Does all crabapple have flowers and fruits?

[vp999]

So..I've got this nice crabapple with killer trunk line, I bought it last year and it never flowered, this year my other crabapples already flowering but this one is all leaves and growing strong. Are there some crabapple that doesn't flower or fruit at all? Like a male and female type of thing. Thanks in advance.

 

[leatherback]

All malus flower.

All malus?
Well, no, there seem to be individual that can resist the natural urge to flower and take decades to start budding out.

But that being said. In theory, all varieties flower. Just some individuals are annoying.

Note, a crapapple can easily take 10 years to mature and start flowering. I have a bunch of seedling-bought trees, now 8 years with me, so about 10 years old. None of them flowering yet.

 

[Tums]

Apples flower on old wood. Could you have pruned them off?

 

[Shibui]

Apples actually flower on short fruiting spurs which are specialized 'old' wood.

all leaves and growing strong.

is the key to this mystery. Young trees that are growing fast tend to put on much more vegetative wood which often does not produce flowers. Trees that have been hard pruned do a similar growth.
As the tree ages it tends to start growing more and more fruiting spurs. Judicious pruning can also trigger fruiting spur production.

Getting flowers and then fruit on any apples is a combination of age, nutrition and pruning. You will need to investigate which factors you need to modify to induce flowers on your trees but don't be in too much of a hurry to get to flowering. If your tree is still developing it can be far more productive to forego flowers in favor of thickening and ramification. Plenty of time for the flowers when the tree has developed well.

 

[sorce]

Like a male and female type of thing

This is going to end up being the nail in the coffin for my "trees are smarter than us" campaign.

The trees are making "non-binary" jokes as we speak!

No doubt which will be on the planet longer!

Sorce

 

[namnhi]

I have a few that only flower but never set fruit.

 

[vp999]

Thank you all.,.The trunk of the said tree is about 1.5 inch so I don't think its a maturity issue. I noticed this year its growing a lot more vigorously than the last.

 

[leatherback]

.The trunk of the said tree is about 1.5 inch so I don't think its a maturity issue.

This malus raft in a 2ft container is not flowering yet..

 

[vp999]

Here is the one I’m talking about

 

[leatherback]

Here is the one I’m talking about

Looks like a fairly young plant to me.

It is important to realize that cuttings / layers from flowering crabapples typically flower within a few years, whereas seed grown need a long time to reach flowering maturity.

 

[Shogun610]

I got crabs too

 

[vp999]

I got crabs too

Looks like we all got crabs lol. Damn it Sorce!!!

 

[leatherback]

Looks like we all got crabs lol. Damn it Sorce!!!

must have been a good party..

 

[namnhi]

Looks like a fairly young plant to me.

It is important to realize that cuttings / layers from flowering crabapples typically flower within a few years, whereas seed grown need a long time to reach flowering maturity.

Agree. Mines are airplayed or rooted cutting.

 

[Shibui]

Here is the one I’m talking about

You can see that all the branches are young, vegetative growth. There are no short fruiting spurs on the tree yet.
Even though the trunk is old enough to be mature enough for flowering it has not yet developed the means to flower.
Do some research on pruning apples to promote fruiting wood. It may take a few years to get it do the right stage to have flowers but after that there is no problem.
Most apples can produce flowers at the tips of vegetative shoots but we usually prune those off before they get to flower. I would sacrifice flower buds at the tips in order to develop fruiting spurs anyway as they are forever while tip flowers are a one week wonder.
IMHO pruning to produce good branching should have precedence at this stage anyway. Flowers only last a few days but good branching will be there for the life of the bonsai so if it becomes a choice between a few flowers and ramification I would go for ramification for the next couple of years at least.

 

[vp999]

Thank you so much ! I will read up on pruning for branching development and proceed.