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Post by hornzilla on Aug 20, 2006 17:34:42 GMT -5
I have a couple crab apple trees in the yard that has buckets of apples on them. What is the best way to start some more to plant in the woods?
If you plant the apples that fall off will they grow?
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Post by danf on Aug 20, 2006 21:02:10 GMT -5
If they are truly CRAB apples then your best bet is to go buy trees at a local nursery.
I don't know of any crabapple that isn't grafted, before being sold commercially. However, I think you can buy crabapples from the state nursery that are seedlings, ungrafted.
What the grafting means is what you see above the ground is a different variety than what the root system is. This is done because certain trees have a good "top" (scion) with favorable traits (i.e.- showy flowers, great fruiter, etc), but has a poor root system. Then there are those with a great root system (rootstock) but not a good top. The rootstock and scion are then grafted together and you get the tree that is in your backyard.
You may have some luck with planting the fruits, but don't expect anything, and if you do get some sprouts, don't expect the same tree that you have in the backyard.
If I remember to in the next couple of nights, I'll take a look at one of my books and see what Dr. Dirr says about propagation of crabs in general.
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