When I moved from the old house, I told myself that I was done with apple trees. In five years of trying to grow apples, I had harvested perhaps eight or less. If a disease or insect didn't get them, some varmint did. I even tried bagging the fruit individually with panty hose and spraying with Spinosad, but to no avail.
All that changeed this fall when I ate what I could only describe as the best Honeycrisp apple I've ever eaten. In general, I think the Honeycrisp apple is one of the finest pieces of fruit there is, period. After that perfect apple, I immediately logged on to Ison's and ordered a tree, which arrived on Friday.
Boy #1 was so excited to get planting, he even picked out the trees' locations. I love that the boys have been so involved in establishhing our new orchard. After lunch we got out the shovels and got to work. We also planted an Anna apple tree, and a Navel orange tree that I picked up from Plants for All Seasons. I couldn't find a definitive answer as to whether the Honeycrisp is self-fertile or not (probably not), so I figured I needed to plant another apple as a pollinator. Anna might bloom too early to pollinate Honeycrisp, but it's my favorite of the apples that are reported to grow well in Houston. I might not have any better luck here than I did at the old house, but its worth taking the gamble for the chance to taste a homegrown Honeycrisp.
