Is honeycrisps Apple trees hard to grow. What the growth rate on semi dwarf rootstock honeycrisps Apple tree
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For the household orchardist, not particularly. The trees generally don’t look particularly vigorous, and their leaves appear blighted, yet they survive. Squirrels are partial to the fruit, so I bring the harvest in earlier than I used to when the apples are not so cloyingly sweet. They never seem to ripen. The color is always a little green, and there doesn’t seem to be a time that the stems will come free from the branch. Apparently this is the big uncertainty about harvesting Honeycrisp™ commercially: When does it get ripe enough.
Here in S.E Ohio, they grow very well and require little spray and attention. They grow large and very juicy.
If you havetime, you may like reading this thread.
Where are you located? It matters.
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Mine died of Fireblight. Had no idea what it was at the time and the whole tree was dead in a few weeks.
Personally I think I will plant kindercrisp next time. It’s more disease tolerant and has similar flavor.
I am in SW Ohio and the leaves on my Honeycrisp look like the tree is deficient in some sort of mineral. I checked with a orchard close to my area and he says that is normal for Honeycrisp apple trees. It looks horrible no matter how much you spray or add nutrients. I’ve had my tree in since 2013. Not many apples off the tree actually. One of those apples trees that I may get rid of if it does not start producing some apples. I hate to waste growing space on getting 4 or 5 apples off of.
Honey Crisp lacks the vigor of alot of varieties at least as far as we have found. We recommend a root stock size up from what our customers typically want. I do not like them at all on B9. They are extremely susceptible to CAR as well.
Consistent Issues I’ve had at my site:
- Runting on dwarf rootstock
- Diseased looking leaves (just cosmetic?)
- Bitter Pit (see Interesting article about correcting Honeycrisp fruit disorders)
- Low sugar and flavor
Hopefully I will get a chance to try the foliar manganese solution this year. If that don’t work, I will get rid of this variety.
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Having HC for 11 years.
- unknown rootstock. The tree must have been 8 years old before setting first crop
- serious biennialing tendency
- genetic disorder (yellowing leaves)
- prone to bitter pit
- If getting too much water/rain, taste bland, diluted
When all stars are aligned, the apples are fantastic. It is not a regular occurance.
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I was going to order some last year but didn’t when I realized my HC trees had no blooms. I had an application rate figured out from web searches, but I don’t remember it. I hope I wrote it down somewhere.
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That’s been my experience also Tippy. Last year all the stars did align for me, when my smallest and worst looking Honeycrisp set it’s first decent crop with 2 dozen carefully bagged apples that I checked and admired often. Then at least 3 weeks from being ripe enough to pick, raccoons stripped the tree in 1 night, eating the fruit right there and leaving the empty bags behind. But I’m convinced that this is the year that I escape the Honeycrisp and Apricot curse, with better critter control and no late freezes to kill the Apricot buds.
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It isn’t about blooms but fruit as far as using manganese- to prevent rots. I ended up buying a big jug of it through my ag supplier. I didn’t trust the formula I got from greenway biotech and felt safer using something from a well known company that serves big commercial farms- but the jug was pretty pricey and a lifetime supply for a young person. The jug will be a legacy my survivors will have to dispose of.
Honey Crisp is easy to grow as a tree and fruits fairly young and dependably. At some sites, rots aren’t a problem- the more the tree vigor the more the problem so once it comes into bearing hold back the N.