Wild crabs

[Charman03]

Yes or no to a few of these?

http://www.nativnurseries.com/p-101-wild-crab-apple.aspx

 

[wiscwhip]

Keep in mind that native nurseries is in the south and provenance of seed will partially dictate whether they thrive in your area, in other words, get northern grown seedlings. Besides that if you want "wild" crabapples, hit the good guys on H-T up for some seeds and start your own in pots and transplant them yourself for free.

EDIT:
Exactly what stu said while I was typing my post!^^^

 

[CrazyEd]

Buy some rootstocks, order up to 25 varieties of scion from GRIN for free, buy a grafting knife for $25 on amazon and learn how to graft. Look at how many people on this forum are doing it, it's easier than you might think. Then you know what you're getting.

 

[Rally1148]

Buy some rootstocks, order up to 25 varieties of scion from GRIN for free, buy a grafting knife for $25 on amazon and learn how to graft. Look at how many people on this forum are doing it, it's easier than you might think. Then you know what you're getting.

X4345

I did that this spring, but I had wild trees already. My next step is to plant some B.118 or P.18/Antonovka and then bark graft them in a year or two.

I had 95%+ success on my grafts, so don't be intimidated!

 

[buckvelvet]

Been there, done this, didn't know what I was doing, DON'T!!!!

 

[chickenlittle]

Yes or no to a few of these?
http://www.nativnurseries.com/p-101-wild-crab-apple.aspx

Given you are in PA, I'd suggest ordering seedling apples from the Game Commission Nursery when they start taking orders in January. Small bare root stock, 25 for about $10. Flowering crabs and/or native sweet crabs. No need to graft them but you could after a year or 2 in the ground. I would not suggest trying to bench graft them before you plant them. Buy some pears and hawthorns too. And hazelnuts. And chestnuts. And ...

 

[Charman03]

Thanks for info guys. I really want to get some grabs going. May try grafting in the spring and try to get some scion on here and maybe order a few crab varieties from a nursery

 

[Bowsnbucks]

Charman - How soon are you looking to get fruit production ?? The Pa. Game Commission is a good bet if you want the most bang for your buck. I've gotten crabs from them, they are usually a mixed bag of crabs, unless you order American Sweet Crabapple. But the seedlings are in the 10" to 14" category and will take years to produce. If you want fruit in 3 to 6 years, I'd order from Saint Lawrence Nursery ( SLN ) or Cummins. SLN has a new owner, but is already sending out catalogs for 2016. ( Same varieties as the original owner ) I have All-Winter-Hangover, Winter Wildlife, Centennial, Chestnut, Trailman, Centurion, Dolgo, and Violi's crabs from SLN. First fruit in 3 years on some.

Or - since your location is Carlisle, check in with Adams County Nursery over in Aspers, Pa. ( ACN ) ph : 717- 677-8105, e-mail acn@acnursery.com. Their 2015 catalog has 6 varieties of crabs in it. They are one of the most highly rated nurseries in the whole country, year in and year out.

The other guys' suggestions for grafting are also a great way to go. Then you can pick & choose which kinds you want to propagate. Like NH said above, grafting is a bug that stays with you once you start !!!

 

[Charman03]

Charman - How soon are you looking to get fruit production ?? The Pa. Game Commission is a good bet if you want the most bang for your buck. I've gotten crabs from them, they are usually a mixed bag of crabs, unless you order American Sweet Crabapple. But the seedlings are in the 10" to 14" category and will take years to produce. If you want fruit in 3 to 6 years, I'd order from Saint Lawrence Nursery ( SLN ) or Cummins. SLN has a new owner, but is already sending out catalogs for 2016. ( Same varieties as the original owner ) I have All-Winter-Hangover, Winter Wildlife, Centennial, Chestnut, Trailman, Centurion, Dolgo, and Violi's crabs from SLN. First fruit in 3 years on some.

Or - since your location is Carlisle, check in with Adams County Nursery over in Aspers, Pa. ( ACN ) ph : 717- 677-8105, e-mail acn@acnursery.com. Their 2015 catalog has 6 varieties of crabs in it. They are one of the most highly rated nurseries in the whole country, year in and year out.

The other guys' suggestions for grafting are also a great way to go. Then you can pick & choose which kinds you want to propagate. Like NH said above, grafting is a bug that stays with you once you start !!!

Lots of good info, thanks. I will probably order some trees for sure so I can have fruit sooner than later. Plan on learning to graft as well for more long term and hopefully produce quality trees.

 

[SD51555]

Take this for what it's worth (free and on the internet). I bought some siberian crab plugs from Itasca last year in spring. I planted them right where they will spend the entirety of their days. Next summer will be their third growing season. I plan to head out there when it's 110 degrees and 99% humidity to try to t-bud some of them. If they don't take, hopefully I won't kiill the tree. All in I'm going to have about 60 cents into each tree, and I'm going to grab some bud wood from a good wild tree I will hopefully ID and GPS this fall. Not planning on any spraying or caging for the remainder of it's life. This plan is going to work, or the apple venture is over.

I'm banking on a longer time frame before they fruit. I'm hoping the tree is large enough that bears can climb into it before it produces.