If I could I would give you 5 likes for this reply 
More bad news with my HC. I just pulled a bag from the fridge. All were spotless when I put them in there 3 months ago, but now most show bitter pit starting. I was more surprised when I cut some open. The outer half of the flesh has a light-brown tinge, but the flesh is still firm. I assume this is also from the mineral issue.
So far it has been nothing but disappoint for me. I got some good ones from the neighbor down the road a few years ago that had some honey like flavor . I guess I’ll give it few more years to prove its potential. In any case, it has more issues than any other apple I’ve had experience with.
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Isn’t a lot of the point of Honey Crisp that it’s crisp, sweet and clean tasting EVEN AFTER being essentially frozen in an oxygen free cooler for a long time? I thought it was bred to taste fresh after modern storage methods, am I wrong? No one has mentioned it…
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No really quite the opposite. It was initially released from the U of Minnesota program to mostly small u-pick and small northern operations (not WA and MI). The Gopher apple program mostly has a historic goal of breeding cold hardy apples for the north. Now the UMN program is more focused on large commercial releases because funding is scarce and they learned from Honeycrisp. But still the goal is to produce hardy apples that do well in that climate. I believe another goal is to give the operations there around Southern Minn. and SW Wisconsin competition with the WA and MI etc growers.
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Yeah, they learned that small growers do a terrible job of popularizing apples- the biggest apple hit since Red Delicious, but by the time it was famous their patent was over. Patent laws for some things need to be rewritten- if it was about realizing a certain amount of profit before the expiration, instead of entirely about time, it would fuel more research. However, the law is being stretched in favor of enterprises that have already made huge profits but are giving a percentage to politicians- especially pharmaceutical patents.
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This year my Honey Crisp tree failed to produce even a single apple after having a good crop last year. My HC tree consistently takes at least 3-4 weeks longer than my other trees to come out of dormancy. Last year I had this thread with my concerns:
http://growingfruit.org/t/jury-still-out-on-the-honeycrisp-apple-for-me/7052
If that HC tree does not do better in 2018 I may take a chainsaw to it.
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Good pruning technique! 
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I learned my pruning technique from @fruitnut. 
Don’t mean to hijack this thread, but seriously, several of my apple trees are approaching 15-20 feet in height. I am not getting any younger and fear falling off a ladder. So I really need to shorten them. I have been wondering if I should cut them off at 10-12 feet this winter or wait until next summer. It is said that winter pruning promotes growth. It is also said that summer pruning discourage growth. When is the best time of year to whack them off? Or does it make any difference?
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Reduce the height this winter and reduce the water sprouts it encourages in spring and summer. Try to cut back to a side branch at least 30% the diameter of what you are cutting.
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Alan, thanks.
I have always wondered if that side branch that I cut to will try to become the new leader. If so, how do I manage it in the upcoming years?
The side branch may send some water sprouts to replace the leader but most will likely come from the trunk itself. If you are around the tree a lot you can brush them off as they form.
The easiest shape to maintain for a pedestrian, ladderless tree is generally an open center where you’d limit the tree eventually to only 3-4 scaffolds. Honeycrisp is reluctant to produce secondary branches so it can be wise to reduce the permanent branches gradually, even tying water sprouts to horizontal by using the temporary branches as anchors to tape secondary wood of permanent scaffolds to.
A central leader tree is the most efficient for producing fruit, but for a home grower the relatively slight difference is unimportant. It usually requires cycling in and out of upper branches so that don’t become excessively dominant and shade out the lower ones or need so much continual cutting back that they produce more wood than fruit.
You can prune a bearing tree back to the height you want it anytime, but summer pruning is more efficient.
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That’s because HC is prone to biennialing. Once you recognize that, you can either learn to live with it or learn to thin very aggressively. After 3 cycles of HC biennialing, This past spring, I thinned very aggressively.
What I meant was I took off flowers (not letting them produce fruitlets) about 70% of them. Then, when the rest of the flowers set fruit, I thinned some clusters out and the remaining clusters had mostly one fruit.
I had some HC this year. More importantly, I have seen fruit spurs for next year. I think I have managed to break its biennial cycle.
Prior to this year, I took out about half of the fruitlets/fruit clusters. That was not enough for my tree.
Keep in mind, there were a few people reported that their HC fruit yearly. That is likely due to types of rootstocks the trees are grafted on. Mine was unknown and does not prevent biennialing. Yours looks like it, too.
Several apple varieties are prone to biennialing. Once you recognize it and fix the issue through thinning, you are likely to break its cycle.
I have found that many backyard growers esp. new ones, don’t thin enough, or worse, are afraid of thinning. Without doing anything, your tree will produce in 2018. If you don’t thin severely in 2018, you won’t have any HC in 2019 and the cycle goes on.
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Thanks for the information!
I have thinned in the past but only by taking off fruitlets. Its understandable to me that it would be even better to thin the varieties that are prone to be biennial by removing flowers. The tree will be on its 8th leaf next year so it should have a crop. Not a very vigorous tree though. Just have to remember next spring to very aggressively thin.
Not sure what rootstock it is on but it sure has plenty of root sprouts each year. Alan mentioned in a thread a specific rootstock that tended to have a high number of root sprouts but offhand I don’t remember which one he named. I have always suspected that my HC has the one that he mentioned.
I like hc. Unfortunately mine get wormy before most other apples. Might need to start spraying our something. Mine hit 14 brix pretty easily. My honey gold get 17 brix but soften quickly as they get to ripe.
Both 111 and 7 are capable of sending up suckers (root sprouts- water sprouts are vigorous shoots from scion wood). 7 is more likely to produce a less than vigorous tree as it is subdued by earlier fruiting than 111 and an inability to adapt as well to heavy soils or drought. It is also the most common root stock used for trees intended to be sold to home growers.
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I grafted a Honeycrisp in my orchard and though it hasn’t fruited yet, I’m already thinking of grafting it over. I haven’t tasted locally grown HC, but haven’t found a decent one in stores for many years. Used to get pretty decent ones from the grocery store and locally grown examples from Colorado were very good: sweet, tart and flavorful. There seem to be many superior non-commercial apples available for home orchardists.
That’s the trouble with HC and one of the main reasons behind club apples. HC requires certain growing conditions to achieve its full flavor potential. With club apples, growing practices and loctions can be controlled. I grow them in East Idaho and they are hit and miss from year to year. Last year, as with most years they were exceptionally sweet with a nice balance of tartness. This year they were only marginally sweet and had a distinct floral essence which I don’t care for. I believe it comes down to long warm days and cool nights during late summer, which we didn’t really have this year.
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I agree, Honeycrisp really caught consumer’s desire for something better. It also demonstrated that people are willing to pay more money for something they believe may be better.
The big success of Honeycrisp motivated plant breeders to create more varieties with similar flavor profiles and organizations designed to manage the quality and the supply of the new “club” apples. Huge amounts of money have been invested in the club apples by large growers and packers. Its too soon to say if brand name apples will work similar to brand names in other consumer products, but I have doubts.
I’m doing my part to ensure their success.
Honeycrisp is the apple I started grafting over to another variety… It’s in the ground 5 years and I haven’t had a single fruit.
Good riddance
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