Bark Damage on Royal raindrops Crab Apple
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Debarked crab apples- what is too much?
Comments (3)Yupper, it grew some roots above the damage. I took a box cutter and made vertical slits in the bark, and rubbed rooting powder into them, then potted it up in a special deep pot I made by cutting the bottom out of one black plastic nursery pot and taping it to the other one. In the end, the pot was probably about 20 inches deep, and had soil about 75-80% of the way up. I kept the tree in there for a few months. When it appeared to be growing pretty normally, I sort of peeked and saw some roots forming, so I planted it out in the yard, in a very deep hole so it was at its new, same depth. The area I planted it is at the top of a hill and very sandy, so I'm not too worried about the deep planting causing issues, and the new roots are much higher up than the original roots. I might have gotten lucky, but apple will root at times -- they stool rootstocks so the shoots push up through moist earth, and those develop roots along the stems, and are then severed and used for understock. It was just an experimental move to see if I could save it. So far, so good. I don't know if long term it will be more prone to toppling in a storm, but I think the new root system is pretty much going to be equivalent to the original roots from the dwarfing rootstock....See MoreRoyal Raindrops crab - cut and run or stay?
Comments (1)Could you give us a picture of your tree? Actually, a couple of pictures: the leaves, the base of the tree, the whole tree,and anything else you can think of....See More'Royal Raindrops' crabapples and Crape Myrtles as street trees?
Comments (13)Thanks to everyone for the feedback. I'm just not ambitious and disciplined enough to maintain that many fruit trees on the parking strips, so I'm keeping my fingers crossed that the 'Royal Raindrops' crabapples will be approved. I may just plant one Crape Myrtle closer to the south side of the house to get more reflected heat. Thanks gardengal for the info on the 'Royal Raindrops' leaf color. I was hoping it would be more green. Our neighbors have two huge purple-leaf plums, and I wasn't that excited about that many purple-leafed trees around the house. I actually attended Arthur Lee Jacobson's talk at the NW Flower and Garden Show this year. He recommended Malus Tschonoskii crabapples, but WSU put it on their Discard list due to "ornamental only for its narrowly upright form, no showy flowers or fruit". I really want dark-pink spring flowers. Gardengal, do you know how showy the spring flowers are on the 'Royal Raindrops' you planted for your client? Also, Arthur Lee Jacobson doesn't have any info on the 'Royal Raindrops' since they're so new, but Urban Forest Nursery, which specializes in street and landscape trees, recommends it. Urban Forest Nursery Royal Raindrops Flowering Crab profile...See MorePraire Fire or Raindrop Crabapple
Comments (12)Prairiefire is known for the fantastic flower show (one of the very best in the Midwest). But after that it has little to offer. Depending on the year it can get a decent amount of scab here in Iowa and if it is in a windy area always ends up leaning as it is basically a large wide-spreading ball on top of a stem. We use Royal Raindrops quite a bit- the foliage is not susceptible to scab which is our worst disease in Iowa. The flower show is nice but not as intense as Prairiefire. If the temps are high during bloom the color lightens considerably in comparison to Prairiefire. Also, we haven't observed trees leaning after the incessant wind here in Iowa so into maturity it still looks good. Overall we prefer Royal Raindrops due to foliage density and foliage color throughout the season. For us Royal Raindrops always maintains better foliage color although in extreme heat it can lighten a bit. Flowers, while nice, are fleeting so it will depend on your overall purpose. As Embo stated, fireblight would be one reason not to use the Raindrops series and you would be best off talking to a local extension agent about it. Other new introductions like Showtime are supposed to be improved versions of Prairiefire. We haven't used them enough to know how they will fare long-term....See MoreEmbothrium
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