Honeycrisp

Honeycrisp is a very attractive high quality dessert apple with a predominantly sweet flavour. It lives up to its name - it is a remarkably crisp apple and we think is one of the best new apples of the late 20th century.

Unusually for a modern American apple, Honeycrisp has some balancing acidity to its flavour that will appeal to European tastes. If you like a crisp, light-textured apple with a sweet but tangy flavour, Honeycrisp is worth a try.

The apples are medium-to-large in size, with a light green/yellow background largely covered with red-orange flush occasionally with a hint of pink. They keep well in storage, and retain their crispness.

Honeycrisp is also highly disease-resistant, making it a good choice for organic growers.

Growing and Training

Honeycrisp is considered one of the most disease-resistant modern apples in the USA. Our first UK trials were in the dreadful rain-soaked 2012 season, and Honeycrisp sailed through with a heavy crop of high quality apples which looked and tasted just like US-grown ones. The only blemish on its record in the UK is a suspectibility to mildew, which might worry commercial growers but is not likely to be an issue for gardeners. Honeycrisp leaves may show some yellowing over the summer, particularly if the crop is light, but this is mainly cosmetic.

Honeycrisp was also developed to withstand the cold winters of North America - Canadian researchers have found it can survive temperatures as low as -35C - so it is quite at home throughout the UK and potentially a good choice for very cold situations.

Having said that, we think it probably grows better in areas with reasonable amounts of sunshine.

It is a good idea to let Honeycrisp trees reach their full size before allowing cropping to begin, so remove any fruitlets that might form in the early years.

History

Honeycrisp was introduced in the 1990s by the University of Minnesota. It is related to Keepsake and more distantly to Northern Spy, a traditional American cold-hardy apple variety. The apples are sometimes available in European supermarkets as Honeycrunch.

Honeycrisp characteristics

• Gardening skillExperienced
• Fruit persistenceNormal ripening
• Self-fertile?Not self-fertile
• Pollinating othersAverage
• Pick seasonLate
• Picking periodlate September
• Keeping3 months or more
• Food usesEating fresh
• Country of originUnited States
• Period of origin1950 - 1999
• Fruit colourOrange / Red

You might also like these varieties

• 
  Gala
  Gala is popular supermarket apple - but better when home-grown, with a sweet pleasant flavour.
• 
  Golden Delicious
  The flavour of home-grown Golden Delicious is far better than its supermarket reputation.
• 
  Jonagold
  Jonagold is a high quality American apple, with a good balanced sweet/sharp flavor.

More about apple trees

Apples are very versatile, and all varieties can be eaten or used in the kitchen. However varieties specifically grown as eating apples tend to have the best flavours for eating raw.

The main thing to decide when choosing an eating apple is when you intend to eat the apples. Early season apples are typically ready in August, and generally don't keep very long. Mid-season apples are ripe in early September, while late-season apples start to become ripe in late September and October. Many of the late-season varieties can also be stored in a fridge or cold shed for several months into the winter.

Some apple varieties are self-fertile, but most are not. However in most areas of the UK you do not need to worry whether your apple trees are self-fertile or not, as there will be other apple trees in nearby gardens to help with pollination.