Hi, new member to IBC here. I was given a crabapple earlier this year that
has some crossing branches which I would like to prune back. The buds have
formed and all leaves/fruit are gone. Can it be pruned now or should I wait 'til
early spring? Location here is central Calif. Temperatures at night are going
down to upper 30's (F). Though I've been involved in bonsai for about 3 years, I
don't have much experience with fruiting trees.

Thanks in advance,

Chuck Boudreau

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Hi, new member to IBC here. I was given a crabapple earlier
this year that
has some crossing branches which I would like to prune back.
The buds have
formed and all leaves/fruit are gone. Can it be pruned now or
should I wait 'til
early spring? Location here is central Calif. Temperatures at
night are going
down to upper 30's (F). Though I've been involved in bonsai for
about 3 years, I
don't have much experience with fruiting trees.


Well, it probably shouldn't be allowed to fruit two years in a
row, so now would be OK to do that pruning.

Jim Lewis - - Tallahassee, FL - Only to the
white man was nature a wilderness -- Luther Standing Bear
(Ogallala Sioux Chief)

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Chuck,
Were it me, I'd wait a bit. Watch the peach orchards. Prune after they do. You'll notice that they give them a bit more time to get fully dormant, before they prune.
Regards,
Shelly Hurd Central CA - Sunset Zone 8-USDA Zone 9

----- Original Message -----
From: Charles Boudreau
To:
Sent: Tuesday, December 16, 2003 5:05 PM
Subject: [IBC] Crabapple


Hi, new member to IBC here. I was given a crabapple earlier this year that
has some crossing branches which I would like to prune back. The buds have
formed and all leaves/fruit are gone. Can it be pruned now or should I wait 'til
early spring? Location here is central Calif. Temperatures at night are going
down to upper 30's (F). Though I've been involved in bonsai for about 3 years, I
don't have much experience with fruiting trees.

Thanks in advance,

Chuck Boudreau

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In a message dated 12/17/03 10:56:33 AM Pacific Standard Time,
writes:



Thanks Jim, Shelly. I think I will wait a bit. The bark of this malus
is orange, really stunning. I think I would like to propagate it from the
cuttings. I've also kept the seed and will see what sprouts.
Unfortunately the variety/subspecies ID tag was gone, consequently I
don't have a clue What it is. I may take some pictures and try to post them
in the gallery to see if anyone can identify it.
Also, I don't believe I'm accessing this newsgroup properly 'cause I
got to paste "bonsai@home. etc." in the address line. If I simply 'reply', the
mail goes to the individual.
Well I guess I'll learn eventuallllly

Best regards,
Chuck

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If I simply 'reply', the mail goes to the individual.
Hit the button that says "Reply All."
Iris,
Central NY, Zone 5a, Sunset Zone 40
"If we see light at the end of the tunnel, It's the light of the oncoming
train."
Robert Lowell (1917-1977)

Well, my crabapple bloomed for Passover, and was lovely for
about a week. Now
it is all over the place, & I am unclear about what to do next.
The books don't
always tell you what to do right now. Should I prune now or let
it run until
the fall? I know there are a few new branches that need wiring,
if I can find
them. There are also a couple of branches which need more
growth, but most of
them are big enough & just need more twigging. Any suggestions?
Should I
defoliate it?

Here's what Dirr has to say about crabapple (aside from lamenting
about how disease prone they are -- and noting that the Asiatic
forms are more disease resistant than the North American forms)
pruning:

"Generally crabapples require little pruning, but if any is done
it should be completed before early June. Most crabapples
institute flower buds for the next season in mid-June to early
July, and pruning after this time would result in decreased
flower production the following year. Pruning may be done,
however, to remove sucker growth, open up the center of the plant
to light and air, to cut off out-of-place branches and shape the
tree."

Best I can say about defoliation, however, is that I defoliate my
pear bonsai and they're closely related. You might try a partial
defoliation and do it over the course of a couple of years.

Jim Lewis - - Tallahassee, FL - Only where
people have learned to appreciate and cherish the landscape and
its living cover will they treat it with the care and respect it
should have - Paul Bigelow Sears.

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One of my Cab Apples flowered last month. and has developed fruit. I did
some light pruning Saturday. To keep it i shape and to tighten it up. I will not
totally defoliate my CrabApples. I usually just do that with mith my
Maples,Elms and Beech
SteveW

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If I am not mistaken Blossom buds form on tips of older branches . It
doesn't pay to leave unwanted branches if it looks messy. Sometimes it is good to
have A sacrifice branch to draw the tree's resources and give the older
brsnches a chance to develop flower buds.
SteveW

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In a message dated 4/26/04 11:03:49 AM, STEVEW70146 writes:
One of my Crab Apples flowered last month, and has developed fruit.

How do you get them to fruit? Mine didn't.

If I am not mistaken Blossom buds form on tips of older* branches

Somebody reminded me they set buds early, so I pruned it already. Looks a lot
neater. I heard or read somewhere that crabapples respond poorly to
defoliation: the leaves come back just as big. Hopefully they will reduce as the tree
becomes twiggier.
Iris


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My tree has blossomed for about 4 years, but up until this year did not have
fruit. This past fall I used Super Phosphate. I collected this tree along
with 9 others over 10 years ago, the tree may have been 10- 15 years old at the
time. I have noticed that. the blossoms always form on the old hard wood on
all my Crab Apple Trees. 5 of the trees usually have blossoms ,.The one with
the fruithas a trunk with a diameterof about 1 1/2" at the base.Another
tree with a larger truck , hasn't blossomed yet.
I just pruned the large leaves at the tips. that is the only pruning I am
doing to this tree this year
SteveW

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Actually, I have never seen the leaves reduce in size.
Enjoy for the flowers and the fruit. Remove all
leaves and all fruit except one for the look called
full moon between the branches in fall.

Kitsue Miko
--- wrote:
In a message dated 4/26/04 11:03:49 AM, STEVEW70146
writes:
One of my Crab Apples flowered last month, and has
developed fruit.

How do you get them to fruit? Mine didn't.

If I am not mistaken Blossom buds form on tips of
older branches

Somebody reminded me they set buds early, so I
pruned it already. Looks a lot
neater. I heard or read somewhere that crabapples
respond poorly to
defoliation: the leaves come back just as big.
Hopefully they will reduce as the tree
becomes twiggier.
Iris



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+++++


=====
"Art does not take kindly to facts, is helpless to grapple with theories, and is killed outright by a sermon." Agnes Ropplier
(added to the above)
"How many things in life do we bludgeon with facts, render helpless
with theories, and kill with sermons? If art can help us go beyond
these patterns, we certainly need it in our lives."
Anne Wilson Schaef
From, "Women Who Do Too Much Calandar 2004."

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My tree has blossomed for about 4 years, but up until this year did not have
fruit. This past fall I used Super Phosphate. I collected this tree along
with 9 others over 10 years ago, the tree may have been 10-15 years old at the
time. I have noticed that. the blossoms always form on the old hard wood on
all my Crab Apple Trees. 5 of the trees usually have blossoms,The one with
the fruit, has a trunk with a diameter of about 1 and a half inches at the
base. Another tree with a larger truck, hasn't blossomed yet.
I just pruned the large leaves at the tips. that is the only pruning I am
doing to this tree this year
SteveW

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wrote:

In a message dated 4/26/04 11:03:49 AM, STEVEW70146 writes:
One of my Crab Apples flowered last month, and has developed fruit.

How do you get them to fruit? Mine didn't.

If I am not mistaken Blossom buds form on tips of older branches

Somebody reminded me they set buds early, so I pruned it already. Looks a lot
neater. I heard or read somewhere that crabapples respond poorly to
defoliation: the leaves come back just as big. Hopefully they will reduce as the tree
becomes twiggier.
Iris


FWIW I tried defoliating one of my crabapples, a wild collected specimen, a couple of
years ago. I saw no change in leaf size. This is why my crabapples and apples are on
the large side.

Craig Cowing
NY
Zone 5b/6a Sunset 37

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From: Kitsune Miko
Subject: [IBC] Crabapple

Actually, I have never seen the leaves reduce in size.
Enjoy for the flowers and the fruit. Remove all
leaves and all fruit except one for the look called
full moon between the branches in fall.

Thanks for this, Kitsune, I had never heard this metaphor before.
Hope I get a chance to experience it - with my fairly new addition.
Lynn

Lynn Boyd, Oregon, USA
Zone 7/8

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G'day all...

To quote Jim: "...toot...toot, toot... and toot, toot, toot, toot...".

Well, I guess nobody else will.

Congatulations, and Congatulations, Congatulations, and Congatulations, Con...
well, you know.

Any pix in the Gallery?

Have a good day...

Pat
Dez of the Arizona High Dezert, at 4550', Oracle, AZ,
2000' above Tucson Sunset Zone 10 USDA Zone 8
aka: Pat Patterson 'riding off in all directions'