Ranetka crab

[rocksnstumps]

Ranetka, edit: 5th leaf. They ripen a little after Dolgo. Not too surprising since Dolgo is part of the cross for Ranetka. Actually I think Dolgo is better/sweeter than Ranetka but read that Ranetka can hang into winter so have let some grow after not getting around to grafting something else to them a few years back.

 

[sandbur]

I have been waiting for some fruit, but my growth is way behind your trees.

Good information.


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[rocksnstumps]

Crabapples grow quick on my land. Some of that might be that I usually start a bunch of them in tubes and some top out of a 5' tube the first year. Grafted trees that I caged right from the start like Enterprise, Wolf River, Harrison cider, and the much touted growth (but not so much for me) Franklin Cider just putz along. One that has done the best outta the regular apples has been Honeygold. These have a mix of M7 and B118 rootstocks.

I have some Antonovka that I have just let grow also but they seem to bid their time more with growing.

 

[sandbur]

I let some anty’s fruit and I am not impressed. They also had lots of disease.
I
Still have one that I should try and graft.. for the third plus time.


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[sandbur]

I bench grafted Honeygold this year and it has been a strong grower.


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[sandbur]

Crabapples grow quick on my land. Some of that might be that I usually start a bunch of them in tubes and some top out of a 5' tube the first year. Grafted trees that I caged right from the start like Enterprise, Wolf River, Harrison cider, and the much touted growth (but not so much for me) Franklin Cider just putz along. One that has done the best outta the regular apples has been Honeygold. These have a mix of M7 and B118 rootstocks.

I have some Antonovka that I have just let grow also but they seem to bid their time more with growing.

Have you had much winter dieback on those crabs in tubes?
When you say started in tubes, do you mean purchased grafted trees, seedlings, or seeds planted in the tubes?


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[sandbur]

Crabapples grow quick on my land. Some of that might be that I usually start a bunch of them in tubes and some top out of a 5' tube the first year. Grafted trees that I caged right from the start like Enterprise, Wolf River, Harrison cider, and the much touted growth (but not so much for me) Franklin Cider just putz along. One that has done the best outta the regular apples has been Honeygold. These have a mix of M7 and B118 rootstocks.

I have some Antonovka that I have just let grow also but they seem to bid their time more with growing.

I use these half tubes/ cages for my bench grafts and also plant seeds inside of them. The half tube aids some growth, but also allows them to harden off moreso before winter. I suspect my winters are different than yours.

The middle tree is a Kinderkrisp seedling and is approaching five feet in height. Seeds were planted one year ago.


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[rocksnstumps]

The crabs are pretty much bareroot seedlings. Cheap and when planting lots at a time easier to do in vented tubes. Bought a bunch of tubes years ago, the ones they ship nested inside each other. Have better luck with using just the bigger dia ones now and recyle them with new trees in most cases. Never had a tube just fall apart from the sun in say 5 yrs or whatever. Some are probably close to 10 yrs but I still have a stash of new ones also.

Mice and critters are a problem at times so expect a few loses even with window screen used inside tube. But like I said, cheap trees and planting numbers so ok with that. More losses with narrow tubes over the years so don't use those any more if I can help it.

I am at edge of zones 4b/4a

 

[rocksnstumps]

Btw, went back and checked notes and will edit above. Tree planted Spring 2015

 

[rocksnstumps]

Thought I would report back after noting the dozen or so Ranetka apples have all fallen off. Interesting that other trees like Dolgo and Chestnut crab which are usually bare by now are still holding about a 1/3 of their small crop. Everything got a 2 week late start this spring however so maybe that is part the reason. A previous late spring I noted many of my wild trees seemed to hold fruit up to a month later than normal. Dolgos are past ripe and getting mealy when I checked over a week ago. Chestnut was still good.

First year for this Ranetka, will see if this drop pattern in Sept holds on future crops plus will likely have other Ranetkas start to fruit and compare.

 

[sandbur]

Thought I would report back after noting the dozen or so Ranetka apples have all fallen off. Interesting that other trees like Dolgo and Chestnut crab which are usually bare by now are still holding about a 1/3 of their small crop. Everything got a 2 week late start this spring however so maybe that is part the reason. A previous late spring I noted many of my wild trees seemed to hold fruit up to a month later than normal. Dolgos are past ripe and getting mealy when I checked over a week ago. Chestnut was still good.

First year for this Ranetka, will see if this drop pattern in Sept holds on future crops plus will likely have other Ranetkas start to fruit and compare.

My experience with grafted dolgo and chestnut for this year is similar to yours.
Both are favorites for cider, applesauce, and as deer apples for a bow hunter. They also have no significant disease problems.

From your posts here, I might just as well topwork all of my ranetka.

I am still waiting on a few B 118 to fruit.


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