crabapple fall colors

[Bill S]

Attila the problem is that it is a malus, you should see the grin that Nick Lenz gets when you drop an apple in front of him, loves to tell you not to get used to it, because every animal, insect, and disease love them, then tells you to get a larch.

 

[Attila Soos]

Attila the problem is that it is a malus, you should see the grin that Nick Lenz gets when you drop an apple in front of him, loves to tell you not to get used to it, because every animal, insect, and disease love them, then tells you to get a larch.

Yeah, I remember last year the rats chewed off most of the small branches of my apple bonsai. They don't just eat the fruits, but the wood as well, it drives me nuts when that happens.

 

[cquinn]

I make a small cage out of fine chicken wire and put it around my Crabapple. Keeps most eating critters away.

 

[Bill S]

Yep those rats( including mice and chipmunks) are a pain, took out three trees last year that had all the twigs eaten off, and 1 J maple that had the bark eaten off 3/4 around the tree for about 5 inches from the roots up, they all regrew to some extent, but I lost a couple of years.

The screening can work but it needs to be smaller than 1/4" to keep the mice out. Decon is now a resident of my cold frame. It can help too to put mothballs around the trees as well.

 

[milehigh_7]

Yep those rats( including mice and chipmunks) are a pain, took out three trees last year that had all the twigs eaten off, and 1 J maple that had the bark eaten off 3/4 around the tree for about 5 inches from the roots up, they all regrew to some extent, but I lost a couple of years.

The screening can work but it needs to be smaller than 1/4" to keep the mice out. Decon is now a resident of my cold frame. It can help too to put mothballs around the trees as well.

I had rats in my trees for about one month. However, I have three dachshunds and I no longer have rats. They really are quite amazing hunters.

 

[rockm]

I sold off my only apple a while ago (and it was a great medium-sized tree too) because I got sick and tired of dealing with the critter fallout. It got wooly aphids.. It got green aphids. It got black aphids, It got scale. It got borers. It got powdery mildew. It got sunscald.....Jeeez, if it wasn't one thing, it was another. I didn't really seem all that bothered by all that stuff and kept growing, but it always looked a little "off" what with holes in the leaves and white fluffy aphids in the twigs...

Despite all the trouble, I find myself wishing I hadn't gotten rid of it.

 

[donkey]

I sold off my only apple a while ago (and it was a great medium-sized tree too) because I got sick and tired of dealing with the critter fallout. It got wooly aphids.. It got green aphids. It got black aphids, It got scale. It got borers. It got powdery mildew. It got sunscald.....Jeeez, if it wasn't one thing, it was another. I didn't really seem all that bothered by all that stuff and kept growing, but it always looked a little "off" what with holes in the leaves and white fluffy aphids in the twigs...

Despite all the trouble, I find myself wishing I hadn't gotten rid of it.

This is putting me off layering from my friends crab apple next year. Or maybe it could be worth it ??