Article written by Madeline Wimmer, Extension Educator - Fruit Production
Honeycrisp is a genetically unique apple variety that was bred by taking pollen from one parent variety to the flower of another, creating a completely different apple tree with its own fruit profile. In order to propagate a new variety, branches are taken from that tree and grafted onto roostocks, which is a form of asexual propagation that preserves the variety’s genetics, ensuring the tree, and its fruit, are the same as the parent tree.
While apple trees generally have uniform genetics throughout the whole plant, there is the chance for spontaneous mutations to occur throughout the plant. This sometimes leads to a sport, or a shoot with unique genetics that then produces a unique fruit. Many times, these mutations are unnoticeable, but occasionally, it can lead to something impactful.
What’s the difference between a sport and a true variety?
A sport is going to be just like what was described in the above paragraph. It’s either a whole tree (that started as a whip grafted onto a rootstock) or a branch that can be propagated from to create more trees.
On the other hand, varieties result from either a crossing, where pollen is intentionally taken from one flower directly to another—or open pollination where one variety (Honeycrisp) acts as the pollen-receiving tree, without knowing where exactly the pollen-giving parent (i.e., pollenizer) came from.
Honeycrisp sports
Several variations in Honeycrisp—or Honeycrisp sports—have been found including varieties like Premier Honeycrisp (DAS10), Royal Red Honeycrisp™, and Firestorm Honeycrisp™ (BAB2000).
- Apples:
- About: Honeycrisp sport varieties
- Grapes:
- Vine nutrition: Veraison is the next opportunity for petiole sampling
Apples:
Images: David Bedford, UMN researcher who is renowned for his work breeding apple varieties like Honeycrisp, spoke at the 2025 Minnesota Apple Growers Association summer tour about the difference between an apple sport and true cultivated variety. This topic led into more discussion about various Honeycrisp sport varieties, including Premier Honeycrisp™ and Royal Red Honeycrisp™.
About: Honeycrisp sport varieties
The Honeycrisp (MN 1711) apple variety has been around for nearly 35 years, and continues to be a favorite apple for many consumers. While consumers know and love the fruits for their crisp texture and balanced flavors, most growers are familiar with some of the challenges that come with growing the tree itself: biennial bearing tendencies, with fruits prone to bitter pit and leaves subject to mottled chlorosis, a condition some refer to as “sugar toxicity.”Honeycrisp is a genetically unique apple variety that was bred by taking pollen from one parent variety to the flower of another, creating a completely different apple tree with its own fruit profile. In order to propagate a new variety, branches are taken from that tree and grafted onto roostocks, which is a form of asexual propagation that preserves the variety’s genetics, ensuring the tree, and its fruit, are the same as the parent tree.
While apple trees generally have uniform genetics throughout the whole plant, there is the chance for spontaneous mutations to occur throughout the plant. This sometimes leads to a sport, or a shoot with unique genetics that then produces a unique fruit. Many times, these mutations are unnoticeable, but occasionally, it can lead to something impactful.
What’s the difference between a sport and a true variety?
A sport is going to be just like what was described in the above paragraph. It’s either a whole tree (that started as a whip grafted onto a rootstock) or a branch that can be propagated from to create more trees.
On the other hand, varieties result from either a crossing, where pollen is intentionally taken from one flower directly to another—or open pollination where one variety (Honeycrisp) acts as the pollen-receiving tree, without knowing where exactly the pollen-giving parent (i.e., pollenizer) came from.
Honeycrisp sports
Several variations in Honeycrisp—or Honeycrisp sports—have been found including varieties like Premier Honeycrisp (DAS10), Royal Red Honeycrisp™, and Firestorm Honeycrisp™ (BAB2000).
Premier Honeycrisp™ was discovered by a grower in Pennsylvania and recognized for maturing 2–3 weeks before Honeycrisp. Both Royal Red™ and Firestorm™ are Honeycrisp varieties noted for their increased red color, which can be beneficial in orchard environments with warm nighttime temperatures. Royal Red™ is also noted for its increased storage capacity.
If you’re a Honeycrisp grower in Minnesota or within the Upper Midwest, you may have heard about one of the sport varieties and whether they would be a better option for production. The reviews on tree and fruit performance vary based on normal production variations like rootstock choice and production region. For example, poor coloring is usually a bigger concern in warmer regions, but is less of a concern in Minnesota, the original environment where Honeycrisp was bred. Faster ripening can bring a market advantage, but also requires the grower to gauge ripeness and learn the quality harvest window.
Honeycrisp in modern breeding programs
Honeycrisp set the standard for modern consumer apple preferences, and while there are a number of newer varieties on the wholesale market (some of which are not suitable for Minnesota production), many have a Honeycrisp parent, including Cosmic Crisp® (WA 38), Pazazz (DS-41), Ludacrisp® (MAIA-L), and UMN’s Rave® (i.e., First Kiss®; MN55), as a few examples. These varieties were either produced by crosses made by plant breeders, or open pollinated with Honeycrisp as the pollen-receiving plant.
Plant breeding is deeply interwoven with apple production, and taking note of a variety's parentage, like the Honeycrisp lineage, in apple varieties and sports can help growers connect deeper with the varieties they grow, and understand the rich history of how they relate to one another.
References and further reading:
Update on new apple varieties, managed varieties and Clubs (Cornell research publication)
About
There are two times of the growing season when vineyards typically take petiole samples: bloom and early veraison. Both have their own unique requirements for petiole sampling (shown above). When taking samples at veraison, collect petioles from the 5th, 6th, or 7th leaf, counting back from the most mature leaf located near the shoot tip. One "sample" is a set of 75–100 petioles taken from 25–50 grapevines of interest.
Timing
Early veraison is somewhat of a subjective term as veraison refers to berries beginning to change color while they continue to soften. A good gauge is when about 50 percent of the clusters on the vines have some berries that have started to change color. This phenology stage is a good window of time to check on plant nutrition as potassium and other nutrients have generally stabilized.
Approach
If you’re looking at a specific nutrient deficiency for which only some vines are showing symptoms, plan to take two separate collections of petiole samples: one set from healthy-looking vines, and one set from those showing symptoms. If the goal is to get a general snap shot of a variety, or if symptoms are uniform, only one sample is needed for that variety.
For more information related to petiole sampling refer to the following resources:
If you’re a Honeycrisp grower in Minnesota or within the Upper Midwest, you may have heard about one of the sport varieties and whether they would be a better option for production. The reviews on tree and fruit performance vary based on normal production variations like rootstock choice and production region. For example, poor coloring is usually a bigger concern in warmer regions, but is less of a concern in Minnesota, the original environment where Honeycrisp was bred. Faster ripening can bring a market advantage, but also requires the grower to gauge ripeness and learn the quality harvest window.
Honeycrisp in modern breeding programs
Honeycrisp set the standard for modern consumer apple preferences, and while there are a number of newer varieties on the wholesale market (some of which are not suitable for Minnesota production), many have a Honeycrisp parent, including Cosmic Crisp® (WA 38), Pazazz (DS-41), Ludacrisp® (MAIA-L), and UMN’s Rave® (i.e., First Kiss®; MN55), as a few examples. These varieties were either produced by crosses made by plant breeders, or open pollinated with Honeycrisp as the pollen-receiving plant.
Plant breeding is deeply interwoven with apple production, and taking note of a variety's parentage, like the Honeycrisp lineage, in apple varieties and sports can help growers connect deeper with the varieties they grow, and understand the rich history of how they relate to one another.
References and further reading:
Update on new apple varieties, managed varieties and Clubs (Cornell research publication)
Grapes
Vine nutrition: Veraison is the next opportunity for petiole sampling
Images: The instructions for petiole sampling for cold climate grapes is different, depending on whether the samples are taken at bloom or veraison.
About
There are two times of the growing season when vineyards typically take petiole samples: bloom and early veraison. Both have their own unique requirements for petiole sampling (shown above). When taking samples at veraison, collect petioles from the 5th, 6th, or 7th leaf, counting back from the most mature leaf located near the shoot tip. One "sample" is a set of 75–100 petioles taken from 25–50 grapevines of interest.
Timing
Early veraison is somewhat of a subjective term as veraison refers to berries beginning to change color while they continue to soften. A good gauge is when about 50 percent of the clusters on the vines have some berries that have started to change color. This phenology stage is a good window of time to check on plant nutrition as potassium and other nutrients have generally stabilized.
Approach
If you’re looking at a specific nutrient deficiency for which only some vines are showing symptoms, plan to take two separate collections of petiole samples: one set from healthy-looking vines, and one set from those showing symptoms. If the goal is to get a general snap shot of a variety, or if symptoms are uniform, only one sample is needed for that variety.
For more information related to petiole sampling refer to the following resources:
- Fruit update - June 24, 2025; Bloom: Petiole sampling for nutrient analysis (UMN Fruit and Veg News)
- Test don’t guess: Is foliar nutritional analysis right for your fruit crops this growing season? (UMN Fruit and Veg News)
- Tissue and soil nutrient testing for cold climate grapes (UMN webpage)
- Taking a foliar sample: Vineyards and orchards (UMN instructional YouTube video)
Thank you to our farm and ag professional partners for contributions to the UMN Fruit Update series. Non-credited photos in this article were either taken by Madeline Wimmer or within the UMN Extension system.
This article may be shared for educational purposes with attribution to the University of Minnesota Extension. For other uses, please contact UMN Extension for permission.
This article may be shared for educational purposes with attribution to the University of Minnesota Extension. For other uses, please contact UMN Extension for permission.
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