Honey Crisp woes - Ask Extension
We planted a new honey crisp apple in the spring of 2021. It looked fine for a while then developed some kind of blight. It did the same thing this ye...
Knowledgebase
Honey Crisp woes #811144
Asked September 17, 2022, 9:39 AM EDT
We planted a new honey crisp apple in the spring of 2021. It looked fine for a while then developed some kind of blight. It did the same thing this year. We have a Northern Spy apple and a Montmorency tart cherry tree nearby and they are both fine. They all came at the same time from the big nursery in Charlotte, Horsfords.
Chittenden County Vermont
Expert Response
Hello Barbara: The plant pathologist provided the following info. re: your Honey Crisp.
Honey Crisp does this every year, they always look bad!! I have seen this every year at the UVM Hort Farm on these trees and have read it is a genetic property of this cultivar. "It's a genetic defect of the variety that doesn't cause any serious issues. Sugars build up in the leaves to levels that destroy the green pigments. All normal for Honeycrisp." Just be sure the plant is pruned well to open it up to air and light and be sure it is mulched and fertilized in the spring.
Hope this helps!
Honey Crisp does this every year, they always look bad!! I have seen this every year at the UVM Hort Farm on these trees and have read it is a genetic property of this cultivar. "It's a genetic defect of the variety that doesn't cause any serious issues. Sugars build up in the leaves to levels that destroy the green pigments. All normal for Honeycrisp." Just be sure the plant is pruned well to open it up to air and light and be sure it is mulched and fertilized in the spring.
Hope this helps!
