sandbur
5 year old buck +
Yup, we put it in the freezer for pies or apple crisp.
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Crabapple timeline
- Thread starter sandbur
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Yup, we put it in the freezer for pies or apple crisp.
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Tree Spud
5 year old buck +
Love apple crisp!
rocksnstumps
5 year old buck +
Update for various Ranetka seedlings. Like the postings by others about Dolgo seedlings, definitely some variation. It is a cross between Siberian Crab and Dolgo Crab. Overall though I am happy having a number of these just like others may have with Dolgo.
Ranetka A is already about 50% dropped started around Labor Day and compared to a Dolgo is not as good for taste (that being relative since Dolgo can be fairly tart to start with). This however is a vigorous tree with best growth and good natural crotch angles.
Ranetka B is largest fruit of the batch and I'd say aways from being ripe yet. Kinda hoping these hang long into Fall. This tree was critterized last year and lost the top half of the tree and so first year with a crop that made it this far into Sept.
Ranetka C is actually one that is the most interesting. It has just ripened and on first taste is very sweet but with a bit of an aftertaste at the end. Still I would rate this better than the nursery grafted Dolgo I have for flavor and maybe a good candidate for cider. But tree is young so right now production is limited.
Ranetka D also seems to have a bit to go before being fully ripe.
And jumping to a different topic, some pics of Franklin Cider planted spring 2017. Hoping to get a better read on how long these hang. Last year not many fruit and not sure if critters got em or they dropped early Octoberish. The hype on these was they could hang into and even past Dec. Will see
Ranetka A is already about 50% dropped started around Labor Day and compared to a Dolgo is not as good for taste (that being relative since Dolgo can be fairly tart to start with). This however is a vigorous tree with best growth and good natural crotch angles.
Ranetka B is largest fruit of the batch and I'd say aways from being ripe yet. Kinda hoping these hang long into Fall. This tree was critterized last year and lost the top half of the tree and so first year with a crop that made it this far into Sept.
Ranetka C is actually one that is the most interesting. It has just ripened and on first taste is very sweet but with a bit of an aftertaste at the end. Still I would rate this better than the nursery grafted Dolgo I have for flavor and maybe a good candidate for cider. But tree is young so right now production is limited.
Ranetka D also seems to have a bit to go before being fully ripe.
And jumping to a different topic, some pics of Franklin Cider planted spring 2017. Hoping to get a better read on how long these hang. Last year not many fruit and not sure if critters got em or they dropped early Octoberish. The hype on these was they could hang into and even past Dec. Will see
sandbur
5 year old buck +
Thanks for the interesting information on ranetka. I need to check labels and see if I have any left as is, or leave a nurse limb in place. I top worked some last year.
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sandbur
5 year old buck +
Most of my apple varieties are dropping early this year. Chestnut crab is running about ten days ahead of schedule and the deer stop nightly for a treat.
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I got a message from a classmate up in USDA Zone 3 in Minnesota (Granda Rapids).
He says the chestnut crab seems to be a favorite of deer up there, but frost took his crop out. I am on the Zone 3-4 junction.
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Bowsnbucks
5 year old buck +
I mentioned in a post on Aug. 14th that one of Sandbur's Yellow Dog seedlings (potted) stood at just over 51" tall - from the soil level - as of the 14th. It now stands at just over 54" tall. 3" growth in a few days. It started this spring at about 20 " tall. Most of Bur's seedlings have grown 30" this summer in pots.
sandbur
5 year old buck +
That is great growth.
The original Yellow Dog is full of fruit this year and another top work has some fruit. It is not disease free, but still produces loads of one inch fruit every other year.
I hope the seedling makes a good deer crab for you.
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Bowsnbucks
5 year old buck +
Bur -
We have other older, un-named apple trees that also have disease on them, scab I believe, but are also good biennial producers. Yellow Dog ought to fit right in.
I'm curious to see what the other seedlings will become - the Buckman seedlings. They all seem to have some variations in leaf size, shape, and limb orientation / crotch angles.
We have other older, un-named apple trees that also have disease on them, scab I believe, but are also good biennial producers. Yellow Dog ought to fit right in.
I'm curious to see what the other seedlings will become - the Buckman seedlings. They all seem to have some variations in leaf size, shape, and limb orientation / crotch angles.
sandbur
5 year old buck +
I have saved just a few seeds for planting this fall. I have chestnut crab, Geneva crab, and seeds from Sweet Dog, which is a seedling from a wild crab.
I have a few Kerr on the counter and might pull some of those seeds.
All are OP. Open pollinated .
I will probably grow only one seedling from each of those seed collections as I am running out of room, but this is my form of gambling.
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sandbur
5 year old buck +
Here is overnight evidence from my 30 year old Red Baron apple tree.
Drop times continue to be messed up after the drought. Right now, Red Baron, Haralred, and Haralson are dropping. Grandma’s seedling is about done.
Dolgo and chestnut are done and Trailman is long done.
Big Dog is dropping a few apples at a slow rate and there are tracks under it nightly.
Firecracker is dropping at a slow rate and a few apples have reached water core.
Kerr had a few dropping last week.
Some of my other crabs I have not checked on, since those areas are now off limits until the rut. I hope the bears stay out of them.
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rocksnstumps
5 year old buck +
Tend to agree maybe your weather has moved things up for your area. Here in NE WI the Dolgo and Chestnut still have about 1/3 hanging maybe more. Dolgo is way over ripe though. Whitney with just a few starting to drop now which is a bit later from normal. But maybe I'm remembering another Whitney which think voles or similar took out a few years ago during winter past 6th leaf .....grrrr. We have had plenty of wind and storms to shake things up in the last week too.
The Ranetka A and C are now done dropping while other couple still working towards getting ripe/some red blush. Have a few more that have not even fruited yet but all planted same time.
Several Franklin Cider trees are all still hanging tough. I would rate these an applecrab in size for all of them. I have a 4th that has really struggled to grow much and partially my neglect and part likely soil conditions given the glacial mixed up till along with slope changes and rockiness. This has likely made the Ranetka a bit variable in growth also.
The many red splendor, siberian, and sargent seedling crabs almost but not all hang well into winter and end up pretty much bird food. But that has benefits too. Oddly the bears like to thrash my red splendor trees late summer even with having larger apples around. Maybe they are red looking earlier than other trees. Dunno but they have killed 5 or 6 of them the last 1/2 doz years.
My best wild apple tree continues to be consistent and productive every year. Nothing special for human consumption but good enough for critters when it starts dropping late Oct into late Nov. It does have a great location facing south on top of the ridge so maybe that is more benefit than any random genetics.
The Ranetka A and C are now done dropping while other couple still working towards getting ripe/some red blush. Have a few more that have not even fruited yet but all planted same time.
Several Franklin Cider trees are all still hanging tough. I would rate these an applecrab in size for all of them. I have a 4th that has really struggled to grow much and partially my neglect and part likely soil conditions given the glacial mixed up till along with slope changes and rockiness. This has likely made the Ranetka a bit variable in growth also.
The many red splendor, siberian, and sargent seedling crabs almost but not all hang well into winter and end up pretty much bird food. But that has benefits too. Oddly the bears like to thrash my red splendor trees late summer even with having larger apples around. Maybe they are red looking earlier than other trees. Dunno but they have killed 5 or 6 of them the last 1/2 doz years.
My best wild apple tree continues to be consistent and productive every year. Nothing special for human consumption but good enough for critters when it starts dropping late Oct into late Nov. It does have a great location facing south on top of the ridge so maybe that is more benefit than any random genetics.
H20fwler
5 year old buck +
Nice looking tree.
I have a bunch of fifth leaf Sargent planted in my shrub strips, maybe fifty or more. They were the size of a pencil when planted and it was not feasible to protect them...the deer have browsed them so much they look more like three foot tall apple bushes than trees just now, still haven’t fruited for me yet but should be great for the birds in the area when they finally do.
sandbur
5 year old buck +
How does the Franklin crab taste? I have one on second or third leaf.
Maybe I asked you that question before. I can’t remember.
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rocksnstumps
5 year old buck +
Haven't tried to taste any Franklins yet. Think the few I had last year were gone before I got a chance. Maybe I should cut one open and see if seeds show it has ripened enough. I kinda figured they were a hard cider apple so fresh off the tree probably not great or maybe even a "spitter" I'll have to check in the next week or so and report back.
sandbur
5 year old buck +
One Jonsib easily came loose when I tipped the apple. I have Jonsib tacked on a Red Splendor flowering crab limb. The apple has done hail and bug damage, but I sampled the back side. It was crisp and very tart. It should make a good cooking apple.
The taste may mellow in the next few weeks and I have 3 more apples to taste. Relatively disease free.
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sandbur
5 year old buck +
One Jonsib easily came loose when I tipped the apple. I have Jonsib tacked on a Red Splendor flowering crab limb. The apple has done hail and bug damage, but I sampled the back side. It was crisp and very tart. It should make a good cooking apple.
The taste may mellow in the next few weeks and I have 3 more apples to taste. Relatively disease free.
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The apple seems quite large to be called a crab.
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chummer
5 year old buck +
I tried one last weekend and spit it out. I hope they get better if I’m going to be dealing with the FB on them. My dolgo are also rotting on the tree. Is that normal?
sandbur
5 year old buck +
Most of the crabs on my grafted dolgo have dropped, but I see a few on there.
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