Clark's Crabapple

@krismoriah

Yes many years before they offered either apple or were likely available to be offerred i was growing my apple. They could be seedlings of my apple but i dont think so i think there is a wild apple as i mentioned with highly dominant genetics. They both likely did what they said gathered some wild seedling apples. They very much liked them when they tried them and grew their own version of a genetically different crabapple. A gentleman gathered wild apples at one point many years ago from the Michigan woods. He used the apples for his needs and made money from the seeds and seedlings he sold. My crabapple and other apples came from the best wild apples they had in those forests. If your going to start an apple that can survive in Kansas nothing but wild seed will do the tree must be ultra hardy. Those seedlings were never sprayed once where they come from. Naturally the seedlings of those wild apples are genetically superior to anything else just like a wild callery pear will ultimately win dominance. This world the rules are survival of the fittest unfortunately and that seedling did not die of the diseases this world has.New Apple Seedling Varieties

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I bought two of your crabs from 39th… also got an ayers and seckel pear… (also by reading your reviews)… Thank You!

My bees are gonna either be very happy or very tired…

I think i will be very tired too. I am up to about 150 fruit trees and almost 500 cane fruits.

I recently got into garlic collecting and heirloom tomato collecting.

I want to narrow my corn down to two but i keep trying new ones…

Im down to 4 varieties of strawberries and hope it stays that way.

Next year i gotta get my figs and mulberries sorted out… ive collected them and its time to narrow it all down so that it makes sense.

Thanks for the opportunity to grow your crabapple…it will have a very nice home here.

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@krismoriah

That sounds like you have some great projects going on. Look forward to seeing you post many of your results as time permits. Think if i did not enjoy all of this so much i might not do as well at it. Im saying i can tell in this community we are all at home because we like growing things. Thankfully my mother literally had me outside working the garden with her since my birth. She had to keep an eye on me and get the beans , tomatoes etc planted, weeded , and picked. That gives me a huge advantage literally having always been around it. Have been very fortunate to have great parents who took care of me and taught me these things that keep me alive. They had great friends and i learned lots from them as well. Really dont know any other way of life.

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I’ve communicated with the owner of Blue Hill, nice guy and a straight shooter. I wouldn’t hesitate to buy from him.

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Was back in the apple storage after you all got me thinking about them again.

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Speak of seedling apples my understanding is @SkillCult has been turning out some great new apple varities specifically “bite me”. Since we talked apples in 2016 and several times since then i saw he loves growing apples and self sufficiency like i do. When we talked apples on this thread New Apple Seedling Varieties he continued on that path to improve the availability and taste etc. of red fleshed and other apples. It appears his apple breeding project is going well since he released one. Wish everyone was interested in apples. We wish him the best on his project.

https://skillcult.com/plant-breeding

@39thparallel has continued on his path of growing the ultra rare varities like Clark’s crabapple or the lazy j pear and hundreds of more types of ultra rare apples, pears. Jujube, persimmon, pawpaw, Cherries, mulberry, etc. Not even half of it has made it to his website yet

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Those fruit look to be all of 2"? Any chance your crab is more of a small apple? Many of my Keepsake fruit are under 2", yet they’re considered an apple.

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@smsmith

Yes Clark’s crabapple can be larger than 2 inches and frequently are. They are perfect for eating because i eat what i want instead of facing down a softball sized apple. Prefer mandarin oranges for the same reason usually. If i want more i eat 2 apples. There are other reasons i prefer more reasonable sized fruit. Think about insects and disease related to apples. One apple gets scarred by pc no problem. How about children ? Do adults really think they want a huge apple? These apples should be in every kids lunch. Like cherry tomatoes for the same reason but i like the cherry tomato that is more of a salad tomato between full sized and small. The little ones give me an aching back picking the small tomatoes. These apples are nice to pick so that part is pretty easy for me.

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I would have likely ordered more than i did but as you say they arent for sale. I think you said the same thing last year so ive been waiting.

image

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@krismoriah

@39thparallel is very selective on what he grows and sells. If you have received his trees before you likely know that. He tries to keep prices down as well. He grows many things at his orchard worth seeing in the summer. Usually i try to take a few pictures when im there.

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There were a couple shown in stock on Mike’s website this morning. I snagged one; the other is still there if someone else is still looking for one.

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@39thparallel
@clarkinks
There is a first time for everything. Ordered my first ever scion and it was the Clark’s Crab. I guess I got the last one.

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@Auburn @39thparallel

That will give us a good idea how it does in warmer climates. I’m suspecting it will get really sweet there under that slightly hotter sun. It can take Kansas extreme weather so i think it will be fine in most places. Figured you had ordered a thousand scions by now so that is a big compliment. Thanks

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Started out with a few trees and through several swaps I’m overloaded. With a small space I only add a few that really catches my eye.

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I added 40 more scions to the site. I looked at the trees and there is plenty available. The reviews on the variety should in soon because it’s fast to bear fruit. Someone told me a nursery tree I sold them in the Spring produced a couple apples this fall.

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@39thparallel

Those scions look good!

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I may have to start more if demand keeps up. It will probably be all fruit spurs in a couple years because of the heavy bearing tendency.

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Great looking scions there. Can’t wait to do some grafting and see how they hold up to MN weather.

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I may not wait to plant one and may just get a bareroot now. It says on your website the Clark’s Crab are semi-dwarf, but I do not see anything regarding what rootstock—any chance you can provide more information on that (and my apologies if I missed it on your site)?

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I grafted them on M111 in 2022. B118 and M111 in 2021. I might have a few B118 in the nursery, but they are mostly on m111. If you buy a tree from me, it will specify the rootstock on the tag. It seems to grow vigorously on any rootstock, but I imagine it may runt out eventually on m111 when it starts bearing heavy crops. A smaller tree on drought resistant, free-standing rootstock is ideal to me. If you want a semi-dwarf tree size tree, B118 or even standard size rootstock might be the ticket.

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