v1

I assume this is a heck of an end of year sale. The only caveat I can think of, assuming again that you are able to heal these in somehow or otherwise adequately hold them for spring, is that, if the burlap is old enough, a good many roots will have grown through it into the surrounding chips/gravel/whatever in the nursery yard. If that was the case, yanking them out now could be sketchy. But if the B&B is intact, it should go okay.

Hopefully, I'm answering the question you're asking ;^)

+oM

Thanks wisconsitom!

I've added another choice since it's also available. Which between the two should I choose

Donald Wyman at 1.75" caliper
Golden Raindrop at 2" calipter

They look the same to me but their fruits are different former being red and the other one being golden yellow.

Whose flowers are larger? Whose fruits are more abundant? Whose fruits stay longer in winter?

I think those question will help me decide.

Thanks!

me again, while searching, I found out that you own a Golden Raindrop crab. I would like to know if flowers are very showy in spring. Is this crab a fast grower? Do you have pictures of it in spring? The pictures I have seen in google are all tiny. I couldn't appreciate it well.

sorry, I keep posting without even waiting. I did a lot of research and found many information about Golden Raindrop and Donald Wyman. I've decided to go with the Golden Raindrop.

Thanks!

Hey v1. Yes I've got the GR. Truth to tell, it's been a bit of a disappointment so far. First, the good points: It seems to grow rapidly. Ours, in a so-so spot (A little shade, whereas full sun would be better) has put on vigorous growth already. The white flowers are nice, and in a mature specimen, would, I think, be spectacular. This cultivar is rated the most disease resistant of all and ours so far would support that notion. The big disease here is apple scab, and this tree shows none of that problem. The down-side has been the fruit itself. I was hoping for some nice yellow, long-retentive crabapples, but they very quickly shrivel into little amber fruits-not unattractive-but a far cry from the best retentive-fruit cultivars. Fruit retention on crabs is the most important attribute for me, after disease resistance. Had I known what that meant with this plant, I would have made a different selection.

Still a nice tree, and that disease resistance is crucial in crabs, but the fruit issues make the tree, for me at least, much less desirable.

+oM

Thanks for sharing your experience.

Could it be because it's not in the full sun area? Or are they really known for not having a long lasting fruit?

If you were to purchase another crab, what would it be?

I looked at images.google.com what apple scab is. Now I know what it is. I do see a lot of that in my multitrunk prairfire crabapple. I just got use to it. :)

But yeah, definitely, I want a long lasting fruit as long as birds doesn't eat it.

Oh, I took pictures of my yard an hour ago. I examined my prairiefire. I saw like 10 to 15 remaining red fruits. They're flat or smashed/opened. Can Donald Wyman's fruit last longer than other cultivar's?

Hey v1. I doubt the GR would have much different fruiting characteristics if sited just a wee bit differently. Mine gets "full sun" in horticultural terms-that is, at least 6 hrs. But there are some trees around that do keep it from getting every bit of sunlight it otherwise could. I don't think it's really a big deal in this case.

As to what I'd get, I must confess, my heads been elsewhere lately. I'd have to pretty much just do the research. But the two traits I consider indispensable are scab resistance and persistent fruit. BTW, I consider it a plus if birds eat the crabapples. I do prefer this to happen in the Spring though, when the birds are returning North. And in many of the best crab varieties, that is exactly how it works.

+oM

I like it quite a bit and have grown it for years here but we don't have a fire blight problem in this region - our springs are too cool. 'Schmidtcutleaf' is not for areas with fire blight.

Here is a link that might be useful: Golden Raindrops® Crabapple

I went to the nursery today. I saw the GRs, they had like 3 or 4 and 2 for Donald Wyman. I took pictures of it. The Donald Wyman still have fruits but the GR, I saw only 3 fruits and empty on the others. It's very tall like 12 feet. The B&B is 26" inches in diameter and 18 to 24" high.

The Donald Wyman was 2 ft shorter.

So I guess, I should really think hard if persistent fruit should prevent me from purchasing it. I like the shape of the foliage. It's unique and the abundant flowers it brings in late spring.

On my way home, I saw another 2 to 4 multitrunk winterberries at Lakewood Rd and Miller Rd at Lake in the Hills. The red fruits are phenomenal! Does winterberry flower abundantly in spring?

Illinois has fire blight, making the planting of 'Schmidtcutleaf' probably pretty risky.

For Recommended Crabapples for Illinois Landscapes>...

Here is a link that might be useful: Selecting_Crabapples.pdf

Thanks for telling me this info about crabapples. It's the first time I've heard about fire blight. I'm not really familiar with tree diseases. I just go to nursery and pick one I like. :) I know that is wrong.

So question is, is fire blight something I need to really worry about?

Thanks.

I haven't mentioned fireblight, but after scab, it is the most prevalent crab disease up here, two hundred miles to your north. And yes, it is a destructive pathogen to affected plants.

Bboy, are you certain that the GR cultivar is susceptible to FB? Only reason I ask is that I was under the impression that GR was rated the most disease-resistant cultivar currently available. I could be mistaken. As I said earlier, my mind has been very much elsewhere of late.

+oM

Here are the pictures folks.

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I have found some lists on the Internet that indicate the persistency of fruit on all the various varieties. Have you been able to find some of these? I have such a list in a great book I just purchased; however, I loaned it to my sister. As soon as it is returned, I will visit back and let you know of the golden fruiting varieties with persistency.

Teresa

I had a chance to get Don Wyman for $50 at a season end sale - although the Don Wyman is an excellent tree for me the color wasn't up to snuff as it has white blossoms.

"Stellar Pink" is a new hybrid developed at Rudgers University which has the resistance characteristcs of Japanese dogwoods but pink flowers and also the layered look of the American dogwood.

I just finished searching for pics at google. They are so gorgeous!

Thanks for sharing this information chester_grant.

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