Huntingisawayoflife
New Member
Hi all. I was curious how well deer eat crabapples. I'm trying to diversify the fruit trees on our farm. The ones I'm looking at are the plumleaf crabapple. Thanks.
Crabapple
- Thread starter Huntingisawayoflife
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Native Hunter
Well-Known Member
Some crabapples are a great attraction to deer. Stay away from any type the has very small fruit and/or tends to hang on the tree all winter and mummify. Check with nurseries that cater to deer hunters - like Blue Hill, Wildlife Group, Turkey Creek, Century Farm Orchards - just to name a few. Avoid buying trees from less reputable dealers and those who have little knowledge about what actually works for deer hunters and what doesn't.
My understanding is that Plumleaf Crab (Malus prunifolia) is a native wild crabapple. Seedlings from this group will have a lot of variation from tree to tree. Some will make good wildlife trees and some won't. You would be better off buying grafted trees of known cultivars on known rootstocks. It may cost a little more in the beginning, but you will be happy down the road when you see good results from doing the wise thing and don't end up with unproductive trees after a long wait for fruit.
One member of this forum planted 100 seedling crabapples and ended up with 5 that he didn't cut down and kill. Get my drift......
Best wishes.
My understanding is that Plumleaf Crab (Malus prunifolia) is a native wild crabapple. Seedlings from this group will have a lot of variation from tree to tree. Some will make good wildlife trees and some won't. You would be better off buying grafted trees of known cultivars on known rootstocks. It may cost a little more in the beginning, but you will be happy down the road when you see good results from doing the wise thing and don't end up with unproductive trees after a long wait for fruit.
One member of this forum planted 100 seedling crabapples and ended up with 5 that he didn't cut down and kill. Get my drift......
Best wishes.
Huntingisawayoflife
New Member
Appreciate the insight. I don't like those odds. Haha
jlane35
Well-Known Member
I bought cheap crabapples from the PA game commission sale 5 year ago. I think I’m going to cut them down. The crabapples are the size of a pencil eraser and smaller.
Native Hunter
Well-Known Member
Yes, crabapples like that are not useful for deer. Rather than cutting them down, you could topwork them. There is a good chance that many of them would turn out to be good trees for you.
Huntingisawayoflife
New Member
So how big would you consider to be useful? The parent tree is fruiting about 1.5 times a marble
Native Hunter
Well-Known Member
That size is in the borderline range. There are plenty of quarter sized crabs that are okay, but size is just one factor of consideration. The fruit needs to actually fall before mummifying and fall at a desirable time of the year. I’ve seen crabapples that hang all winter and turn into little hard mummies before they eventually fall the next spring. That’s not what you want.
Look at the pictures below of two different crabapples that I took in the winter time. These are trees I planted and they stand just a few feet apart. The crabapples are almost identical in size, but look at the difference. The first one has fruit that has turned into hard, dry, black little mummies. If you mashed on one of these, they would break into a bunch of pieces like mashing on glass. These hung all winter and looked just like that the next spring. This tree is useless for deer.
The second one still has soft and juicy fruit and is slowly falling all winter long. It is starting to shrivel, but still soft, juicy and chewable and attractive to deer. A few crabs will fall off of this tree every day for months in the fall and winter - and deer will check it out every day as long as the fruit lasts.
PS - A bonus picture for you of a good crabapple tree early in the season that makes some nice sized crabapples.
PS - Although I made a bad choice in planting that first tree, all is not lost. I can go back and topwork it to a good variety. But who wants to lose that much time?
Best Wishes.
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Mennoniteman
Well-Known Member
I'm very impressed with Eliza's Choice and Transcendent crabapples, after planting 4' trees they both were producing by the second year. My several Dolgo's have yet to do much, a few more years and they will be in danger of being replaced.
Speaking of crabs, last week I was walking through a new food plot that I cleared two years ago at the edge of a swamp in a tangled wilderness jungle, and here at the edge was a beautiful crab apple, 6" in diameter, 15 feet tall, species unknown, pictured below, loaded with fruit 1 1/2" - 2" in diameter. I plan to keep an eye on this fellow, like Native said, to see how the fruit matures.
Speaking of crabs, last week I was walking through a new food plot that I cleared two years ago at the edge of a swamp in a tangled wilderness jungle, and here at the edge was a beautiful crab apple, 6" in diameter, 15 feet tall, species unknown, pictured below, loaded with fruit 1 1/2" - 2" in diameter. I plan to keep an eye on this fellow, like Native said, to see how the fruit matures.
