Coming from Kansas you can bet it will excel in many other climates. I’m looking forward to the pictures!
I’m inspired to cross Clarks with Wickson. I have a while before my trees are developed enough, so I guess I have some time to read up on apple breeding and experiment with other varieties.
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I added several Clarks Crab scions in 2023. One scion was on a vigorous shoot and it only had one bloom bud. All the other less vigorous grafts were loaded with blooms and small fruit.
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Clark- Or anyone- is there any reason to thin the crop on Clark’s Crab? I have not grown crabs before. Guessing the answer is no, but would like to confirm.
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A good question. I have a lot of crabs and heavy producer Applecrabs on my list.
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Good question. I just don’t have enough leaves to support this much fruit so I’m going to thin.
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This crabapple is not ordinary so i would recommend a little thinning untilit sizes up.
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I thin my edible crabs (Trailman, Chestnut, Whitney, etc) when I desire larger fruits
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My 2 specimens from 39th Parallel from last spring are full of flowers again. And I have last year’s batch of seeds germinating. Looking forward to planting seedlings at my gravel moraine in northern Montana, hoping to find hardy, fruitful selections in that cold,droughty, infertile setting.
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All of my grafted Clark’s crab from 2023 flowered this spring, which I promptly trimmed off. I was able to get several scions that I’ll use to top work some 30 year old trees with. Exciting!
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I saw this Estonian Crab used for juice/cider and thought about Clark’s Crabapple:
Another prolific fruiter
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I also grafted Clark’s Crab (1 scion) in 2023 on a low horizontal branch on my Enterprise apple on M7. It didn’t grow much but bloomed prolifically and at the same time as the Enterprise. Perhaps it’s flowering group 4 (FG4).
Sorry I didn’t take pics!
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I checked on the Clark’s crab graft from last year that survived the driest growing season I’ve experienced here. It is showing life, which kind of surprised me. This winter was no test for cold hardiness, so that will remain to be seen. I hope it actually rains this year and the Clark’s graft puts on some good growth.
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the two grafted bareroots I got from 39th parallel last fall are leafing out nicely this spring. I was a little nervous about planting in the fall, but happy to say those fears were unfounded.
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One of my friends used to say that after i had a few years with seeds, he no longer recognized the variety. What you are breeding for Montana from seeds they will adapt, and you will find those genetics are fairly stabalized in that Clarks crabapple. The baby trees will have similar qualities of the mother but potentially much much better. I selected the wildest hardiest trees already. An apple growing at my farm has to be pretty tough.
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my 4ft. Clarks crab from 39th parallel has buds are starting to swell. had flowers on it last spring that i pinched. hopefully get to try them this year. its growing where we removed a 5ft. diameter black willow 4 years ago. it should grow well there with plenty of drainage from all those rotting roots .
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Thanks for that info, Clark. I do anticipate genetics from Clark’s Crab will adapt to my spot in MT. 45 years ago I planted numerous apples & crab apples. The only surviving specimens are a windrow of Siberian crabs and one State Fair apple. The Siberians are only 10 feet tall, in part because bears tear down the branches each fall to eat the little crabs. Still, they are surviving & fruiting in a very short growing season on an infertile gravel bed. I’m hoping your seedlings will add to the mix.
take care, doug
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The Clarks crab at my mom’s is leafing… though It needs deer protection after winter browsing…close to a group of oldschool yellow delicious I hope to cross with. There are other red delicious and PRI apples near by but if I collect just the seeds from clarks crabs apples I should have some interesting combos… and maybe speed things up by grafting ortets.
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