another crab

[catfish chapstick]

i just dug this up today. its a crabapple i think because it looks just like my other crabs. i had wanted a shorter one since my other one is so tall. not sure what to do with it exactly. i guess wait and see what the plant does. i would like to do some carving but i just dont have the tools necessary. this picture shows the trunk and low branches. the leader is much taller and out of the picture. although they are burried in the picture, this crab has a nice spread of roots.

 

[bonsai barry]

Nice selction of branches to choose from, this looks like a great opportunity. I'm not sure how much carving can be done it looks pretty small and the branches are nice and low.

 

[Stan Kengai]

Apple wood is so soft that anything you carve will be gone within a few years (at most). I think it's best to seal up any chops and pray that the whole trunk doesn't rot away.

Also, make sure you remove a good number of those twiggy branches next spring so that you don't get reverse taper in your trunk. Keep as many as you can though around the chop, which will (hopefully) help it close.

 

[catfish chapstick]

now im not exactly sure its a crabapple. a friend of mine said she thought it was more likely a pear. is there any way for me to tell without it fruiting??

 

[Brian Van Fleet]

Does it have a partridge...or pinchers?

 

[Stan Kengai]

now im not exactly sure its a crabapple. a friend of mine said she thought it was more likely a pear. is there any way for me to tell without it fruiting??

Pears have more rounded leaves than crabs, and the leaves are thicker, more leathery.

 

[catfish chapstick]

I am now under the impression that it is a pear tree and not a crabapple

 

[rockm]

Any pics of the leaves?

 

[edprocoat]

I think Brian Van Fleet has hit on the method of deciding what the tree is, leave it outside and if a partridge lands in it then you know it must be pear tree. If it does develop pincers it would have to be a crab.

ed

 

[daygan]

yes, pictures of the leaves (with a clear image of the margin and veins) might help us help you identify it with more certainty.

One quick way to tell, and I think this is generally true for all malus (apple) and pyrus (pear) species, is that if the leaves are more heart or spade-shaped, with a rounded base at the stem, it's probably pear, if they're more oval-like and tapered at the stem, it's probably apple. Below are examples of illustrations of Malus (first) and Pyrus (second):

 

[catfish chapstick]

I am pretty sure the tree is a pear. It looks different from my apple in exactly the way you described. Here is a shot of it today.

 

[catfish chapstick]

update

here is a photo after the leaves have fallen. next season i hope to improve taper by just letting it grow wild.

 

[Brian Van Fleet]

Looking good! Thanks for bringing it back around.

 

[daygan]

Yes, it does look good! ... and I just saw your reply earlier about it probably being pear. I'm glad my information was helpful to you. Also (not that I have a great deal of experience with pyrus or malus) the way the bark is fissuring looks similar to other pyrus trees I've seen.

 

[catfish chapstick]

Thanks its a callery pear I think. They grow wild here.

 

[catfish chapstick]

going into the ground for a while

I have made the decision to plant this one in the ground for a few years. while in the ground I hope to thicken up some of the lower branches, which already have been wired in place and have some movement but i would like to see the branches with improved taper as well as the trunk line. Also, either heal up the chop wound or do some carving to improve the overall look of the wound. I'd also like to see the nebari improve. I think in about three or four years I will dig it back out and report how much it improved and in what ways it doesn't improve.

I have never done this before so really I'm just hoping for the best. I would appreciate any advice or comments. I am definitely putting it in the ground so don't try to talk me out of it!

hopefully this will also speed up FRUIT PRODUCTION. After all, that is why I am posting it in fruiting section. I want to see it flower and fruit. we shall see what happens.

 

[Stan Kengai]

. . . I would appreciate any advice or comments. I am definitely putting it in the ground so don't try to talk me out of it! . . .

Incongruous, those 2 statements! If you put this back into the ground, those lower branches are going to quickly turn upward, and you'll lose any of the training you've done. I would just repot this into an open/coarse mix in a largish container and fertilize away. Let it grow for the season (perhaps 2 for the apex), then cut back in fall. You should be able to get those branches to thicken up nicely in a couple of years.

 

[catfish chapstick]

Incongruous, those 2 statements! If you put this back into the ground, those lower branches are going to quickly turn upward, and you'll lose any of the training you've done. I would just repot this into an open/coarse mix in a largish container and fertilize away. Let it grow for the season (perhaps 2 for the apex), then cut back in fall. You should be able to get those branches to thicken up nicely in a couple of years.

really?? planting it in the ground won't help improve it? I was under the impression that it would only be good for it. those branches are already in place, why would they turn up? I could just put it into a large container but I had planned on just forgetting about it for a while. I could reconsider this I suppose. Thanks. Now I'm confused

 

[JudyB]

I think you have a reasonably tapered tree already....
Mostly ground growing (in my opinion) is great for growing trunks, and gaining girth and taper thru repeated chops. I always do my branch growing in boxes. But if you're not happy with the trunk I agree with the ground.

 

[mcpesq817]

I wouldn't plant it in the ground either. Crabs grow pretty fast in the ground, and you'll lose all the delicate branching and have to start over.