I know honey crisp can be a bit of a pain in the neck to grow. How is zestar?
they grow well here. a local u pick orchard has them . dont know about disease or growth parameters but they are a tasty large apple.
They’re a good apple, kind of like a Honeycrisp, but not as sweet. We’ve had one for 5 years, it’s produced a few fruit, could have more, but freezes have got them the last couple years. It’s been a vigorous grower, it’s about 15ft high.
One problem is they are usually the first to bloom, so they don’t get pollinated properly, and don’t set a lot of fruit. Our tree has maybe a dozen on it this year, tho.
Love the apple, but the trees are shy bearers here in our Zone 3b/4a area … also, they seem to be especially prone to sunscald.
Yes, I put some stock in that cultivar in my small orchard. They bloom very early and I have lost them to frost several times. This is the first year that I did not. They are probably 5 year old trees and I didn’t let them set the first 2 years. They are doing well and twice the size of any apple in my orchard.
One problem that I have is that they need sprayed for Plum Curculio while all of the others are still in full bloom.
I had that problem with Redfield last year. Earliest fruit, and it got the plum curculio pretty bad.
I grafted this guy onto a bacatta rootstock. Hopefully it being born and raised here it will know how to cope with our schizophrenic seasons.
Easier than HC for sure
Zestar took a few years before it decided to really produce. For me it is the first apple to come to full bloom. It is a looker. Early and beautiful it really attracts the birds… ugh.
Crisp, juicy and not too sweet. However, it is a poor keeper unlike Honeycrisp which we are still eating
Zestar is reliable, early, good tasting and for us not problematic. That being said my favorite early apple is Wynochee. It is not a pretty-boy like Zestar but an amazing keeper for an early apple. I planted another one this spring.
I wanted another prairie magic but neither of the three grafts I did took :’( I’m not great at grafting but I have heard that bacatta is not compatible with certain varieties and prairie magic could be one of them.