It needs to be near another apple tree for pollination, but most varieties of apple will pollinate Honeycrisp. [3], Honeycrisp apple flowers are self-sterile, so another apple variety must be nearby as a pollenizer in order to get fruit. [23], Minnesota Agricultural Experiment Station's Horticultural Research Center, "Patent PP07197 – Apple tree: Honeycrisp", "Relationship of Instrumental and Sensory Texture Measurements of Fresh and Stored Apples to Cell Number and Size", "20 things you didn't know about Minnesota's famous Honeycrisp apples", "Honeycrisp apple losing its patent protection, but not its appeal", "Headed to the apple orchard? Honeycrisp took the apple world by storm when it was first introduced and is still a flavor favorite. ", PRI disease resistant apple breeding program, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Honeycrisp&oldid=988843843, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License, This page was last edited on 15 November 2020, at 16:11. Now available in Reachables size! Ripens in early September. The Jonathon Apple is in its third year of blooming and it's looking like we'll get a decent crop for the first time. [14] Bitter pit disproportionately affects honeycrisps, typically 23% of the harvest is affected. Honeycrisp (Malus pumila) is an apple cultivar (cultivated variety) developed at the Minnesota Agricultural Experiment Station's Horticultural Research Center at the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities. [11], The US patent for the Honeycrisp cultivar expired in 2008, though patent protection in some countries continues until as late as 2031. Honeycrisp is the ideal apple for northern states. [13] Honeycrisp will not come true when grown from seed. [15], As a result of the Honeycrisp apple's growing popularity, the government of Nova Scotia, Canada spent over C$1.5 million funding a 5-year Honeycrisp Orchard Renewal Program from 2005 to 2010 to subsidize apple producers to replace older trees (mainly McIntosh) with newer higher-return varieties of apples, the Honeycrisp, Gala, and Ambrosia. Honeycrisp apple trees are picky plants that require specific growing and maintenance conditions, so you’ll have to work to get the large and crisp apples that the tree produces. Final Thoughts. [5] Pepin Heights Orchards delivered the first Honeycrisp apples to grocery stores in 1997. They are just a few feet apart. If you’re an avid gardener, you might be up to the task of growing one of these trees. For most home gardeners, the old 40-foot apple tree is an impracticable dream. PP7197. Designated in 1974 with the MN 1711 test designation, patented in 1988, and released in 1991, the Honeycrisp, once slated to be discarded, has rapidly become a prized commercial commodity, as its sweetness, firmness, and tartness make it an ideal apple for eating raw. It was bred for taste: crisp, with balanced sweetness and acidity. [9], U.S. Plant Patent 7197 and Report 225-1992 (AD-MR-5877-B) from the Horticultural Research Center indicated that the Honeycrisp was a hybrid of the apple cultivars 'Macoun' and 'Honeygold'. I bought my Dwarf Honeycrisp Apple tree in 2010, at the same time I bought the Dwarf Jonathon Apple. Try these 8 recipes", "The search for the next Honeycrisp apple", "Using microsatellite analysis to verify breeding records: A study of 'Honeycrisp' and other cold-hardy apple cultivars", "Elucidation of the 'Honeycrisp' pedigree through haplotype analysis with a multi-family integrated SNP linkage map and a large apple (Malus×domestica) pedigree-connected SNP data set", "List of polinnation partners for Honeycrisp apple trees", "America's New Favorite Apple, the Honeycrisp, Has a Problem", "Orchard renewal program receives additional funding (press release)", Fresh Plaza: Pepin Heights Orchard announces import HoneyCrunch apples from NZ, "Lunds and Byerlys Blog: Minnesota grown...from New Zealand? [7] It is now the official state fruit of Minnesota. Designated in 1974 with the MN 1711 test designation, patented in 1988, and released in 1991, the Honeycrisp, once slated to be discarded, has rapidly become a prized commercial commodity, as its sweetness, firmness, and tartness make it an ideal apple for eating raw. Most other apple varieties will pollenize Honeycrisp, as will varieties of crabapple. Honeycrisp is also known for its excellent scab-resistance and appears to have some resistance to fireblight as well. Other varieties, including Pixie Crunch, now surpass it in flavor, texture and performance. [3][7] The University of Minnesota crossed Honeycrisp with another of their apple varieties, Minnewashta (brand name Zestar), to create a hybrid called Minneiska (brand name SweeTango),[12] released as a "managed variety" to control how and where it can be grown and sold. [10] The other parent was identified in 2017 as the unreleased University of Minnesota selection MN1627. [7] Patent royalties had generated more than $10 million by 2011, split three ways by the University of Minnesota between its inventors, the college and department in which the research was conducted, and a fund for other research. Honeycrisp (Malus pumila) is an apple cultivar (cultivated variety) developed at the Minnesota Agricultural Experiment Station's Horticultural Research Center at the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities. Developed by the University of Minnesota, it is one of the most cold-hardy of all apple varieties. [1] However, genetic fingerprinting conducted by a group of researchers in 2004, which included those who were attributed on the US plant patent, determined that neither of these cultivars is a parent of the Honeycrisp, but that the Keepsake (another apple developed by the same University of Minnesota crossbreeding program) is one of the parents. [21], In 2006, Andersen Elementary School in Bayport petitioned for the Minnesota state legislature to make the Honeycrisp apple the state fruit; the bill was passed in May 2006. [8], Honeycrisp apples are projected by the US Apple Association to be the fifth most grown apple in America; by 2020 it is expected to be the third-most-grown cultivar. [14] Fruit density can be adjusted through removal of blossom clusters or young fruit to counteract the effect. [1] "...The apple wasn't bred to grow, store or ship well. [6] The name Honeycrisp was trademarked by the University of Minnesota, but university officials were unsure of its protection status in 2007. This apple is hardy all the way to minus 40 0 F, so even if you live in zone 3 you can successfully grow this tree and bring beautiful apples into your home right from the garden. The grandparents of Honeycrisp on the MN1627 side are the Duchess of Oldenburg and the Golden Delicious. "[2] It has larger cells than most apple cultivars, a trait which is correlated with juiciness, as theoretically a higher number of cells rupture when bitten releases more juice in the mouth. [1], Young trees typically have a lower density of large, well-colored fruit, while mature trees have higher fruit density of fruit with diminished size and color quality. But you needn't raise … A Reachables tree produces full-sized fruits, but on a smaller tree. [14] Flesh firmness is also generally better with lower crop densities. I… "...The apple wasn't bred to grow, store or ship well. [18] The first batch of New Zealand-grown Honeycrisp cultivars being introduced to the North American market have been branded using the "HoneyCrunch" registered trademark. [19][20] According to the US Apple Association website it is one of the fifteen most popular apple cultivars in the United States. 'Honeycrisp' requires pollination by a tree of another variety with the same bloom period, such as Braeburn, Gala or Red Delicious. Zones 3-6. [3][4] The Honeycrisp also retains its pigment well and boasts a relatively long shelf life when stored in cool, dry conditions. [16][17], Apple growers in New Zealand's South Island have begun growing Honeycrisp to supply consumers during the US off-season. Trees grown from the seeds of Honeycrisp apples will be hybrids of Honeycrisp and the pollenizer. How Tall Does a Honeycrisp Apple Tree Get?. [22], In the early 1990s, a Minnesota orchardist, Chuck Nystrom, discovered an open cross-pollination between Honeycrisp and an unknown variety, resulting in a new variety called SugarBee.