It's Michigan's third most popular apple for fresh eating or cooking. Honeycrisp: Aug. 22 Honeycrisp apples combine unusual color and sweet flavor. They have a crisp bite and are often used in salads.

Michigan's apple crop is a bushel buster with nearly 30 million bushels expected. From Gala apples to the beloved Honey Crisp, Michigan is flush with apple varieties that make terrific cider.

However, the goal is not to replace popular varieties like Fuji or Honeycrisp with Malus coronaria apples, since the Michigan tree's fruit is small, green and bitter.

Oct. 9—By Nikki Rothwell We are in a sweet spot for Michigan apples at this time of year, and our state's growers produce many different varieties. Gala and Honeycrisp are two of our main ...

A native Michigan apple tree, the Malus coronaria, learned to fight frost by blooming two or three weeks later than the trees that produce cultivated varieties of apples like Honeycrisp or Red ...

But van Nocker said it's critical to try. "With climate change, it's quite possible that apples won't be able to be produced in Michigan in the future," he said.

The Michigan Apple Committee said this marks the third year in a hot streak. After a shortened 2021, Michigan has produced above its ten-year average, with 2022 being a record breaker.

Michigan State University horticulture professor Steve Van Nocker holds wild apples near a Malus coronaria tree Wednesday, Dec. 4, 2024, in Meridian Township, Mich. (AP Photo/Mike Householder) ...

Michigan State University horticulture professor Steve Van Nocker holds wild apples near a Malus coronaria tree Wednesday, Dec. 4, 2024, in Meridian Township, Mich. (AP Photo/Mike Householder) ...

A native Michigan apple tree, the Malus coronaria, learned to fight frost by blooming two or three weeks later than the trees that produce cultivated varieties of apples like Honeycrisp or Red ...