I have a neighbor that would like me to graft him a dwarf Honeycrisp. Is their another variety that might be better suited to him? Something that doesn’t have biannual tendencies, pest and disease resistance and similar enough flavor characteristics? I am in Northern Illinois 5b.
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I have yet to taste it, but the mother of Honeycrisp might be worth trying. Keepsake is much easier to handle in the orchard (or back yard), so I’ve read, than its offspring. I had Honeycrisp by accident - mislabeled whip - and can vouch for its many challenges. I tried grafting Keepsake and it did not take, along with a number of others attempted last year. (It happens; took four tries to get Maiden Blush in my yard and that is doing fine now.)
If you get Keepsake going, it might be worth thinning its numbers to develop larger fruit. I do as a matter of course with most of my apple trees. For instance, first crop of Connell I thinned to less than 20 and they are going to be lovely and big.
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What about sweet sixteen?
Sweet Sixteen supposedly has some licorice flavors that not everyone enjoys.
I do love Keepsake, but it is has been a very (VERY) shy bearer for me. I grafted it on b118 in 2011 and it has fruited one time (2017). That time it had around a dozen fruits. It hasn’t blossomed since. I will be grafting another one or two next year. Not sure what rootstock I’ll put it on, probably Antonovka. As far as being similar to Honeycrisp, I’d say “kinda”. Personally, I think Keepsake is a better tasting apple overall. It isn’t as explosively crisp as Honeycrisp, but it is indeed crisp.
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I was thinking it; I just wasn’t going to say it. Sweet 16 is nothing like HoneyCrisp™ in terms of flavor or texture, but their growth habits are similar (for me). The trees look a lot alike as does the fruit. Both keep well. Sweet 16 is good in cider, whereas HoneyCrisp™ isn’t.
They both present difficulty to the grower deciding when to harvest. Earlier is better on both varieties IMNSHO even when they don’t look completely ripe. The licorice hard candy flavor is the whole point to growing Sweet 16, although the intensity seems to be a matter of terroir. It is most intense just before the fruit is completely ripe and declines in storage.
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Interesting. Maiden Blush and Keepsake all graft attempts took with no problem…last year on Maiden’s Blush, this year in early May on Keepsake. (Actually both were sent to me as ‘freebies’ with other requests I’d made.) I’m not sure I’m excited about Maiden’s Blush…but if it is easy to grow and care for, I might change my mind.
I’ve encountered several quotes in which people who get close to Keepsake prefer it to Honeycrisp. Too bad U of MN botched describing Keepsake as “unattractive”. Many (most?) folks quit reading right there. If I find somewhere to try it again, I will.
I find about 10% of Bardsey apples unattractive to look upon. Odd beading at either end, sometimes coarse russeting and little color on fruit from the north side of the tree all contribute to that look. Meanwhile, many on the south side are brick red, smooth and take a shine. Taste? Same lemon overtone, juice, only a point difference in Brix: worth growing.
As for Maiden Blush (love that name), I’ve wanted it as a comparison - now a replacement - for Rambour Franc. Both are August apples; neither crop comes ripe all at once. MB is precocious, RF is rather tardy to come into bearing. I grafted RF to Geneva 30 in 2012 & it did not bloom at all until 2017, when its showy white flowers covered the tree. MB blooms mid or mid-late; RF early-mid season & is triploid. MB is regularly productive, RF easily goes totally biennial, even though I thinned it to about one-fourth fruit set. MB will not brown when cut. RF was first noted in Picardy, France in 1535; Maiden Blush in 1817 & was popular in NJ and PA already. I guesstimate its origins to 1776. Perhaps someone has a line on something more definite about that.
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I have Keepsake and Maiden Blush. Neither were on my ‘must have’ list. But, I’m glad to have traded for Keepsake, and was given Maiden Blush as a ‘bonus’ scion.
Most of the Minnesota fruits would make good parents in a breeding program, no question about that. As for being same as Honeycrisp…how do you know, with all the variations in store bought Honeycrisps?
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I’m glad you brought this up.
Masbustelo: did you come up with a game plan? Revisiting this question, I am reminded Duchess of Oldenburg is on both sides of the family tree to Honeycrisp. I think the breaking flesh may have come to it by that route.
A seedling of D/O, Nutting Bumpus, is supposed to be much like D/O & sweeter. Sweeter would be easy considering how tart D/O is even Out West. The only sample I ever tasted of Duchess of Oldenburg was light in flavor - which my taste buddies tell me also about Honeycrisp. I’ve just grafted Nutting Bumpus, so if all works well I can weigh in on its attributes & taste. Might be enough like Honeycrisp to satisfy some home orchardists, without the many downsides.
My game plan was to order Honeycrisp scion and take it from there. In he midst of ordering other scion stock, I forgot all about the Honeycrisp. I think 12 of my 12 apple grafts have taken. I did Campfield, Hawkeye Delicious, Graniwinkle, Harrison and Winesap.
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Prob too late, but I think Zestar is a milder version of Honeycrisp, which isn’t surprising as it has a UMinn heritage. It has been a quick bearer for me. I have it on G30, planted in 2017, and it bore some fruit last year, and this year had a lot of blooms.
But, because it’s an early bloomer (started full blooms on 4/5), its blossoms got fried last week (4/15) after a 20 degree freeze. I checked it today to see if there were any later blooms, but it doesn’t look like it does. I’ll be very surprised if we get anything off it. I have really liked the Zestar’s we’ve had, and the few we had last year seemed to be as good.
Honeycrisp has no heritage in common with Zestar that I’m aware of.
Zestar is a progeny of State Fair x MN 1691
Honeycrisp is a progeny of Keepsake x MN 1627
Yeah, I changed my remarks after I looked up its lineage. I might’ve confused it with Sweetango, which has Honeycrisp + Zestar heritage. It’s also a good apple, but, I think ST is still a club variety. Anyways, I still think Zestar is a milder, easier to grow version of HC.
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I’d bet both have Malinda in the family tree. Either MN 1691 or Oriole are bound to have Malinda as an older relative in the family tree.
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Gotta like your choices. Winesap (little flavor bomb) has been one of my lifelong favorites.
Anyone who has read my comments knows I have little regard for Honeycrisp. Suggesting anything else in its place comes naturally to me. Really, most things someone grows themselves will be an improvement over store-bought Honeycrips.
I got a Nutting Bumpus scion from Fedco. It could also have been obtained from the Temperate Orchard Conservancy. Their duplication of the late Nick Botner’s collection is now old enough they are able to sell scions.
Speaking of little flavor bombs, Fedco also offers Windham Russet “for the connoisseur”. Homely to look at and sublime to eat, apparently. That was also ordered and grafted. Nobody is growing either of these in eastern WA, to my knowledge, so we can’t know how they’ll do unless I try 'em.
Now the hard part. It’s too early to gauge the success rate of grafting for this year. I have to keep busy doing anything else while waiting: writing, or digging out Centennial hops roots. Just found the original root ball - big as my head - will need to sharpen the spade, bring out the pick and ax and saw…Oi.
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Windham Russet “for the connoisseur”. Homely to look at and sublime to eat, apparently. That was also ordered and grafted. Nobody is growing either of these in eastern WA.
There are two of us! I grafted Windham Russet onto M111 in 2019, you will probably have fruit before me.
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I just noticed my little box of grafts from this year is a microcosm of the UMN breeding program. That was accidental. I ordered MN 1628 because it was described as being much like a Fuji, but better. So I opted to take a chance on it. I chose Frostbite, out of pure, sheer curiosity. (Also Sweet 16 and Prairie Spy), And my order from a group that had been forced to cancel a grafting workshop, then made their scion available to everybody included Jupiter as a substitute. That might be another one to consider. It’s supposed to taste like a Cox Orange Pippin, but without the fussiness of Cox.
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Ooh, ooh, sweet! I put Windham to Geneva 30 and MM106, so you are probably correct. Sure hope we both succeed!
Good choices IMO. All are great for fresh eating and for cider
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