North American Fruit Explorers mailing list at ibiblio

[Kevin Bradley <kbradley@ttlc.net>]

The U of MN Honeycrisp report of 2000 states:

"Climate as it relates to Fruit Quality, and Bitter Pit: Honeycrisp is best 
adapted to cooler growing regions. Areas in the East and Midwest that are 
able to produce good quality McIntosh appear to be good sites. In the West, 
areas with higher elevation that are able to produce good quality Jonagold 
would appear to be good candidates. In climates where Honeycrisp apple is 
not well adapted, fruit color will be limited and bitter pit may be a 
persistent problem. It may be susceptible to bitter pit even in its 
well-adapted areas, especially in the early years of production and with 
large fruit and smaller crop loads. In cooler growing areas however, this 
problem is easily remedied with foliar calcium applications while in warmer 
areas the problem may persist even with the addition of calcium."

I think that many of us in warmer areas may not be aware of what 
Honeycrisp's color should look like, here in Watertown it does not get the 
red coloring that it gets in cooler zones and is not of high quality every 
year. I have a good photo of a properly ripened Honeycrisp from the U of MN 
on my website http://www.edibleforestnursery.com/CHOOSING_frmst.htm which 
should help you determine if your Honeycrisps are coloring up. (Go to a 
description of Honeycrisp and click on "Image of Fruit". (PS, I'm not 
trying to sell Honeycrisp trees here as I am almost sold out for next 
year.) I'm not sure but I think that the nice red color and flavorfull 
fruit is almost wholly a result of cooler night temperatures. Anyone know? 
I know this is true of other apples, at least for fruit quality.