Nice! I only got 1 apple from my Goodland, and none from my Battleford this year.

Those are quite nice.. and big! Are they as tasty as honeycrisp?

I think I like them better off the tree than honeycrisp. They don't keep as long, though ... I think they are good for a couple of months in the fridge whereas the honeycrisp will keep all winter.

Good to know you like 'Zestar' so much, mine "should" come into production next year, hopefully! The tree grows rather upright and has wintered well, even last year when going into November with good deal of unripened growth that I simply snipped off. This summer was extremely dry at my location and the tree appears already set for winter ... oh, I forgot, winter is already here!!

Carroll is good, but I like flavor of Zestar better.

I would not claim to have as harsh of winter conditions as you and Bernie have, but my Zestar trees survived temps of -40 a couple of winters ago with no damage. In fact, my Zestars have not even had any dieback here. By way of contrast, my Carroll has had lots of dieback (although I don't think it's due to winter damage).

Douglas, how would you describe 'Zestar's' flavor? I only got a few apples last year and guess I had picked them just a bit too soon, as these were rather spritey.

Although, we reside in the very same general region, my conditions are probably just a fraction milder than what Konrad and Bernie experience and my tree has only required the removal a bit of immature growth. My yard is very sheltered so that also helps!

They do have a tanginess to them. I would describe the flavor as sweet/tart, maybe a little more on the sweet side when fully ripe ... I get a hint of a brown sugar taste. Just very good.

Well, hopefully next year the tree will set a decent little crop, it's now 10 ft tall and well branched.