Wow, those ^^^ look nothing like the other pics of C.C. that have been posted.
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Must be the lighting. Most of the C.C. pics I’ve seen seem to show a yellowish skin with a reddish/orange blush when ripe. I hadn’t thought there was much green to the fruit. Live and learn…
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Probably just ripe versus unripe.
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Well with a Clark"s on P.2 now. I will do one on M111. And maybe I will get a P.18 to do the last one. And see if P.18 fruits earlier then M111 as some references claim.
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They are very flavorful, as you say, with a good balance. Many people told me they are the best tasting apple they have eaten because they prefer that balanced flavor. My moms favorite is rome, and people who love romes only love rome. She enjoys a prarie spy for cooking. Apples in general are high in sugar with just enough sour to have people , racoons, squirrels, deer, etc, fighting over them. They are better than anything from the super markets here. @39thparallel has some wonderful apples he grows there at his orchard. It is worth the you pick visit if you ever get a chance.
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I would have left them longer if it wasn’t for the squirrels. It’s not just the lighting — they were definitely still green but with some blush. Not sure they’ll be able to fully ripen in Minnesota. Flavor was great though. I picked them around first frost (October 14). For comparison, my last GoldRush was still green (with mature seeds) when I picked it on November 19 when we first dropped to the low 20s.
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Thanks, I’ve wondered if it will survive a test winter here as well as if it will ripen.
If nothing else, deer should enjoy them
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i think that storage will allow them to further ripen. i picked mine when we had a 20f night coming otherwise i would have let them hang longer. ill store some of mine this year to see if they improve in storage.
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Clark- does your crab drop when ripe? Or hang on to over-ripe?
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They wont drop unless they are damaged until they are dead ripe. I picked them here many times in the snow when we had early winters. Halloween came and went and it was mid november and 30 degrees , blowing , snowing and i started picking them. They are highly tolerant of cold. Remember these apple seeds i grew are from roadsides in the Northern United States and the forests. The question was never would they tolerate the cold it was if they would tolerate the heat and lack of chill hours. I was still zone 5b here when i grew those apples. We are upgraded to zone 6a now. They will definately hang on the tree to answer your question. If you want a wonderfull apple for hanging on the tree get butterball. I would not leave any for the animals myself because i love them also. 39thparallel trees like that look like a super highway of animals tracks in the winter. Clarks crabapple is huge in comparison. The deer would be your best friends if you left either on the trees.
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Mar 29 2025-Clark’s Crab Graft
My observations are that Clark’s Crab seems to be able to tolerate the daily 
Caribbean heat. Additionally, it seems to be a vigorous grower (the 2 cleft grafts are over 10 inches) on my Multi-graft tree.
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LOL. That’s what happened when I kept cutting all the new growth to send out scion. Those trees had more apples then leaves. I’m trying to take better care of them this year. I cut back some fruit spurs and I’m allowing new growth. I will chemically thin this year.
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Thanks for your posts. I’m looking forward to hearing how it produces there. Clak’s Crab Is being planted in Puerto Rico this week.
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Flowering on a 2nd year benchgraft on M111.
Thats remarkable. Its not flowering on the old graftwood, but on the growth from last year.
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Cool looking dog, too!
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I posted this in the flower/fruit/buds thread, but wanted to put it here, too:
Mine is blooming on some of the growth it put on in its first year, too.
It’s definitely precocious
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Thank you! I’m glad to hear it is doing good for you.
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I have one on P.2. Think I will put it on Bud 10 and M26 for comparison .
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does anyone know the disease resistance of clark’s crabapple? like apple scab, powdery mildew, fire blight etc? thank you!