Why Planting Two of the Same Apple Variety Yields No Fruit

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A common and costly mistake among first-time fruit-tree growers is buying two trees of the same variety — say, two Honeycrisp apples — believing they will pollinate each other. Susan Poizner explains that trees of the same variety are essentially clones and cannot cross-pollinate; the result is a pair of healthy-looking trees that never produce fruit. The fix is to choose two different apple varieties whose blossoms open at the same time. Poizner also notes that Honeycrisp, despite its popularity, is one of the harder varieties to grow: it is fussy about conditions, can take a long time to begin fruiting, and does not always store well — which is part of why it commands a premium price at the grocery store.