Crabapple timeline

[rocksnstumps]

I feel crab apples are more tolerant of less than ideal conditions as compared to larger apples.

I just found a crab along the edge of my alfalfa field. I have probably driven by it thousands of times in 30 years, but it started to bloom.

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Agree on the crabs being more vigorous. Red splendor and ranetka grow like weeds here. Stuff grafted on m7, b118, and antonovka are slower growing and 10x the price. Payoff is apple's that taste good to humans. Best to do both.

 

[Bowsnbucks]

Bur - Your Whitney has come along at a faster clip that the one we have at camp. Ours took more years to get blossoms. Our one Whitney came from Morse Nursery. It was grafted HIGH on it's rootstock - whatever rootstock that was. (?) Our Whitney looks more thin and "whippy" than yours does.

As Rocksnstumps said above, I think regular DR apples suitable for our individual climates, and ALSO CRABS, are the way to go for deer & other wildlife. Our crabs seem to just do their thing without headaches.

 

[PoorSand]

My notes say that one of my Dolgo seedling trees reached what I considered to be full bloom at the same time as my pollination group 2 trees did, around May 23. It already has a bunch of young apples on it, yet that tree just keeps on trying to be a pollination partner by putting out straggler blossoms. Information current as of today.

 

[PoorSand]

We have a wild apple tree that is over half a mile from the nearest other blossoming apple tree. Last May when it was in full bloom, I snipped a branch off a blossoming Dolgo crabapple tree and put it in a bucket of water next to the wild tree. For the first time ever (well, in at least 28 years anyway), that wild tree now has apples, though only on the branches closest to where I set the bucket.

We have other apple trees planted nearby that are getting big enough to blossom any year now. If we didn't, I'd try to find the time to graft some Dolgo seedling buds onto that tree in August.

 

[sandbur]

I was up yesterday and I only had one tree with blossoms. Everything is still tight clusters at best. I did see a few blossoms on one of my franklins and 90% of last year’s grafts made it through the winter. After 7 years starting to see some good things happen.

1 of 4 Franklins also has a few blossoms on my place. 4th leaf on B118. They have been modest growers in my locations. Crab apple varieties grow much faster here.

I feel crab apples are more tolerant of less than ideal conditions as compared to larger apples.

I just found a crab along the edge of my alfalfa field. I have probably driven by it thousands of times in 30 years, but it started to bloom.

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This tree will probably have crabs a bit larger than most of our wild crabs.


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[sandbur]

These are on a rootsucker from a rootstock that I transplanted years ago. I have three of these.


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[sandbur]

Maybe this is the same thing but an older planting. I never marked it .

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[sandbur]

Big Dog that I topworked on a wild swamp crab.


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[sandbur]

Big Dog that I topworked on a wild swamp crab.


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[Charles Clear]

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Heck yeah Art, looks fantastic! I topworked one of your Big Dog scions on a wild swamp crap at my place too. I am very happy with its growth so far! How many years did it take to get to that point? Thanks again!

 

[sandbur]

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Heck yeah Art, looks fantastic! I topworked one of your Big Dog scions on a wild swamp crap at my place too. I am very happy with its growth so far! How many years did it take to get to that point? Thanks again!

I didn’t look at the tag. However, I have one topworked on a dolgo seedling in 2015 that looks almost that good.


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[Charles Clear]

I didn’t look at the tag. However, I have one topworked on a dolgo seedling in 2015 that looks almost that good.


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Fantastic! Thanks!

 

[sandbur]

2020 Journal has begun.

I think we could now have apples on the ground for deer over a 7 month period.


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[Apple Junkie]

You're right Sandbur, apples could be available for an extended period with proper planning.

I have a small orchard about 100 yards behind my house. I can always tell when the trees begin to shed weak apples because deer start to visit at all hours of the day. In the past week or two, the parade has begun. I did not select the varieties in this orchard, but at least one (Arkansas black) does drop into January, so that is a good 5+ months.

I hope you continue to keep us posted on your ripening / drop notes!

 

[Bowsnbucks]

For any worried about crab apples being too small for deer - don't sweat it. I've seen deer eating crab apples that are 1/2" dia. like candy. I used to rake up piles of them from a roadside location and put them in bushel baskets to put out for deer. Every one cleaned up. At camp - the small, un-named crabs we got from a Game Commission seedling sale get fruit about 1/2" dia. and the deer have circular paths beat into the ground all around those trees. We don't find any laying around under those trees! Tracks & turds tell the tale.

 

[sandbur]

For any worried about crab apples being too small for deer - don't sweat it. I've seen deer eating crab apples that are 1/2" dia. like candy. I used to rake up piles of them from a roadside location and put them in bushel baskets to put out for deer. Every one cleaned up. At camp - the small, un-named crabs we got from a Game Commission seedling sale get fruit about 1/2" dia. and the deer have circular paths beat into the ground all around those trees. We don't find any laying around under those trees! Tracks & turds tell the tale.

Classic quote ... Tracks and Turds Tell the Tale! 4 T’s!


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[sandbur]

2020 Journal has begun.

I think we could now have apples on the ground for deer over a 7 month period.


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Some Norland seeds are white, some brown. I am waiting a few more days.


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[sandbur]

I picked the Norlands last week.

Centennial and Whitney were harvested today and cider was made.

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[rocksnstumps]

Your Whitney are a bit further along than mine. Not much blush on em yet but seeds are starting to turn brown

 

[sandbur]

Your Whitney are a bit further along than mine. Not much blush on em yet but seeds are starting to turn brown

My Whitney’s were starting to get mushy.


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