did, over graft the whole tree next year.
Honeycrisp fruits well for me, but it gets lots of codling moth and apple maggot, and I don’t spray for them or bag generally.
If I let them hang for a long time, in hopes they’ll get sweeter, they lose some of their impressive texture. I haven’t bothered to try too hard on them because they just aren’t that great.
Rubinette and Golden Russet are way better for me. I have a Cosmic Crisp, but probably won’t fruit before 2022.
Tried my first Cosmic Crisp apple today. Taste wise it reminded me less of a Honeycrisp and more of a Delicious. The other thing that was noticeable in comparison to HC was the skin…it has a more pronounced skin which is slightly bitter. The initial crunch was similar to HC as well as the juiciness of the flesh…but the after effect left my mouth with a dryness that HC does not. The flesh also seems softer than HC. I probably will not be buying more of this variety…but it is certainly good enough to appeal to some. Also the quality of the apple itself was very good for this time of the year.
I’ve had several CC apples now from different stores. Like the HC you can get such a different taste from every one you eat.
Making a comparison or summary with just one or two consumptions from one purchase is probably not a true representation of the CC apple. If I would of only eaten one from the first time I found one I would of had your same outcome which, I did.
After trying a few more especially the large ones, I would of never had an over the top one. I don’t support them or grow them, just wanted to share my experience.
I do grow HC and have some great results and years where they aren’t as flavorful and juicy.
When I did my CosmicCrisp test last year, I bought a big juicy looking one and a smaller one.
Typically the large ones are a little better, but not always. I don’t recall that much difference.
CosmicCrisp will be around for a long time…at least for a few years…how I know that is so many thousands of acres of Red Delicious were destroyed to make planting room for CosmicCrisp, even before anyone outside of Washington State had probably even tasted one.
I think the backyard gardener could derive about as much pleasure trying any of the HoneyCrisp ‘children’…heck, somebody should cross it with PinkPearl or something and come up with one called RoseCrisp or something!
HC x Rubaiyat? HC x Thornberry? HC x Niedwetzkyana?
Also Tony CC x any Cox-style apple I am more than willing to try. Sounds delicious if you can get the crispness of CC, but the flavor of Rubinette style apple.
Honeycrisp does pretty well in my neck of the woods (upper Midwest, which makes sense, given it’s development). But I’ve never been all that fond, even from an orchard.
I’ve had Cosmic Crisp now, as well as Evercrisp, and Rave. I found all of them somewhat insipid. CC was sweet, and not a lot else. Evercrisp was downright unappealing, but it’s late in the season and it was probably stored. I’ll give it another go next fall, especially if I can find one from an orchard. Rave is described as “juicy” but I’d say “watery.”
I suspect part of the issue is that I prefer a much more tart apple. I prefer SweeTangos to any of the above, but only if I can get them from the orchard. I tend to prefer a lot of the older varieties, especially those with berry undertones. One I’d really like to try is Cherry Cox.
I think cosmic crisp starts to shine more later in the season. Other varieties now are starting to lose wow factor, but the cc is great in comparison this time of year. Early in the season I’ll gladly prefer an Opal. But they get mealy after about January or Feb at the latest. The thick skin on the cc may be bitter at times but helps it as a keeper apple.
Let me get right on that.