All Things Cider

[Bowsnbucks]

2ndHand - I agree with what Ben said. I bought 5 crabapples plus 5 wild apple seedlings from St. Lawrence Nursery last spring and every one survived with a minimum of care. This spring ALL of them budded out & have new growth on them. We had an UGLY winter in Northern Pa. with several ice storms, high winds, & up to 30+nches of snow on the ground. The rootstock they use is Antonovka - a standard rootstock. If our trees made it in our heavy soil thru a winter like that - I'm sold on the hardiness of their trees. I bought a Chestnut crab, a Trailman apple/crab, a Liberty, a Wolf River, a Prairie Spy, and 5 more wild apple seedlings from them again THIS spring. I'll be ordering from them again. Catalog is great - good reference book to hang on to!

 

[sandbur]

2ndHand - I agree with what Ben said. I bought 5 crabapples plus 5 wild apple seedlings from St. Lawrence Nursery last spring and every one survived with a minimum of care. This spring ALL of them budded out & have new growth on them. We had an UGLY winter in Northern Pa. with several ice storms, high winds, & up to 30+nches of snow on the ground. The rootstock they use is Antonovka - a standard rootstock. If our trees made it in our heavy soil thru a winter like that - I'm sold on the hardiness of their trees. I bought a Chestnut crab, a Trailman apple/crab, a Liberty, a Wolf River, a Prairie Spy, and 5 more wild apple seedlings from them again THIS spring. I'll be ordering from them again. Catalog is great - good reference book to hang on to!

I like their catalog for a reference, also.

I planted a Trailman this spring from them.

What did you try for crab apples?

 

[Bowsnbucks]

Bur - I got a Dolgo, a Centennial, a Centurion, and an All-Winter-Hangover crab from them last spring. They're all sprouting new growth as of May 1. This spring I got the above-mentioned Chestnut & Trailman from SLN and a Nova Scotia, Hyslop, Whitney, & Chestnut crab from Morse Nursery. I got several regular apples from SLN and Cummins, and 3 pears from Morse for this spring as well. They're all planted & budding now. The total for crabs at the camp is 15. I'll probably plant a Kerr ( or 2 ), another Dolgo, and one more Trailman next year, as well as 6 regular apples. Right now I'm thinking 1 each of Liberty, Enterprise, Florina Querina, Nova Spy, Galarina, and Haralson.

 

[sandbur]

Bur - I got a Dolgo, a Centennial, a Centurion, and an All-Winter-Hangover crab from them last spring. They're all sprouting new growth as of May 1. This spring I got the above-mentioned Chestnut & Trailman from SLN and a Nova Scotia, Hyslop, Whitney, & Chestnut crab from Morse Nursery. I got several regular apples from SLN and Cummins, and 3 pears from Morse for this spring as well. They're all planted & budding now. The total for crabs at the camp is 15. I'll probably plant a Kerr ( or 2 ), another Dolgo, and one more Trailman next year, as well as 6 regular apples. Right now I'm thinking 1 each of Liberty, Enterprise, Florina Querina, Nova Spy, Galarina, and Haralson.

Is that Nova Scotia a crab?

I planted a Nova Easy Gro this spring.

 

[Bowsnbucks]

Bur - Yep. It's a crab from Morse nursery. I talked to Charlie Morse a couple times about it & did a little searching. It's origin is Nova Scotia - hence the name - and is supposed to be a very cold-hardy crab. It's my first planting of this tree, so time will tell how it produces and WHEN. ( drop time ) It is on B-118.

 

[2ndHand]

Great apples for cider. Let's see some pics of your grafts. I have all of those as trees or grafts now but can't get my Yarlington to pop. It's the only one that hasn't showed any movement. I am wondering if it was a bad piece of rootstock that I got

Here's a photo of the Chestnut Crab graft I did last week...looks like the bud is breaking (I hope!):

 

[2ndHand]

Placed my order for 2015. I spent a lot of time considering rootstocks - based on my soil composition and limited ability to provide onsite watering, I thought it was best to go with the B.118 rootstock for this years order. Here's what I ordered from Cummins:

5 - Liberty
5 - Cortland
5 - Golden Russet
4 - Virginia (Hewes) Crabs
2 - Ashmeads Kernel
1 - Chestnut Crab

 

[Ben.MN/WI]

You're really beating the rush if you're getting your 2015 order in now. I'm thinking about ordering some B.118 trees this year to add a little variety to my orchards that are primarily standard trees from SLN.

My test this year with Menards semi-dwarf trees failed miserably. 1 out of 5 is doing well, 1 is close to death and 3 are completely dead. I will say that my 1 Shopko tree looks great though. I should have known better, but I couldn't turn down a sale on semi-dwarf trees.

 

[2ndHand]

You're really beating the rush if you're getting your 2015 order in now. I'm thinking about ordering some B.118 trees this year to add a little variety to my orchards that are primarily standard trees from SLN.

My test this year with Menards semi-dwarf trees failed miserably. 1 out of 5 is doing well, 1 is close to death and 3 are completely dead. I will say that my 1 Shopko tree looks great though. I should have known better, but I couldn't turn down a sale on semi-dwarf trees.

Hey Ben, I have had good luck with the 4 or 5 trees I have purchased from Menards - they are actually my best growers to date (this will be their third year). When buying from Cummins, you can't wait too long for next years purchase. Some of the varieties on B.118 are limited and sell out early.

Thanks!

 

[chickenlittle]

Yes, I got my order in with Cummins yesterday and they were out of one I wanted already.

 

[2ndHand]

Graft Update - Here's a few photo's of the grafts I did in May:

 

[greyphase]

Nice. I'd be proud of those trees. What varieties ?

 

[2ndHand]

Nice. I'd be proud of those trees. What varieties ?

Thank you! I have two each of the following varieties: Ashmead's Kernel, Belle de Boskoop, Yarlington Mill, Golden Russet, and Chestnut Crab. This is my 1st time grafting - I am very pleased with the outcome and look forward to grafting more in the future.

 

[2ndHand]

Nice looking grafts. Were they whip n tongue or cleft?

Thanks! They are Cleft grafts - I would like to try whip n tongue next year.

 

[aerospacefarmer]

Great looking trees. I have a few around that size and my 32 grafts that took range from 3 inch growth to about 30 inches of growth already. 9 of the 32 are in the ground at my farm and I may plant another 3-5 this fall

 

[2ndHand]

Great looking trees. I have a few around that size and my 32 grafts that took range from 3 inch growth to about 30 inches of growth already. 9 of the 32 are in the ground at my farm and I may plant another 3-5 this fall

Hello Aerospacefarmer, Thanks for the reply. What type of graft did you use? Not sure if I will try and plant these this fall or wait until next spring. I have not yet prepared the site where I am starting my orchard. I have Buckwheat growing there now, and will mow and seed with some type of grass seed this fall. I have 25 trees on order from Cummins for the spring and want to intermix some of the grafts with those trees.

 

[aerospacefarmer]

I used mostly cleft grafts and have 2 nice strong whip and tongue but the cleft was so easy and successful. I am planting in places where I have lost trees so the areas are already part of my orchards

 

[2ndHand]

I used mostly cleft grafts and have 2 nice strong whip and tongue but the cleft was so easy and successful. I am planting in places where I have lost trees so the areas are already part of my orchards

Thanks for the info! - Next time I am at the farm I need to layout the tree spacing so I have an idea of where I will be planting. I would prefer to plant the grafted trees this fall, then try and over winter them at home.

 

[aerospacefarmer]

I am still trying to figure out where and how to over winter my trees. I am seeking advice bit thinking about leaving in rootrappers in garage. Not sure if that's a good idea or not

 

[sandbur]

I have always wintered my trees by burying the rootrappers in the ground. Then fence/screen for mice/rabbits and use a bigger fence for deer.