# Crabapple or apple tree?



## Dixie Dawg (Jun 27, 2008)

We moved into this house about 2 months ago, and there are 2 big trees in the back yard that were in bloom.  Since then, they have begun to grow fruit on them, and we've assumed that they were apples... one has what looks like green apples and the other has tints of red on the fruit.  We had a big cookout over the weekend and one of our friends said he thought these weren't 'real' apple trees, but crabapple trees.  How can I tell if it's a crabapple tree? And do people eat those?  I was really looking forward to some nice juicy apples later this summer, but now I'm not so sure lol.  If you need a pic to tell the difference, I can get one up later this afternoon.
Thanks!


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## leoparddog (Jun 27, 2008)

If they are crabapples you can make some great jams and jellies, but they aren't much for eating right off the tree or ground unless you are a deer.  The leaves on a crabapple are fairly small, smaller than apple tree leaves and they can be kinda dark gray/green in color.


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## 7Mag Hunter (Jun 27, 2008)

Maybe post some pics to help identify each...I got a big
crabapple tree that is gonna have a bumper crop this
year....Deer LOVE them....I usually get 30+ five gallon
buckets off mine....Wife also makes jelly...


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## Nugefan (Jun 27, 2008)

Kerry , take a big ole bite outta 1 and if your mouth feels like you have been lickin' an alum rock then they are crabapples ......


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## foodplotplanter (Jun 27, 2008)

i`ve never seen any crab apples with a red tint
but that don`t mean i`m right on this subject


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## ClydeWigg3 (Jun 27, 2008)

Yeah, take a bite outta one, or better yet, get your enemy too.  If it draws up your mouth, it's a crabapple.


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## BubbaD (Jun 27, 2008)

Dixie Dawg said:


> We moved into this house about 2 months ago, and there are 2 big trees in the back yard that were in bloom.  Since then, they have begun to grow fruit on them, and we've assumed that they were apples... one has what looks like green apples and the other has tints of red on the fruit.  We had a big cookout over the weekend and one of our friends said he thought these weren't 'real' apple trees, but crabapple trees.  How can I tell if it's a crabapple tree? And do people eat those?  I was really looking forward to some nice juicy apples later this summer, but now I'm not so sure lol.  If you need a pic to tell the difference, I can get one up later this afternoon.
> Thanks!



Here is  shot from one of the crabapple trees on our property


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## Twenty five ought six (Jun 27, 2008)

A lot of ornamental crabapples have a red tint.


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## nc/ga hunter (Jun 28, 2008)

I have a apple farm and would venture to say that they are not crab apple trees from the picture. They may not be a sweet apple though. A crab apple would be half that size at maturity and we have two- three months  before apples are at maturity. If they are tart or sour they will make good pies or apple sauce.


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## Rich Kaminski (Jun 28, 2008)

At my first house in Cobb County I planted a golden delicious apple tree and a red apple tree. The apples on the Golden Delicious Apple Tree always started out green and then turned yellow later on.
I don't know if this helps.


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## packrat (Jun 28, 2008)

*Apples*

If They Already Have A Red Tint To Them And Their Skin Is Rough, It May Be What We Call Horse Apples. They Won't Grow Too Much Bigger Than A Golf Ball And Are Known For Their Odd Shapes, But To Me They Are Good Flavored Eating Apples And Will Keep A Long Time In A Cool Dark Place. Grandma Would Spend All Day Peeling, Slicing And Drying Them In The Sun On Window Screens. Made Some Darn Good Fried Pies. A Place I Hunt Has An Old Tree On It Beside A Barn And I Will Load My Pockets On The Way Into The Woods.


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## gadeerwoman (Jun 30, 2008)

Some crabapples will have a red tint or even be very red when ripe but it's a little early for them to start ripening now. A picture of the tree you're trying to identify would help.


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## Dixie Dawg (Aug 22, 2008)

Sorry for the delay in getting the pics up... but better late than never?   

So here are the pics of the tree... now, they are horribly overgrown but of course it was too late to cut them back when we moved in here, so we'll have to wait until this fall to do it.

I took one of the redder apples off of the tree and took a bite out of it this morning, it tasted like a regular apple, so maybe it's not a crabapple after all 

I'm sure next season will bring better ones, since these trees really have been neglected by previous residents!


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## dawg2 (Aug 22, 2008)

That is definitely not a crab apple.  It sure is loaded down!


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## miller (Aug 22, 2008)

Apples and a lot of them!


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## cj5 buggy (Aug 22, 2008)

location please?

i like apples...

most folks spend a lot of money to get apple tree like that one.


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## copenhagen cowboy (Aug 24, 2008)

That tree is Full!
those are not crab apples


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## Nitro (Aug 25, 2008)

Nice tree. It's hard to tell for sure, but they look like Galas.

 This fall, after the leaves drop, trim back the last 18 inches or so from all the main leaders. 

In Spring, when the blooms are almost open, spray the tree with some liquid Sevin. This will knock off some of the weaker blooms before they set, thereby thinning the number of apples to a level the branches can support and nourish. 

Hope for some good pollination weather and active bees.

You can still manually thin some of the fruit off that tree now.  Which will help the remaining apples gain some more size before you harvest them.

Good Luck!!


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## Bitteroot (Aug 25, 2008)

Kinda favors a "yates" apple. Old homestead type apple tree. Call in reinforcements, email those pics to Walter Reeves on his web site. Betcha he can identify for you. walterreeves.com


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## nc/ga hunter (Aug 25, 2008)

I agree it does look like a gala, but I would think they would be darker in color or already fallen. I would think it's a older variety like a cortland. I would never recommend spraying seven on the blooms. We spray ours 30 acres plus when the apples are the size of a dime. There is no perfect method in chemical thinning. With it only being one or two trees I would hand thin them. I have a crew come in and hand thin 30 plus acres each year. You want to thin them about 3 inches apart. 

As for pruning you can prune anytime from the end of Oct until Mar. Like Nitro said you want to trim them back , but you also need to get all the limbs out of the center growing up through the tree. If I knew how to post a picture I would post one showing how a tree should look. Be careful you don't want to do this all the first year you could shock your tree to much and kill it. You will also want to throw about half of a five gallon bucket of fertilize under it around March, broadcast away from the trunk under the most outter limbs of the tree.

I'm willing to bet your tree doesn't need pollunation due to you only having the one tree or two trees. If it was a red delicious you would need either a golden delicious or a crab apple to polunaite it, but a lot of varities don't need polunation to produce apples. 




Nitro said:


> Nice tree. It's hard to tell for sure, but they look like Galas.
> 
> This fall, after the leaves drop, trim back the last 18 inches or so from all the main leaders.
> 
> ...


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