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| So I just bought three 8ft crabapples at lowes for 50% off, one profusion, two whites for 50$. I decided to plant them in the ground in most shade/great soil because they were root bound and dig them up and replant later in the fall. I also cut off nearly all the fruit, was that helpful?
I also wanted to say lowes over fertilized the crap out of them, I can tell as they have way too much fruit, even for crabapples compared to leaf ratio. I get tired of big box stores forcing things into bloom and honestly try not to shop at them. |
Follow-Up Postings:
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- Posted by ken_adrian z5 (My Page) on Wed, Jun 20, 12 at 16:15
| not many peeps would buy them if they werent forced into bloom ... anyway.. great plan.. for part shade.. and a holding cell until the next proper planting time.. as i have said.. just because you buy it.. doenst mean its the proper planting time ... i would NOT have spent the time taking off the fruit.. that energy was spent long ago ... cant hurt though ... keep it properly watered .. fert does not force spring growth.. its about heat at the root level .. and light .. as the leaves appear ... think micro managed greenhouse they were probably dug last fall.. and put in cold storage.. then potted up in winter.. in a greenhouse ... early.. to get the roots growing.. then probably shipped leaf less.. to leaf out.. and bloom at the store ... and later to fruit up ... IF I HAD TO GUESS... lol .. and fruiting.. which is producing seed.. MIGHT be a reaction to the bare rooting in fall.. sorta of a survival reaction to its near death experience ... i am sure you are right with them being over-fert'd ... just didnt want you to come to wrong conclusions about it ... ken |
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| 'Profusion' is an obsolete variety liable to become scabby where this condition occurs. Likewise with the white ones you want to be sure you have a locally suitable kind - this varies regionally, same as with orchard apples. Not just any one will grow attractively everywhere. Lowe's here demonstrate create labeling on the trees offered, so it may not be certain the ones you bought are what the labels say. Unless the situation is different where you shopped they certainly would not have been fertilized by Lowe's, you are lucky if they even keep up with minimum watering requirements. The fertilizer would have been put on before Lowe's got them. What you are attributing to heavy fertilizer use may not have been the case. If you were looking at pelleted slow release fertilizer a larger quantity of this if often put on than might be done when using a granular fertilizer. |
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- Posted by oceandweller 8B (My Page) on Wed, Jun 20, 12 at 16:51
| Bboy, your spot on. The pots were heavy on the granular fertilizer. I make many potted plants and only use about 1/4 max of what they put in their pots. I have heard profusion to be an obsolete variety and figured I would put it in an out of the way place, hope it takes off, if not no biggy. The other two white ones were labeled Manzano silvestre de foracion blanca followed by falus floribunda alba. All three trees look really good, no signs of scab or anything. Nor are there going to be any other apples around for a couple of miles :) Though they honestly would have probably been dead in a couple of weeks due to the lack of soil/amount of fert/rootboundness. There wasn't enough soil to hold water, tips slightly brown on leaves kind of a shocker, I was like what 18 year old planted these, that or they just grew insanely fast even in 5 gallons. Any advice on permanent placement? I was thinking of planting them really high, near the top of the beds to help improve air cirulation now that you mention scab.
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| The usual reason for leaf scorch at Lowe's is liable to be lack of timely watering. If you have scab in the area and the trees are in fact 'Profusion' it won't matter how high you plant them etc. You effectively avoid scab by planting resistant cultivars. Most crabs are small bushy trees primarily of interest at flowering time, although certain kinds do produce lasting decorative fruits also. Situate accordingly. Note also that purple-leaved or otherwise strongly colored forms like 'Profusion' often look out of place away from buildings. I wouldn't make too much of the labeling as based on what I have seen here there is a rather high probability they aren't those varieties anyway (the one would have been Malus floribunda alba, don't know the background on this particular name - maybe it is a synonym). |
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- Posted by oceandweller 8B (My Page) on Thu, Jun 21, 12 at 0:16
| Thanks bboy, I haven't posted in the tree forum much, mostly do edibles and landscape design, but have noticed you are really helpful over here. I think I need to learn a lot more about trees in general. I agree, the Profusion wasn't going far from the home, actually going to put it in my crazy hot color eclectic out of the way area so it should fit in nicely. The other two I was hoping to put next to a yoshino. Thanks again for all the very useful info. |
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