Why grow crab apples?

[greyphase]

That’s a seriously beautiful looking crab you have there Clark. Thanks for sharing it with us.

Rick

[tonyOmahaz5]

Lucky, Scott and all.

I would like to graft one real sweet and good flavor crab apple to my Red Fuji. Which variety would you recommend? Thx.

Tony

[greyphase]

I have a Centennial crab that is tasty.

[Michael357]

This is so timely, I just ordered 2 Sargent trees from National Arbor Day Foundation. One tree is going in the ground next to an apple I planted a few years ago next to our town’s community center. Thatapple tree now has lots of fruit buds on it but there are no pollinators around it, so it needs a buddy in order for me to get fruit off of it. Here comes Sargent. I was just interested about crabs and scoured the web for variety characteristics and came up with Sargent due to it’s growth habit and disease resistance characteristics. The apple it will be next to is a no spray tree except for CM. The other Sargent is going into a pot to grow in safety for a year in case the other one gets abused where it is planted.

[Appleseed70]

Curious Micheal…what was the apple variety you planted at the community center?

[Lucky_P]

Tony,
Centennial is hard to beat for a sweet crab; haven’t tasted Chestnut, but it always gets rave reviews.

Bill,
I got Craven crab scions from Joyce just before she passed her collection off to SeedSavers. I’m convinced that what she sent is not Craven…it’s a medium-size apple with red skin and mealy flesh, ripe in early summer.
Jim Lawson(Ball Ground GA) offered Craven from his nursery for years, but I don’t think Lawson’s is still in operation…Mr. Lawson was getting up in years when I last spoke with him, probably 10 years or more ago…

[cousinfloyd]

Thanks, everyone for the recommendations. I’m convinced. I do have the one Dolgo (that I weeded and mulched after reading this thread and getting excited about crabs), but I’d like to try some additional varieties. If I want to start by growing rootstock what should I use for rootstock? Anything I can grow myself (presumably from seed)?

[Auburn]

Lucky. My scions for craven might end up not being the true variety. I was hoping someone had enough information about it to make an accurate identification once it fruited. Thanks, Bill

[Lucky_P]

I think Alan (harvestman, or whatever pseudonym he’s using here) mentioned that he had Craven, and liked it - you might ask him for input.

[scottfsmith]

I have a bunch of crabs, thanks mainly to wood Lucky sent me a long time ago, but I was not a grafting expert then and I put them all too low. They barely stayed alive. Recently many of the main varieties they were on I removed, and now the crabs are finally starting to take off. The only crab I harvest a lot of is Wickson. It has a really good very sweet and unique flavor, but I have not found anything to do with them. I do like to eat them but they have hard chewy flesh and nobody besides me likes to eat 'em.

Lucky, on a related topic one of the crabs you sent was labeled Chestnut. It ended up being an October ripening apple with clear flesh like Wickson, so I don’t think its Chestnut. Its not Wickson either, its a bit smaller and more tannic. I’m very interested in it because it has a lot of sugar and tannin and should make a really good cider apple. Does it sound familiar to you?

Scott

[Lucky_P]

Scott,
I had Chestnut here at one time - but never fruited for me before I lost it - so I can’t swear that whatever I sent you was true to name; that’s a problem of trusting that what someone else sent was actually ‘as advertised’. Not sure what you got from me at that time, and I don’t remember who sent me the ‘Chestnut’ scionwood…sorry.

[clarkinks]

Thank you for the kind words about my apple tree. I really enjoy growing unique seedling apples and other fruits. I realize it does not have a lot of commercial value but it is very valuable to me and my family. It’s the thrill of not knowing what I’m growing that is addicting to me. In my meat and potato orchard I’m practical and grow predictable varieties on standard rootstocks. Sometimes a hobby turns out well as is the case with this apple.

[zendog]

Looks great. How big are they?

By the way, for anyone who wants to try some less usual crabs I’m offering some of the wood I received from ARS since I won’t be able to use all they so generously sent. These include Olga, Prairie Gold and a couple of interesting ones from the PRI breeding program that are probably too small (who wants crabs anyway? - me!) to be a regular release. T

[clarkinks]

They are about 2" wide and thick like grapes.

[Coppice]

I’m an amature. But when I lived in NH, I cam across a plantation of bigger than crabs, that a local described as “apple-crabs”.

They ripened late and tasted better than smaller crabs did.

As I get planted here, I’d like to listen in on crab growers and breeders.

[alan]

Lucky and Clark, I sure would be interested in some wood. I’d love to have a line of good tasting crabs that bore decent fruit without spray. I have some old strain Winesap that might work for you, but probably wouldn’t. Here in SE NY it can provide almost decent apples without spray.

[Coppice]

Alan, let me get a little more organised here. Spring of 2016 or 17 I’ll be more able to hunt.

[alan]

Thanks Coppice. How bout you, Lucky.

[Chikn]

Had Chestnut this fall from a farmers market in Wisc. 4-5 bites of apple heaven.

[clarkinks]

Alan,
Mine still need to be sprayed. They are delicious but not any more maintenance free than any other apple.