Help on a couple apple tree choice for home

[Wind Gypsy]

I've ordered a handful of apple and crab apple trees for the land but my wife wants a couple at home that are easier for us to pick and enjoy. I have the following on order:

From Wallace:
3 Red Baron
3 Chestnut Crab
3 Dolgo

From Midwest Deer Trees:
2 Kerr
2 Yellowbelly crab
2 Enterprise

My questions - will I need to plant more than 2 to get good cross pollination at home? Which 2 should I plant at home knowing they wont be for deer as much? A red Baron and an enterprise or chestnut crab is what my first thought was. We do have a lot of Eastern Red Cedars in our yard so they would need to be very CAR resistant.

 

[sandbur]

I've ordered a handful of apple and crab apple trees for the land but my wife wants a couple at home that are easier for us to pick and enjoy. I have the following on order:

From Wallace:
3 Red Baron
3 Chestnut Crab
3 Dolgo

From Midwest Deer Trees:
2 Kerr
2 Yellowbelly crab
2 Enterprise

My questions - will I need to plant more than 2 to get good cross pollination at home? Which 2 should I plant at home knowing they wont be for deer as much? A red Baron and an enterprise or chestnut crab is what my first thought was. We do have a lot of Eastern Red Cedars in our yard so they would need to be very CAR resistant.

Red Baron, Chestnut, Kerr, and Enterprise have not shown much if any CAR. I just planted a yellow belly this fall.

My enterprise has been a disappointment to me, but I found that one shipment of trees from SLN had lots of winter damage low on the trunks. This was years ago and I suspect a cold first winter hit them hard. It looked like sun scaups, but was on even the north sides of the trees.

I don’t know about bloom times and groups. There are enough flowering crabs and other apples on my place that I never worry about it.

I would probably go with chestnut crab and Red Baron. Dolgo is good for jelly and red apple sauce if you process the whole apple. Kerr is great for sauce, cider, and jelly.


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[Telemark]

I would order different trees for home use.

 

[Native Hunter]

Unless you are making cider or just want crabapples for some reason, I agree with Telemark's comments above. For eating apples, most people like larger sized fruit.

Like Sandbur, I have so many apples that I don't worry about pollination. However, if it is a concern, there is an easy way to check for pollination partners. Go to the following website at this link:

Online pollination checker for fruit trees

Select your apple, pear, plum or cherry tree variety and we will suggest pollination partners based on flowering group, bloom period, and other attributes.

www.orangepippintrees.com

I just entered Enterprise and it came back with 30 apples in the same pollination group.

 

[4wanderingeyes]

I like to have a crab of either Dolgo, or Cheatnut near eating apple trees for pollination. But Chestnuts are one of my favorite eating apples anyhow, so it’s a bonus. Dolgo has a long bloom time, so it covers a majority of all my apples. I also have a couple flowering crabs/bird apples that hold their bloom longer then any others I have.

 

[White Oak]

I would order different trees for home use.

While I don't have any personal experience with these variety's YET , From my research I plan on going with Liberty, Yates, Arkansas black and Enterprise for disease resistance

 

[homerj1]

For home use, I'd think a person would want trees on smaller rootstock than most "deer" trees are grafted to. I suppose if you have acres of yard then it wouldn't be an issue. If you have a 1/4 acre yard a few mature apple trees dumping bushels and bushels of fruit on your lawn is going to be a major PITA.

 

[Wind Gypsy]

For home use, I'd think a person would want trees on smaller rootstock than most "deer" trees are grafted to. I suppose if you have acres of yard then it wouldn't be an issue. If you have a 1/4 acre yard a few mature apple trees dumping bushels and bushels of fruit on your lawn is going to be a major PITA.

Thanks. we've got 6 acres at home so should be able to find some space but the rootstock deal is a good point as I think all my trees are on dolgo or "standard" rootstock.

 

[Mortenson]

So along that thinking, get a honeycrisp on a yard rootstock! Local honeycrisps were out of this world this past year. I know they're not low maintenance, but at your home maybe you can keep on top of problems.

 

[homerj1]

Which varieties to plant would probably depend at least partially on what kind of apples you like to eat.

 

[sandbur]

I've ordered a handful of apple and crab apple trees for the land but my wife wants a couple at home that are easier for us to pick and enjoy. I have the following on order:

From Wallace:
3 Red Baron
3 Chestnut Crab
3 Dolgo

From Midwest Deer Trees:
2 Kerr
2 Yellowbelly crab
2 Enterprise

My questions - will I need to plant more than 2 to get good cross pollination at home? Which 2 should I plant at home knowing they wont be for deer as much? A red Baron and an enterprise or chestnut crab is what my first thought was. We do have a lot of Eastern Red Cedars in our yard so they would need to be very CAR resistant.

For some reason, I thought you were in USDA zone 3. Zone 4 is correct?

That will give you more choices.


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[Wind Gypsy]

For some reason, I thought you were in USDA zone 3. Zone 4 is correct?

That will give you more choices.


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Home is in wright county in 4b, Land is a little further north on the 3b/4a boundary in kanabec county.

 

[bwoods11]

Red Baron & Chestnut Crab should be good yard tree options.

 

[bigboreblr]

I'd throw in a pear tree or two. They're seem to be easier to produce fruit for people.

Apple trees have a flowering hormone thats controlled by the amount of "cold days". If the winter is too mild, your trees will not produce. Folks think a oddball frost event in the spring ruins their trees, when its the lack of enough cold to make this hormone happen. I though it was an inhibitor hormone, and the cold dormant days fizzle the level. Level gets low enough, tree produces flowers.

This is part of the problem with my old orchard, these trees dont get the cold they used to.

Hardiness zones may not reflect this number. Most quality sources state the number of cold days needed. Pears I believe do not have this problem and produce fruit more consistently and younger too.

Agriform tablets help too.

 

[sandbur]

Red Baron & Chestnut Crab should be good yard tree options.

I have two of those trees that are over 30 years old. RB had severe sunscauld before I knew what it was and it still is producing.


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[sandbur]

I'd throw in a pear tree or two. They're seem to be easier to produce fruit for people.

Apple trees have a flowering hormone thats controlled by the amount of "cold days". If the winter is too mild, your trees will not produce. Folks think a oddball frost event in the spring ruins their trees, when its the lack of enough cold to make this hormone happen. I though it was an inhibitor hormone, and the cold dormant days fizzle the level. Level gets low enough, tree produces flowers.

This is part of the problem with my old orchard, these trees dont get the cold they used to.

Hardiness zones may not reflect this number. Most quality sources state the number of cold days needed. Pears I believe do not have this problem and produce fruit more consistently and younger too.

Agriform tablets help too.

I respectfully disagree for my climate on the zone 3/4 border. Pear trees are harder to get to fruit from here north and even here.

I also think late frosts are a major factor in low production years and it throws trees into an every other year mode. (Pruning helps)

So far, chill hours have not been a problem.


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[sandbur]

I respectfully disagree for my climate on the zone 3/4 border. Pear trees are harder to get to fruit from here north and even here.

I also think late frosts are a major factor in low production years and it throws trees into an every other year mode. (Pruning helps)

So far, chill hours have not been a problem.


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I have seen some pear trees produce great crops on the Wright/ Stearns border area. I know of one tree south of Kimball.


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[4wanderingeyes]

I know chill hours hasnt even been close to being a problem, most years I double the amount needed for my trees.

I also know that when it gets down in the single digits at night, in May, when my trees are flowering, it probably has something to do with it. Zones 3/4 havent had problems with lack of cold days.

Also last year, drought had a major factor, when you only get 1.75 inches of rain from April to September, you wont get much fruit.

I have tried pear trees in zone 4, out of 5 years, I got pears 1 time. I wont even try them now in zone 3b.

 

[ruskbucks]

I've ordered a handful of apple and crab apple trees for the land but my wife wants a couple at home that are easier for us to pick and enjoy. I have the following on order:

From Wallace:
3 Red Baron
3 Chestnut Crab
3 Dolgo

From Midwest Deer Trees:
2 Kerr
2 Yellowbelly crab
2 Enterprise

My questions - will I need to plant more than 2 to get good cross pollination at home? Which 2 should I plant at home knowing they wont be for deer as much? A red Baron and an enterprise or chestnut crab is what my first thought was. We do have a lot of Eastern Red Cedars in our yard so they would need to be very CAR resistant.

I have a chestnut crab in my front yard that I ordered from Wallace Woodstock. It is a awesome tree. I think it has been in the ground 4 or 5 years it has grow like a weed, and it probably had 200 apples last fall on it. I bought it after sandbur said it was a favorite of his. I wish I had planted some on my hunting land. I have 2 comming this spring for the hunting land.

 

[bigboreblr]

I have seen some pear trees produce great crops on the Wright/ Stearns border area. I know of one tree south of Kimball.


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Some folks on here are in warmer spots than me. Usually cold days is not a big problem. Definitely wouldnt be in my adirondack camp in zone 3B. I live 1 mile from the hudson river and our zone is 5A I believe here. Only maybe 75 miles north of me, but those lake ontario winds getting that canada air makes a huge difference. Being near a river helps with the cold sometimes too.

Pears were a casual observation between the folks I know who dabble in the backwoods arts......... The couple of guys at work probably all get the same trees from home depot or tractor supply too.