Sumo Apple

BobbyLane

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Hi folks

Im not sure what type apple, but it isnt crab....was planted in the allottment as a sapling 15-20 years ago. ive been eyeing it up for a while and had a good look at the base today. ive always admired the Nigel saunders apple, im sure some of you have seen it on youtube...if i could have something like that in a few years ill be a happy man
i wish i'd have chopped it earlier in the season though, but the deed is done now! ive scattered some chicken feed and miracle grow over the surface area around the stump, so we'll see how it responds
20170814_171324 by Bobby Lane, on Flickr
20170814_172721 by Bobby Lane, on Flickr
20170814_172656 by Bobby Lane, on Flickr
20170814_180810 by Bobby Lane, on Flickr
20170814_183225 by Bobby Lane, on Flickr
i think it has a lot going for it as long as it survives, the plan is to dig it up in spring and get it into a training pot, depending how it reacts, i may hold off digging it up until the season after next and clip and grow it in the ground...a future carving project, the tree has a powerful base and good taper with some well placed low branches..

some inspiration


 
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Giga

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It's pretty late to be chopping a tree like that. I'd guess it'll pull through, why not wait till spring to do such a major chop?

It's a nice find btw.
 

BobbyLane

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Hi guys cheers, i think the only concern is that new growth doesnt harden off in time for winter, but i think i can speed that up by feeding with a high potassium and phosphorus liquid fert. fwiw ive seen large mature trees chopped at this time or later in the season and they've always bounced back either before or in spring. apples are very hardy so my instincts tell me it will be fine. spring is when i just might dig it up, depending on how it responds.
 

Leo in N E Illinois

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Hi guys cheers, i think the only concern is that new growth doesnt harden off in time for winter, but i think i can speed that up by feeding with a high potassium and phosphorus liquid fert. fwiw ive seen large mature trees chopped at this time or later in the season and they've always bounced back either before or in spring. apples are very hardy so my instincts tell me it will be fine. spring is when i just might dig it up, depending on how it responds.
Your climate mild enough that chopping in middle of August was likely just fine. In my more harsh climate i would not chop after August 1. Our first frost can happen as early as Oct 1. Most often not until Oct 15.
 

BobbyLane

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This one is beginning to look pretty gnarly. tempting me to dig it up and start building on the branch structure. it was hacked back once or twice and defoliated while in the grown and the leaves reduced in size as a result...
20181204_160147 by Bobby Lane, on Flickr
20181204_160228 by Bobby Lane, on Flickr

Mr Fox seems to approve
2018-12-04_10-05-16 by Bobby Lane, on Flickr
 
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Paulpash

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Apples are good to dig. I collected one that was over 15ft tall and got it in to a big pot and it bounced back :) Just make sure you dig as the buds push and leave all your current branches on.
 

Wires_Guy_wires

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The orchard owner sitting next to me says it's probably the Elstar variety. But she isn't sure if those ever made it to the US.
 

just.wing.it

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Nice apple!
That fox looks way different than ones around here....is it a grey fox or something?
Ours are red/orange.
 

BobbyLane

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Apples are good to dig. I collected one that was over 15ft tall and got it in to a big pot and it bounced back :) Just make sure you dig as the buds push and leave all your current branches on.

Hi Paul, yeh im looking forward to spring to dig this one. tempted to do it quicker! the root base is really good on this, quite a bit more spread under the soil. im starting to see it slightly taller than what i anticipated and a few changes of direction, rather than straight sumo
20181204_160228 by Bobby Lane, on Flickr
 

Paulpash

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Hi Paul, yeh im looking forward to spring to dig this one. tempted to do it quicker! the root base is really good on this, quite a bit more spread under the soil. im starting to see it slightly taller than what i anticipated and a few changes of direction, rather than straight sumo
20181204_160228 by Bobby Lane, on Flickr

Mine will be grafted eventually - I have a Golden Hornet (yellow fruit) stock tree that will replace the existing variety which looks to be an eating apple cultivar of some sort. Should make a nice contrast with the red fruited one I have on my benches :) Maybe consider doing that to yours - would look good with toringo maybe?
 

BobbyLane

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Mine will be grafted eventually - I have a Golden Hornet (yellow fruit) stock tree that will replace the existing variety which looks to be an eating apple cultivar of some sort. Should make a nice contrast with the red fruited one I have on my benches :) Maybe consider doing that to yours - would look good with toringo maybe?

Toringo is the small yellow variety right, there are some stunning examples, i agree that would look pretty cool on this trunk. maybe ill give that a go, i'd probably prefer to get a native crab apple on it though. you'll have to walk me through it at some point and ill keep the info bookmarked for reference. even if this tree produced white flowers and i can keep down the leaf size, i'd be happy enough with it too:cool:

@Wires_Guy_wires
hi,i believe this is a cox apple tree from what im told....

from wiki
Cox's Orange Pippin, in Britain often referred to simply as Cox, is an apple cultivar first grown in 1830, at Colnbrook in Buckinghamshire, England, by the retired brewer and horticulturist Richard Cox. Though the parentage of the cultivar is unknown, Ribston Pippin seems a likely candidate.

ps the Nigel saunders apple which i got some inspiration from is also a larger sized, eating variety
 

BobbyLane

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btw, the deadwood on this tree was purposely done, to extend from the original chop. over the summer i went in with branch splitters and root cutters and nibbled away, tore slivers of wood to make a shari between two live areas, this extends down the opposite side of the tree. its weathering nicely, will be a cool carving project. once in a pot, ill go in and hollow it from the top and create windows and uro.
 

just.wing.it

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Hi Paul, yeh im looking forward to spring to dig this one. tempted to do it quicker! the root base is really good on this, quite a bit more spread under the soil. im starting to see it slightly taller than what i anticipated and a few changes of direction, rather than straight sumo
20181204_160228 by Bobby Lane, on Flickr
How tall is this one?
 

Paulpash

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Toringo is the small yellow variety right, there are some stunning examples, i agree that would look pretty cool on this trunk. maybe ill give that a go, i'd probably prefer to get a native crab apple on it though. you'll have to walk me through it at some point and ill keep the info bookmarked for reference. even if this tree produced white flowers and i can keep down the leaf size, i'd be happy enough with it too:cool:

@Wires_Guy_wires
hi,i believe this is a cox apple tree from what im told....

from wiki
Cox's Orange Pippin, in Britain often referred to simply as Cox, is an apple cultivar first grown in 1830, at Colnbrook in Buckinghamshire, England, by the retired brewer and horticulturist Richard Cox. Though the parentage of the cultivar is unknown, Ribston Pippin seems a likely candidate.

ps the Nigel saunders apple which i got some inspiration from is also a larger sized, eating variety

It's more the fruit size, colour (of fruit) and quantity that I would graft for - apples are one of the more challenging species to get leaf reduction on :(
 

BobbyLane

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It's more the fruit size, colour (of fruit) and quantity that I would graft for - apples are one of the more challenging species to get leaf reduction on :(

last season when i defoliated over summer, was more an experiment to see if they would reduce and they came back a bit smaller. will see how it goes
 

Paulpash

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last season when i defoliated over summer, was more an experiment to see if they would reduce and they came back a bit smaller. will see how it goes

As a result of cultivation / branching rather than defoliation. Apples don't ramify very well - getting enough leaf volume on your tree as well as growing it in a generous pot for health & fruit quantity is what I meant.
 
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