iriscohen

Well, my crabapple bloomed for Passover, and was lovely for about a week. Now
it is all over the place, & I am unclear about what to do next. The books don't
always tell you what to do right now. Should I prune now or let it run until
the fall? I know there are a few new branches that need wiring, if I can find
them. There are also a couple of branches which need more growth, but most of
them are big enough & just need more twigging. Any suggestions? Should I
defoliate it?
Iris,
Central NY, Zone 5a, Sunset Zone 40
"If we see light at the end of the tunnel, It's the light of the oncoming
train."
Robert Lowell (1917-1977)

theo

HI

do you want it carry fruits?
if so leave some fruits where are estetically nice and prune the
others branches but be careful a leave 2 buds un the left part of
the pruned branch..
leave the others buds grow and make leaves and those ones that
will carry no fruits can be cut back end may -june leaving 2-4 pairs
of leaves but not later .. will form new twigs that will carry the
next flower in 05..
you can repot in oct nov after le leaves are fallen
and at the same time prune the branches that carried fruits if needed
or the branches that you do not want to keep for the overall structure
of the tree


Theo_694@hotmail.com or ICQ 25 666 169 4

L'Umiltà è la Peggiore delle Presunzioni (la Rochefocault)

"The difference between genius and stupidity is that genius has its
limits."
-Albert Einstein

jklewis

about a week. Now

The books don't

it run until

if I can find

growth, but most of

Should I


Here's what Dirr has to say about crabapple (aside from lamenting
about how disease prone they are -- and noting that the Asiatic
forms are more disease resistant than the North American forms)
pruning:

"Generally crabapples require little pruning, but if any is done
it should be completed before early June. Most crabapples
institute flower buds for the next season in mid-June to early
July, and pruning after this time would result in decreased
flower production the following year. Pruning may be done,
however, to remove ****er growth, open up the center of the plant
to light and air, to cut off out-of-place branches and shape the
tree."

Best I can say about defoliation, however, is that I defoliate my
pear bonsai and they're closely related. You might try a partial
defoliation and do it over the course of a couple of years.

Jim Lewis - jklewis@nettally.com - Tallahassee, FL - Only where
people have learned to appreciate and cherish the landscape and
its living cover will they treat it with the care and respect it
should have - Paul Bigelow Sears.

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stevew70146

One of my Cab Apples flowered last month. and has developed fruit. I did
some light pruning Saturday. To keep it i shape and to tighten it up. I will not
totally defoliate my CrabApples. I usually just do that with mith my
Maples,Elms and Beech
SteveW

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stevew70146

If I am not mistaken Blossom buds form on tips of older branches . It
doesn't pay to leave unwanted branches if it looks messy. Sometimes it is good to
have A sacrifice branch to draw the tree's resources and give the older
brsnches a chance to develop flower buds.
SteveW

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iriscohen

In a message dated 4/26/04 11:03:49 AM, STEVEW70146 writes:


How do you get them to fruit? Mine didn't.

<< If I am not mistaken Blossom buds form on tips of older* branches>>

Somebody reminded me they set buds early, so I pruned it already. Looks a lot
neater. I heard or read somewhere that crabapples respond poorly to
defoliation: the leaves come back just as big. Hopefully they will reduce as the tree
becomes twiggier.
Iris


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stevew70146

My tree has blossomed for about 4 years, but up until this year did not have
fruit. This past fall I used Super Phosphate. I collected this tree along
with 9 others over 10 years ago, the tree may have been 10- 15 years old at the
time. I have noticed that. the blossoms always form on the old hard wood on
all my Crab Apple Trees. 5 of the trees usually have blossoms ,.The one with
the fruithas a trunk with a diameterof about 1 1/2" at the base.Another
tree with a larger truck , hasn't blossomed yet.
I just pruned the large leaves at the tips. that is the only pruning I am
doing to this tree this year
SteveW

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kits

Actually, I have never seen the leaves reduce in size.
Enjoy for the flowers and the fruit. Remove all
leaves and all fruit except one for the look called
full moon between the branches in fall.

Kitsue Miko

=====
"Art does not take kindly to facts, is helpless to grapple with theories, and is killed outright by a sermon." Agnes Ropplier
(added to the above)
"How many things in life do we bludgeon with facts, render helpless
with theories, and kill with sermons? If art can help us go beyond
these patterns, we certainly need it in our lives."
Anne Wilson Schaef
From, "Women Who Do Too Much Calandar 2004."

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stevew70146

My tree has blossomed for about 4 years, but up until this year did not have
fruit. This past fall I used Super Phosphate. I collected this tree along
with 9 others over 10 years ago, the tree may have been 10-15 years old at the
time. I have noticed that. the blossoms always form on the old hard wood on
all my Crab Apple Trees. 5 of the trees usually have blossoms,The one with
the fruit, has a trunk with a diameter of about 1 and a half inches at the
base. Another tree with a larger truck, hasn't blossomed yet.
I just pruned the large leaves at the tips. that is the only pruning I am
doing to this tree this year
SteveW

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ccowing

FWIW I tried defoliating one of my crabapples, a wild collected specimen, a couple of
years ago. I saw no change in leaf size. This is why my crabapples and apples are on
the large side.

Craig Cowing
NY
Zone 5b/6a Sunset 37

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