Crabapple Varieties & guys' comments / input

Bowsnbucks

5 year old buck +
At Bur's suggestion I started this thread for all of us to list our crab varieties and make any comments - good or bad - about them. All input is welcome. We can learn from each others' experiences.

Bur asked me to list the varieties I have planted at camp. I keep records of the varieties and what rootstocks they're on. My camp is on the border of zone 5 & 6. We're on a high ridge top and our usual coldest temp. is about - 17 actual air temp.
We have :
2 Dolgo on Ant.
3 Chestnut - 2 on Ant. & 1 on B-118
2 Whitney on B-118
2 Hyslop on B-118
2 All-Winter-Hangover on Ant.
2 Winter Wildlife crab on Ant.
1 Violi's on Ant.
1 Nova Scotia on B-118
1 Centennial on Ant.
1 Centurion on Ant.
1 Trailman apple/crab on Ant.
3 Kerr on B-118
2 un-named crabs, one red - one yellow about 5/8" dia. fruit on both. ( From a Pa. Game Commission seedling sale )

The only comments I can make on these is the trees on Antonovka start slow, then kick into gear and grow pretty well in year 3. B-118 starts growing quicker in the first year or 2. No complaints on either rootstock for these crabs. I spray the crabs when I spray the " regular " apple trees, but unlike the regular apples, they have never shown signs of disease or even that bugs chew on them much at all. After 2 weeks since last spray and a rain or 2, regular apples will have bugs chewing on them, maybe a few spots on the leaves - but the crabs just don't change !!! They ALWAYS look good !!! I don't worry about them.
 
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Bow-please add your zone.

I will post later.
 
Bur - I listed our zone and location with normal coldest air temp. above the list of trees. I edited the post to add that info.
 
Nice thread. Planning on adding some crabs to my woods plot and hopefully grafting some wild crabs this spring if I can get scions. Definitely would like to add a dolgo, chestnut and kerr
 
I'm in a balmy zone 6A in southcentral Pa. I have a Dolgo & a Centennial planted near the house both of which were planted in 1995. They have both been reliable producers. They do suffer some bug damage but I don't do any spraying on them. No disease problems. Always get enough Dolgos for some super jam and enough Centennials for fresh eating. I would guess both are on M111 rootstock.
Winter Wildlife crab on Ant. stock planted in 2005 has been a reliable producer of late hanging crabs. Maybe hanging too late it still holds dried up crabs in March. Suspect birds get as many as the deer. No diseases but some bug damage.
7-29-15%20010_zps9n6coh7s.jpg

Viola Hanging crab on Ant. stock planted 2011. Has one very large crabapple on it for the first time. The large size maybe because it's the only fruit on the tree. Am anxious to see the size of the fruit next year. No bug or disease damage so far.
7-29-15%20002_zpsm4zu9bkf.jpg

All Winter HangOver on Ant. stock planted in 2013. I'm excited about this crab. It bore fruit this year of which I've left about 8 grow. The crabs show absolutely no bug damage or diseases.
8-7-15%20027_zpsifdgeu98.jpg

2015 is the year of the GRIN crabs. I successful grafted the following on B118 stock.
Linda Sweet. Described as a 1 1/2 inch crab hardy, sweet, russet skin. Seedling of Malinda Developed in South Dakota
Waubay Crab Described as a 1 1/4 inch crab all winter keeper, spicy, subacid sweet. Grimes Golden X Mercer crab Developed in South Dakota
Kerr Crab Described as a 1 1/2 inch crab. May be regarded as a large Dolgo but milder flavor. Dolgo X Harrison Developed in Alberta Canada
Shafer Crab Described as a 1 1/2 inch crab. Hardy yellow flesh, sweet. Rescue X Trail Developed in Alberta Canada
Have several native crabs that I'm evaluating that are late hangers, size of the Winter Wildlife, that show some bug damage but no diseases and are reliable heavy croppers.
Forgot my Chestnut crab on B118 stock, grafted in 2014 and planted in fall 2014. Bore fruit this spring, I left one crab on. No bug or disease damage.
8-13-15%20015_zpsjazfqbdv.jpg
 
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Greyphase very nice. Where you from in PA?
 
Grafted one year and fruit the next???
These must have been top worked or something
 
Grafted one year and fruit the next???
These must have been top worked or something

Might have been, but I had a grafted Hewes crab try and produce a couple apples this spring and I bench grafted it in 2014.
 
Grafted one year and fruit the next???
These must have been top worked or something

Not top worked. Cleft grafted to B118 in April 2014, planted in Oct. 2014 according to my records. Pulled several apples off it this spring, leaving only one. Also have a Galarina grafted in 2014 on B118 and planted in fall of 2014 put on some apples this spring. I left one on it too.
8-13-15%20016_zpsrmxij0nu.jpg

You run into some crazy things growing apples.
 
That's skill there
 
Grafted one year and fruit the next???
These must have been top worked or something

I have multiple crabs I grafted in spring 2014 (whip & tongue) that produced fruit this year. Winter Wildlife Crab and Centurion to name two. Not a good practice to let them fruit but it does happen for sure.
 
I don't know if Frostbite is a true crab but I have two on B.118 that have out grown all the other trees I have planted. They are pushing 8', had no winter setbacks, and been bug free. Apples are suppose to be 2". They were planted last spring. My Kerr on B.118 have also taken off this year after a slow start last year. They also had no winter damage.
 
I don't know if Frostbite is a true crab but I have two on B.118 that have out grown all the other trees I have planted. They are pushing 8', had no winter setbacks, and been bug free. Apples are suppose to be 2". They were planted last spring. My Kerr on B.118 have also taken off this year after a slow start last year. They also had no winter damage.

Frostbite has been an early and consistent producer for me on b118 roots. I would consider it an apple rather than a crab, but the apples are smallish. Frostbite gets hit bad with CAR every year at my place. Only the leaves, not the fruit.
 
Frostbite leaves are showing considerable CAR on my place.
 
I consider my place to be Zone 3B. Some of the new maps show 4A, but we have hit -44 or so and most winters hit -35.

I have two old crab apples on my place.
Dolgo on ant. that has been in place for 27 years. Dolgo tends to drop it's apples all at once and that will be sometime between now and Labor Day. Disease free, hardy, and it makes great apple sauce and jelly.

I have a chestnut crab on an unknown rootstock, but it is shorter than the dolgo on ant. It has no major disease problems and drops apples over a 3-4 week period that usually runs almost to Oct. 1. It also makes great applesauce and the flavor changes from early ripening to late ripening. By far my favorite apple.IMG_8065 chestnut crab.jpg


I have 3 other chestnuts that are over 15 years old and another 8-10 that are younger. There is a tree well up into USDA zone 3 and it is doing fine after about 20 years or so.
 
Firecracker crab from Jungs that has been in place since 2010. Unknown root stock and this is the first year with fruit.

IMG_8067 firecracker crab planted 2010.jpg
 
Whitney on dolgo that was grafted this spring. The scion was thick which might have helped a lot, but it has been my fastest grower.

IMG_8063 whutney on dolgo.jpg
 
Golden Hornet on dolgo

IMG_8068 golden hornet on dolgo.jpg

and Kinder Krisp on dolgo also did well. Perhaps big healthy scion is the key to good growth?IMG_8069 kindercrisp on dolgo.jpg
 
These are a repeat of pictures from about a week ago on the Sandbox thread.

Seed collected 2007 for these trees which are now producing. The seed source is wild crabs.IMG_8015 2007 seed collection.jpg

IMG_8010 2007 seed collection.jpg

Whitney cleft graft on one of the trees from the 2007 seed collection. This tree had very small apples last year, so I chose to top work it.

IMG_8016 whitney crab on 2007 seed collection.jpg
 
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