Honey Crisp on standard roots?

[Prof.Kent]

I think HC is a good eating apple, but for wildlife, no. Best to plant a few near the hunting cabin or home, fertilize them and enjoy eating them.
Pros: long hanging, cold hardy, tastes good, can take a few freezes without going mushy, overproduces without thinning and produces substandard apples.
Cons: not a vigorous grower, physiological problems (iron chlorosis) there are better all-around trees for deer, deer aren't picky eaters.
My perfect deer apple: Late hanger, vigorous grower, annual producer, open & spreading habit, disease resistant/immune, early maturing.
What has these qualities? That I know of, Golden Russet, Golden Delicious, Spuree Rome

 

[PoorSand]

I planted one on M111 back around 2001, give or take. Small tree, but I like how it drops little by little from September through November. It is a biennial bearer though. In bearing years, it produces perhaps a bushel of apples, at most. After that, it sleeps for a year, and sometimes longer.

I planted five more in 2008, on Antonovka that time. They are still small as well, though my soil is very droughty. They first started to bear a couple years ago.

Two years ago, I got a really good deal on some more as a portion of a bulk order. Those were on M111. I planted them eleven feet apart, but like I said, my soil is very droughty.

Honeycrisp hasn't grown big for me, but its drop time pattern works out well for me in years it does bear. It is a nice component in my orchards when it does bear.

If we had much in the way of cedars in the neighborhood, I wouldn't plant them though.

 

[J B]

My experience with Honeycrisp has not been good, although I like the apple so much that I’m not giving up on it. I have a couple semi- dwarfs (m111 or m9) that are probably 9 years old. They are sick looking trees. They produced a few apples for the first time this year. The apples didn’t look much better than the tree or leaves. I do not spray my trees. There are much better choices for wildlife. I’ve threatened to pull them out and plant something else, but I haven’t done it yet. My dad has some older trees that were potted at one time. They produced real well for a couple years, but have been duds the last couple of years. Heavier clay loam soil.

 

[sandbur]

I cut my HC down as i didn’t want to give it the necessary care it needed.

I could grow a few beautiful apples every other year, but the beetles loved them.

I suggest a kinderkrisp instead, for my climate.


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[Native Hunter]

I’m not into self inflicted grief so I never planted one. Sorry I can’t help with this Jordan.

 

[Tree Spud]

I think HC is a good eating apple, but for wildlife, no. Best to plant a few near the hunting cabin or home, fertilize them and enjoy eating them.
Pros: long hanging, cold hardy, tastes good, can take a few freezes without going mushy, overproduces without thinning and produces substandard apples.
Cons: not a vigorous grower, physiological problems (iron chlorosis) there are better all-around trees for deer, deer aren't picky eaters.
My perfect deer apple: Late hanger, vigorous grower, annual producer, open & spreading habit, disease resistant/immune, early maturing.
What has these qualities? That I know of, Golden Russet, Golden Delicious, Spuree Rome

One reason I choose HC was as a cross pollinator for my Franklin Cider. FC is a mid season bloom.

What are your thoughts on other cross pollinators for FC? Cortland & Gala are suggested.

 

[Prof.Kent]

Gala is a better polenator. Cortland tends to be biennial.

 

[TenPoint]

Are you in Wisconsin? I am considering Honeycrisp, would like to hear local obsrvations.

Mine on B118 was planted 2012. It’s about the same size as the three others I planted on B118 that year. A sweet 16, Hudson’s golden gem and wolf river. It was loaded this past year. Now if I could just keep the darn coons off my trees I’d be good to go.

 

[TenPoint]

Gala is a better polenator. Cortland tends to be biennial.

My Cortlands bloom heavily every year but rarely take a fruit to maturity. Even before I had coon problems they would do this. Not sure what the deal is other than they’re too close to the field edge. Other trees may be stealing nutrients from them.

 

[PoorSand]

I have another 60 Honeycrisp on order to arrive this spring.

 

[PoorSand]

The 120 Honeycrisp I planted last time got hammered by Gypsy Moth caterpillars more than any other variety, but most survived.