crab apple tree

[grrrr]

On the land that I farm in east central Saskatchewan I have an old yarsite that has a crab apple tree in it. Nobody has lived in this yard for more than 50 years. We picked the apples off this tree when I was a kid and they were very good. The area around the tree is now choked with carragannas and we haven't had any apples to speak of in about 10 years. The tree is still alive but just barely. Can anyone tell me the best way to reproduce this tree. Cuttings? Grafting? Seed?

[bcraig]

If the crab apple tree is alive and the bark on the trunk is sound ( more than 70% of the bark is alive) I would recommend that you prune this tree heavily this spring and fertilize it. This should promote new shoot growth and new fruit spur in two to three years time. Search the web for information on rejuvenating old apple trees which should provide you with information on how to prune. The second option is to graft a new tree with scion wood from the crab tree. To be successful you should have health one year old wood that is last year’s growth. If the tree is not growing pruning the tree should stimulate new growth that can be used for grafting. You can graft the scions onto another crab tree or apple tree. Starting a new tree from seed will be genetically different from your crab apple as the there are two different parents in the seed production. You could start a tree from seed but you would need to graft the tree over using scion wood from the original crab. Once again lots of information on how to graft on the web.

[emclayton]

Hi
I am raising experimental apples for the University of Saskatoon at my acreage in Western Manitoba, (just across from Moosomin). I am using Ottawa 3 rootstock, and budding on other varieties. All that I need is a shoot of the current years growth. I then cut off a bud and attach it to an Ottawa 3 rootstock. This is usually done in August. If the bud is attached properly it will start to grow the following spring. The Ottawa 3 rootstock is then cut off above the bud, and the bud will then take over and become the tree. You would likely be looking at about 5 years before you got much fruit off the new tree. If your tree has exceptionally good fruit it would probably be worth it to keep the variety alive. There are several other good apples that do well in Saskatchewan, such as Goodlands, or Prairie Sun. If you buy a 2 or 3 year old tree from a nursery, you will likely have apples the following year.
Ed