Evercrisp® Apple (Spring 2027)

We don't have long-term data from our own mother trees of EverCrisp ® yet, so everything below is secondhand for now.

Overview

EverCrisp® is a Honeycrisp and Fuji cross from the Midwest Apple Improvement Association. It looks a lot like a Fuji, crunches like a Honeycrisp, ripens late and keeps a long time.

Origin and History

According to its plant patent, the cross was made in Pataskala, Ohio in 1999, with Honeycrisp as the mother and Fuji as the father, and the seedling was planted out at Wabash, Indiana in 2001. It was released in 2014 by the Midwest Apple Improvement Association (MAIA), a group of fruit growers that formed in 1998. EverCrisp® is the trademark name, and the variety name is MAIA-1.

Fruit and Uses

The patent describes a medium-sized, "extremely crisp, sweet" apple. MAIA says the texture is like Honeycrisp "but slightly harder," and the fruit "resembles Fuji in shape and appearance." It's harvested in mid-October, six to eight weeks after Honeycrisp, and it's a long keeper, both in cold storage and on the counter according to the patent. This is a fresh-eating apple.

Growth Habit and Spacing

We have EverCrisp® on two rootstocks. On Bud 118 semi-dwarf, plan on about 15 feet between trees, up to 18 feet for airflow. M26 makes a smaller tree, so you can go closer, around 10 to 12 feet, and it should be staked. M26 is only hardy to about -40F, so if you see colder than that, bury the graft. The patent describes a tree of moderate vigor with a more open canopy than Fuji, and says it's susceptible to scab and powdery mildew, with slight resistance to fire blight. Since it ripens six to eight weeks after Honeycrisp, it needs a long growing season.

Pollination

EverCrisp® needs a pollenizer. The patent says it blooms about a week later than Fuji, so pair it with a mid to late bloomer like Black Oxford, Northern Spy, Wealthy, Oriole, Sweet Sixteen or Haralson.

Cold Hardiness

The patent calls its winter hardiness "average for an apple variety" and says that, depending on how well it's hardened off, it's hardy to -10 to -25F. That's the breeder's own number. We rate it a little colder, at zone 4 (-30F).

Photos: “EverCrisp® (cropped)” by AllTheUsernamesAreInUse, via Wikimedia Commons, licensed CC0; “EverCrisp® cross-section” by AllTheUsernamesAreInUse, via Wikimedia Commons, licensed CC0.