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Pruning a newly planted crab apple?

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  • TopbirdTopbird Posts: 8,355
    Crab apples are lovely trees - something of interest from April to January - and I think Evereste is my favourite.

    There is a crab apple which has been introduced as a shrub but it's not Evereste. The name escapes me for now.

    @Papi Jo - what do you think would happen if Nollie were to take off the 5 lower branches on her specimen? Do you think it could be trained as a half-standard tree?  

    I bought my crab apples from a wholesale tree nursery and I was not asked about or given any info regarding rootstock. Having always read that they were small trees suitable for a small garden I didn't really give it much thought. Hope I haven't planted monster trees.....
    Heaven is ... sitting in the garden with a G&T and a cat while watching the sun go down
  • Papi JoPapi Jo Posts: 4,254
    @Topbird
    Well, since both bush and half-standard trees have been grafted at their base (unlike standards), it should be possible to obtain a half-standard form by wisely pruning a bush. But I'd rather leave that operation to professionals.
  • TopbirdTopbird Posts: 8,355
    Fair enough @Papi Jo🙂

    I'd still be tempted to give it a try if I thought I'd bought and particularly wanted a tree - but I'm a bit of a stubborn old begger...
    Heaven is ... sitting in the garden with a G&T and a cat while watching the sun go down
  • DovefromaboveDovefromabove Posts: 88,147
    @Nollie  I’m hoping it’s just a trick of the light, but is that rabbit damage to the bark in your second pic? 😨

    Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.





  • NollieNollie Posts: 7,529
    Hi @Dovefromabove, there a couple of paler patches, but they are smooth and I don’t think its animal damage. I have placed a bit of a cage around it now, to prevent the cats digging and crapping near it, mainly - they love a bit of freshly dug ground  :#

    I think I am going to leave it as a bush form rather than try and train it. The advantage being it will hide a gap in the fence more, the disadvantage is I may have to re-home a climbing Iceberg rose planted nearby, that I was going to train along the gap!
    Mountainous Northern Catalunya, Spain. Hot summers, cold winters.
  • DovefromaboveDovefromabove Posts: 88,147
    WonkyWomble has a Malus Golden Hornet that ‘lost its top’ due to ‘an unavoidable accident’.  It’s turning into a gorgeous ‘bush’ with branches starting  from just a few inches above ground level. It’s great and the birds love it 😊 

    Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.





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