About this Honeycrisp Apple tree

Age:	Planted in about 2005
Age of this tree:	14 years
Soil characteristics at this location:	Silt/Clay drains fairly well but can also compact
Climate at this location:	Arid summer cold winter zone 5a
Pruning:	Open Center
Tree form:	Bush (wider at top than bottom)
Height:	Between 6ft / 2m and 15ft / 4m
Cropping:	Heavy crops
Growth:	This tree grows easily here
Herbicides:	Manual treatment (hoeing and weeding)
Pesticides:	Chemical treatments
Local pests:	Birds and Coddling Moth

Owner's comments

the wood of this tree tends to be very flexible. We get a lot of wind in the early summer and despite staking for the first two years the tree trunk leans heavily in the direction of the prevailing wind and the top half of the tree was bent parallel with the ground. I cut it off just above the bottom whirls and trained it to more of an open vase shape and I had to tie the branches down that face the wind until they were strong enough to resist but so far the tree seems to be much stronger this way. I have a Macintosh right next to it that seems to be affected very little from the wind. I thin the apples in the spring to about 1 per spur or 6"and the apples I get from this Honeycrisp tree are absolutely GINORMOUS! and very delicious. My climate must be a little slower ripening though because I have to wait until mid-late October, risking a few frosts before they reach peak sweetness, same with my Macintosh.