I think there are several totally different varieties being widely circulated as “Chestnut Crab” I have found photos that are clearly Dolgo being sold as “Chestnut Crab” Here is what I believe to be the true Chestnut Crab:
ripens late August and wood has a tan color.
Here is another “Chestnut Crab” I picked today. I really love it, but a totally different apple
For what it’s worth, those don’t look like my California-grown Wicksons. They’re a bit too big, and too consistently colored. Mine tend to show some yellow ground beneath a red blush and striping.
Wickson’s partially translucent flesh is pretty distinctive, as is its intense sweet-tart flavor.
I would agree with the top one being Chestnut, no idea on the lower picture.
Your description sounds enticing. I have a two inch graft that has refused to grow any more all summer. I’m hopeful to get to try a taste one day.
This thread has got me wondering what I’m growing as Chestnut crab. Very delicious but no where near as large as the ones pictured in this thread.
Greyphase, that strongly resembles ‘Centennial’ as grown here… but it’s ripe in late June-mid-July here.
Is Chestnut the biggest of the crabapples?
There are larger Crabapples. Crimson Gold might be the largest that is still often called a crabapple. That’s another variety with a lot of confusion around it.
Very true. You can still buy bags of Wicksons labeled as Crimson Golds at supermarkets here in California. I grow both, and they really don’t look (or taste) alike, but the practice persists.
What are the largest easy to find varieties? Are they something that would sell at a market?
I dont grow the apple. There are several things said to be known about the real chestnut crabapple
Chestnut Crab’ ; Scion Source, USDA ARS NPGS ; Vigor, Low ; Bud Break Timing, Early ; Bloom Timing, Very Early ; 3rd Year Flowering, Heavy. Chestnut Crab is one of the large fruiting selections (2+”), known for its sweet, nutty flavor. It tastes like fresh squeezed apple cider
Our crops are a month late its known to ripen in September so its about right on time
https://gilbysorchard.com/products/bare-root/apple-bare-root-trees/chestnut-crab/
Slight russeting around the stem is a good tip off but every orchard is different.
https://www.outonalimbapples.com/varieties/chestnut-crabapple
If it’s a non sunny location its much lighter colored i noticed. Some areas its very red that get more sun. Bloom time, russeting around stem on the top , size of fruit 2" wont change. That russeting reminds me a little of your roxbury russet but its much less pronounced.
This photo of yours below is no question chestnut but a full sun location could be completely red but still russeted around the stem
Though glibbys is more red its clearly the same apple. That brown star around the stem.is textbook. More that 3/4 of those chestnut apples would have markings like that.
At some point of its big enough there’s no reason to call it a crabapple. It’s just an apple then. Take ‘Liberty’ for example. It has crabapple lineage, but it’s bigger than a crabapple so we just call it an apple.
Chestnut Crab is the earliest to break dormancy for me. I start eating these the first week of Aug in my yard.
Z6 northern Ky.
That’s a good question. What is the actual difference between crabapple and regular apple?
Anything larger than 2" is no longer a crabapple. The size is the only difference. They are both the Malus genus.
Regular apple came from Asia and Crabapple is from America. Guess it’s kind of like Asian and American persimmons. Slight taste difference.
The term crabapple applies to many different species and hybrids of the Malus genus from around the world. A number of these species have contributed to the gene pool of modern domestic apples. Crabapple doesn’t refer to any particular species or hybrid, but is just a catch all term for all the small fruited types.
I could be wrong, but I assumed that crabapple referred to the native american apple. We do have our own apple native, it just taste like crap.
We do have multiple American native Malus species which we include under the term “crabapple”. The reason many crabapples don’t taste great is because far less of them have been as intensively selected for edible purposes. However, there are plenty of crabapples with the same range of eating qualities as regular apples, just packaged in a smaller fruit size.
My original question was driving toward taste. Do the improved crabs taste just like regular apples? Are they worth planting or does it make more sense to stick with apples?
