What to Do for New Honeycrisp Tree?

[Decado]

So I just bought a honeycrisp apple tree yesterday and I'm just wondering what all I should know when planting this. Digging, fill, mulch, wrapping, and overwintering are all things I guess I should know about. If there's anything else you think I should know, please let me know, thanks .

[CharlieBear]

General rule of thumb on planting apple trees is to dig the hole twice as big as the roots. Make sure the graft is a couple of inches above ground level when you plant it. Do not ammend the soil. As you put the soil back in make sure you step it in well as you go. Roots resent big air pockets and that is an invitation to root rot as the water will pool there. I would put a stake by the tree and tie it up for the winter incase it is windy, but use something soft for ties like a ripped up old teeshirt. Don't tie it too tight to the tree, you don't want to girdle it in the spring. Spray the tree with dormant spray before winter gets going to hard. The cheapest one would be very strong chamomile tea that is cooled off and add 1T canola oil per gallon so it will stick to the tree. Spray well. Get a commercial dormant spray and spray the tree again during the late winter on a clear dry day. Then just before the bud began to bloom you will have to spray with a fungicide. The next and following years you will have to spray with a copper based fungicide just before the leaves come out as well. Honey crisp is not disease resistant so you will have to keep up with the spraying every year. Take all apples off the tree as soon as they set the next two years.

For further explanations on apple tree care see the following web sites
https://www.lancaster.unl.edu/hort/articles/2007/appletreessorubg.shtml
www.urbanext.illinois.edu/staleline/010308.html

For pruning you apple tree checkout
www.gardenaction.co.uk/fruit_veg_diary/...2d_apple.asp
www.ces.ncsu.edu/depts/hort/hil/cg29.html

The best articles on care and pruning apple trees will be from the collective extension sites around the country and will generally have hort and or edu in their addresses. There are many more great articles I only listed two of each and for care I looked for extension sites with similar winters like yours. For pruning any of the sites will be fine. If you don't really understand what one is saying check out another until you do. Pruning is needed, but not really that hard once you understand the basic principles. You didn't say if you bought a dwarf, semi, or stand. If you bought something other than a dwarf you will not be able to prune it or spraying very well after about 8-10 years.

[Decado]

I'm not sure what you would call it but it's about 6 feet tall.

[!potatoes!]

no tag or anything came with it? nothing that says what kind of rootstock it's on?

[DoubleDogFarm]

Most likely semi dwarf. True dwarf and standards are harder to come by.

Eric

[bangstrom]

Honeycrisp has a genetic trait where the starch granules in the leaves tend to crowd the chloroplasts and this produces blotchy patterns of green and yellow that can make the tree appear to be diseased but the coloration is normal and nothing to be concerned about.

[JONA878]

I would add just one thing Decardo.
As regards pruning......if you can post a picture onto the site it would help to know what is required//also how do you want your tree to grow.
As a centre leader or as an open centre tree.

The great problem I have found over many years is that whenever I have looked in written works for pruning advise the blasted trees shown never look anything like mine.

[Decado]

Well I don't know what kind of rootstock it is, there's a tag but it says nothing about rootstock. As for training I think I'll just go with center leader since that's how it's been trained thus far.

[Decado]

So I just bought a Snow Sweet tree to go with my honeycrisp since I was worried that my neighbors cortland tree might not be close enough. I also found out that both trees are using m7 root stock so they're semi-dwarf.

[CharlieBear]

Make sure you plant them far enough apart which is at least 15 or better 20 feets or more. 15 will be very very tight, anything closer will result in sickly trees. If you are concerned about the size they will get the other option is to espalier them, but that will require steel cable trellising and patience, lots of it.

[Decado]

I though 15-20 was more for the larger semi-dwarfs, everything I'm finding about m7 says 12 feet. I don't really have enough full sunlight to plant them further apart.

Another thing, we seem to be in drought conditions right now. Does this change anything about how or when to plant them?