Shohin crabapple, ‘sargentii’

Lars Grimm

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A well deserved thanks for your diligence.

I personally think you can lop either trunk or none, though lopping one would make it "easier".

And a tilt to get movement out the soil.

Lotta options. Difficult even!

Nice.

Sorce

I think a heavy tilt is in order and likely remove the smaller trunk. This went from a large nursery container to this small one, so I'm excited to see what buds I have to work with this year.
 

Lars Grimm

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Maybe it’s just me, but the reason I pursue bonsai is to seek tranquility and enlightenment, not to have arch opinions or make sharp judgements. This “show me your trees” rhetoric is essentially equivalent to “drop your pants, because mine is bigger than yours”.

On many levels I completely agree with what you are saying, but I also think one challenge is that so many people express very strong opinions about the 'right' or 'wrong' way to do things. One metric of whether that opinion carries weight is if that person has put those opinions into practice and can show promising results.

I 100% agree that tone and nuance cannot be conveyed in a forum, although @sorce probably comes the closest to expressing his mind fully =)
 

just.wing.it

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On many levels I completely agree with what you are saying, but I also think one challenge is that so many people express very strong opinions about the 'right' or 'wrong' way to do things. One metric of whether that opinion carries weight is if that person has put those opinions into practice and can show promising results.

I 100% agree that tone and nuance cannot be conveyed in a forum, although @sorce probably comes the closest to expressing his mind fully =)
Psychological Nudity 👍
 

JudyB

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I have an old thread that @Martin Sweeney gave me this advice for ramifying crabapples, it worked well for me... You probably use this technique, but thought I'd copy and paste it here anyway.

For building ramification, you can cut back any time during the growing season. Just be aware that this can inhibit flowering on those branches for several years. The best practice for ramifying crabapples, and getting them to flower, is to nip the terminal buds early in spring when the new shoots are about an inch long. Then let them run for the remainder of the growing season, and in the fall, cut this year's shoots back to where you nipped them in the spring in. The next spring you should get 2 or 3 new shoots in those areas.
After you have nipped the early shoots, feel free to trim shoots that may be thickening too much and/or defoliate them to allow light to the inner parts of the plant. These branches are going to be cut off anyway.
 

Martin Sweeney

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I have an old thread that @Martin Sweeney gave me this advice for ramifying crabapples, it worked well for me... You probably use this technique, but thought I'd copy and paste it here anyway.

For building ramification, you can cut back any time during the growing season. Just be aware that this can inhibit flowering on those branches for several years. The best practice for ramifying crabapples, and getting them to flower, is to nip the terminal buds early in spring when the new shoots are about an inch long. Then let them run for the remainder of the growing season, and in the fall, cut this year's shoots back to where you nipped them in the spring in. The next spring you should get 2 or 3 new shoots in those areas.
After you have nipped the early shoots, feel free to trim shoots that may be thickening too much and/or defoliate them to allow light to the inner parts of the plant. These branches are going to be cut off anyway.

Judy,

Sounds like good advice. May have to start using it. But it didn't come from me!

Regards,
Martin
 

JudyB

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Judy,

Sounds like good advice. May have to start using it. But it didn't come from me!

Regards,
Martin
That's funny, I guess the advice came so long ago I don't remember who it came from! I'll have to go look it up to get it correctly attributed now. I just cut and paste good advice into a word document that I keep...

It was from @Stan Kengai duh... 🙂
 

Brian Van Fleet

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Repotted this crab yesterday, as it is breaking bud...along with the other couple crabs planted in the ground. Long-range forecast still holding up!
Unpotted, showing good root growth over the last 2 years:
BF6A0424-414A-4630-844F-4052B0015C16.jpeg
Combed out, and sprayed with a hose to remove old soil:
91FE56F1-2644-416E-A3B1-01D06C2B6ECE.jpeg
Roots trimmed back:
71CD5DA8-A41A-470B-80FC-E9D7FBEAB195.jpeg
Secured into the pot:
BF53E62F-BF02-4CF5-A098-B01FE9E012B7.jpeg
Fresh soil, topped with a little sphagnum, watered well:
34C86F55-33A0-4DA4-81BD-69EAE1E412A3.jpeg
 

discusmike

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Any issues keeping leaves from getting to big? Do you do partial defoliating?
 

Brian Van Fleet

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Any issues keeping leaves from getting to big? Do you do partial defoliating?
I’m not too worried about leaf size. I have cut large leaves in half to get light inside the tree, and they’ll probably always be on the large side. They may reduce with ramification, but the fruit is the prize. They’re small.
 

ralf

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LOVELY pot, it would make a great match with p. spinosa - leafless and with some berries...
 

misfit11

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Looking great Brian. I'm wondering about what your plans for the roots are. It looks like youve got two (maybe more but difficult to tell from the picture) large roots that are somewhat problematic. I have very little experience with crabs but I think I have typically seen them in deeper pots so maybe it's a non-issue. That being said are you hoping to chase the roots back toward the base?

71CD5DA8-A41A-470B-80FC-E9D7FBEAB195~2.jpeg
 

Brian Van Fleet

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Looking great Brian. I'm wondering about what your plans for the roots are. It looks like youve got two (maybe more but difficult to tell from the picture) large roots that are somewhat problematic. I have very little experience with crabs but I think I have typically seen them in deeper pots so maybe it's a non-issue. That being said are you hoping to chase the roots back toward the base?

View attachment 357640
Plan is to keep it in a deep pot so it’s a non-issue.😉
 

Brian Van Fleet

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Night shot with some flowers. Been gone all week, so I can’t tell if they’re opening or closing! Good news is that they’re in close, so I can prune back the crazy growth and keep any fruit that sets.
D5B78DD3-BBE0-4AF2-B0A4-60A9580F6D67.jpeg
 

JudyB

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Cleaned up a little, 3 apples set. Hopefully they’ll hang on...
View attachment 376814
Next year, I’ll have to remember @JudyB tip on pinching/pruning.
I have that convo saved, I can cut and paste if you'd like. Looking wonderful and it is so nice the combination.
 

LanceMac10

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Water well and they won't drop.....birds will pluck 'em off once they get some color...at least the birds around here.

Nice lil' crab. :cool:

I have a larger crab that apples start out purple and turn a bit burgundy. Since I don't enjoy the color as much, the birds don't bother with them. 😆
 
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