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Post by hornzilla on Sept 1, 2005 16:02:18 GMT -5
Today, I was mowing a field that had a lot of crab-apples in it. So, I took a bag home. My ? is, If I was to plant them in my woods would they grow? If so do you plant the apple or just the seeds?
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Post by kevin1 on Sept 1, 2005 20:48:32 GMT -5
You can plant them from seed , but you'd better have lots of patience .  Just try hunting near the existing crabapples if possible . |
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Post by hornzilla on Sept 3, 2005 14:54:55 GMT -5
Kevin, what do you mean? As for hunting near the existing one there in the middle of a field with NO cover.
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Post by kevin1 on Sept 4, 2005 9:56:55 GMT -5
Planted from seed a crabapple tree won't produce a meaningful amount of fruit for at least five years , and possibly longer . A better bet would be to get some saplings from a nursery and plant them , you'd see your first fruit in 2-3 years then . Crabapples like full sun , but you could plant some in your woods if there is a small cleared area that gets at least 6-8 hours of full sun daily .
As for the existing ones , you have time to "create" cover with a pop-up blind or hay bales before the season starts if there is good sign under the trees . Deer adore crabapples , but may only feed on them at night since there is no cover for them . You could also find their entry points at the field edge and set up nearby .
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Post by hornzilla on Sept 4, 2005 10:45:34 GMT -5
Kevin, where is the best place to get saplings from? What nursery's? As for this fall I think I'm going to hunt the field edge's. Thanks for the info.
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Post by kevin1 on Sept 8, 2005 6:09:02 GMT -5
www.morsenursery.com/search_results.phpThis site had some very interesting varieties , but you can find crabapple saplings at nearly any nursery , I've even seen them at Big Lots . If your local nurseries don't carry them most will be glad to order some for you , be sure they understand that you want a fruiting variety rather than just a type that only flowers . Another alternative would be to propagate some cuttings from the existing trees , the best method would be a process called "air layering" , but it's a bit late in the year for that . The process is simple to do and produces what are basically clones of the donor plant . This link will explain how to do it: aggie-horticulture.tamu.edu/extension/ornamentals/airlayer/airlayer.html
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Just try hunting near the existing crabapples if possible .