Malus domestica ‘Honeycrisp’ (Semi-Dwarf Apple)

Highly popular and cold-hardy, Malus domestica ‘Honeycrisp’ is a culinary or dessert cultivar with a profusion of fragrant, pure white flowers in mid-season (mid-spring). Draped in clusters along the branches, they are truly a sight to behold. The flowers attract bees, butterflies, and hummingbirds. They are followed in the fall by a heavy crop of medium to large apples mottled red over a yellow background. Predominantly sweet with a honeyed, mild flavor, remarkably crisp and juicy, they are perfect for eating, snacking, salads and sauce-making. They can be kept for 3 months or more if stored in a refrigerator. ‘Honeycrisp’ requires pollination by a tree of another variety with the same bloom period, such as Braeburn, Gala, or Red Delicious. Developed by the University of Minnesota, it is one of the most cold-hardy of all apple varieties. Honeycrisp is also known for its excellent scab resistance and appears to have some resistance to fireblight as well. Beautiful in bloom, heavy with luscious apples, and picturesque when old, apple trees are very rewarding additions to the landscape.

• Grows up to 12-15 ft. tall and wide (3-5 m).
• A full sun lover, this tree is easily grown in deep, loamy, moderately fertile, medium moisture, well-drained soils. Prefers a sheltered, frost-free position.
• Since edible apple cultivars do not grow well on their own roots, most varieties have been grafted onto rootstocks and are classified as dwarf (8-10 ft, 2-3 m), semi-dwarf (12-15 ft, 3-5 m) and standard (18-25 ft, 5-8 m). The fruit itself is full-size and not dwarfed. Dwarf or semi-dwarf apple trees offer some benefits: they produce fruit at an earlier age and are easier to manage (spray, prune and harvest).
• Apples should be pruned every year to get the best crop. They also need to be thinned to about 8 in. apart (20 cm) if you want to reap the best-quality fruit.
• This deciduous apple tree adds a charming presence, tucked into a shrub border or planted as a specimen.
• Keep an eye out for aphids, woolly aphid, rosy apple aphid, fruit tree red spider mite, mussel scale, codling moth, caterpillars, Apple scab, apple canker, powdery mildews, blossom wilt, and honey fungus.
• Propagate by chip budding or grafting onto a clonal rootstock for fruit.