$19.95 – $34.95
This Grafted apple crab tree is a very heavy spur-producing tree with good disease resistance that shows strong signs of resistance to cedar apple rust, apple scab, powdery mildew, and fireblight in a no-spray situation. The Big Dog Crab will begin dropping in mid-October and will continue into mid-January. The tree is partially self-fertile and produces a large array of blooms in the spring. It is not unusual to see Big Dog put off flowers the 1st year when planting them. Big Dog is very precocious when grafted onto dolgo roots. This tree is very productive, producing abundant crops of 2” crabapples. This applecrab is late dropping and one very impressive tree, but you can easily see that from the pictures. The vigor in the tree is average, but everything else in this tree is exceptional. Big Dog will reach a mature height of 20’+. Plant Hardiness Zones 3-7. For a video of Big Dog Crab, click here.
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Description
This grafted crabapple tree is among the best crabapples for deer in Plant hardiness zone 3, 4, 5, 6 and 7. Big Dog produces a 2’’ crabapple very similar in size to the Chestnut crabapple. The Big Dog Crab comes to us from another whitetail enthusiast like myself, Mr. Art Reuck from Central Minnesota. This late dropping crabapple tree is a very heavy spur producing tree with good disease resistance that shows strong signs of resistance to cedar apple rust, apple scab, powdery mildew and fireblight in a no spray situation. The Big Dog crabapple will begin dropping in mid-October and will continue into mid-January. This tree is cold hardy into Zone 3 and has seen -41 degrees in zone 4. Hardiness zones 3 – 8
The Big Dog Crab is made by using plant tissue from the original tree and attaching it to the new roots. This essentially is giving you an identical tree, of the one you see in the picture and description.
TREE SIZE
2-3′ ( 3/8” dia.) These trees will have a good root system. They will be whips around 3′ high with a trunk diameter of 3/8”.
3-5′ ( 1/2” dia.) These trees will have a good root system with some possible branching but will mainly be whips. They will range in height between 3′ to 5′ with a trunk diameter of around a 1/2”.
4-6′ (+ 1/2” dia.) These trees will have an extensive root system and typically having multiple branches but many will be solid whips. They will range in height between 4′ and 6′ with a trunk diameter of 1/2” to 3/4”.
BIG DOG CRAB IS GRAFTED ONTO STANDARD ROOTSTOCK
MALUS DOLGO
The Rootstock that Big Dog Crab is grafted to is extremely cold hardy and vigorous. This Rootstock is an excellent choice for wildlife trees, because it produces a full size 20’ to 30’ tree. Producing a full size tree for wildlife mean much more fruit on a given tree. Malus Dolgo rootstock will develop deep ”Real roots” making it extremely well anchored, penetrating well into the sub soil pulling up lost nutrients and therefore making Malus Doglo rootstock very drought tolerant. Making Malus Dolgo an all around great rootstock for wildlife plantings.
This standard size rootstock is adaptable to many soil types and conditions. Especially when planting in less desirable locations. Therefore, with its full vigor can be used in areas that were at one time wooded areas and are now food plots, reclaimed land, shale mountain soil, dryer uplands and ridges. Malus Dolgo rootstock will also perform very well in improved soil in an orchard style setting. We are only grafting onto the most vigorous Malus Dolgo roots grown in a given year. When grafting onto the top 30% of seedlings grown you get a rootstock that is about 40% more vigorous tree than many clonal stocks that are used for wildlife trees today. Malus dolgo is a crabapple rootstock and is very precosious with many trees producing very quickly. Making Malus Dolgo an all around great rootstock for wildlife plantings.
PLANTING INSTRUCTIONS FOR BIG DOG CRABAPPLE
Plant at least 2 different apple or crabapple varieties within close proximity to each other for pollination. Grams Gift crabapple makes an excellent pollinator for both standard size apples and crabapples. Plant all apples and crabapples in moist, well drained soil with a soil pH between 5.8 – 7 with adequate nutrient levels for optimal growth.
If you have not completed a soil test click here and improved your soil I would highly recommend doing so. However, if you are not going to I would recommend mixing 1 ounce for every 3 sq ft of 0-20-20 granular fertilizer in your soil at the time of planting. The first number tells you percentage of nitrogen contained in the fertilizer. Nitrogen applied directly to the roots of the tree will cause death to your tree, make sure the first number is zero.
Nitrogen is very mobile in the soil and you can apply a small of nitrogen the following year. The 2nd and 3rd numbers are Phosphorus and Potassium. Apply these two nutrients at or well before the time of planting, because they are basically immobile in the soil, they will need mixed in through the soil. We recommend completing a soil test and making amendments for best results. We recommend applying 1 lb of 10-10-10 for every inch in diameter your tree is. This should be applied in the spring the following year and each year after planting.
Big Dog crabapple requires a minimum of 6 hours of sunlight for growth and fruit production. Space trees 20′ apart and use cages of at least 5’ to protect your trees. This will ensure your deer eat your fruit in a few years and not your trees this year.
SHIPPING/PICK UP
Shipping to Plant Hardiness zones 6 – 8 (southern states) Fall shipping will be the last Monday in November. Spring shipping will begin again in mid-March on Mondays as temperatures in my area allow.
Shipping to Plant Hardiness zones 3 – 5 (northern states) we will generally ship on Mondays through out the month April as your weather allows for planting.
Dormant bare root trees are to be planted in the fall or spring while trees in your area are still dormant. You can select your ship date at check out. If you are picking up your trees, typically the first week in April is perfect for planting in Pennsylvania. Please Call or message me to make an appointment to pick your trees up.
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Additional information
| Weight | 18 oz |
|---|---|
| Dimensions | 58 × 2.30 × 2.30 in |
| Tree Size | 2-3' (3/8'' dia.), 3-5' (1/2'' dia.), 4-6' (+1/2'' dia.) |
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Returns: We have been shipping plants around the country for quite some time now. We provide healthy live plants. We take every effort to ensure that your plants are packed in a way that maintains that health as they arrive to you. We can not be responsible for how plants are handled when they leave our care or are handled by customers.
Tree care: If you plant your tree up on high dry ground they may need watered through the first summer, if you plant too low and wet your trees may drown. Be careful of the herbicide you may use around the tree (read the label). I want you and your trees to succeed but if you don't tube or cage them the deer will eat your tree that night.
Hours: We do not keep regular hours. If you would like to visit the nursery, just call, send a message or email. Anyone is more than welcome. On Orders that you selected to pick up your trees. Trees can be picked up in the spring as soon as you can dig in your soil. Trees need to be picked by the end of April.
Shipping: When buying grafted trees. They ship in two different sized boxes. 15 trees or less ship in a 60'' box. 15 to 30 trees are shipped in a 72'' box. Trees may need to be professionally pruned to fit in these boxes.
Trees will ship through UPS on Mondays. You will receive an email notification when your trees ship. When trees arrive, plant as soon as possible. If you cannot, it would be best to heal them into soil or store in a cool place not allowing roots to freeze but not allowing the trees to become warm.
If TreePro products are the only items you purchase then they will ship as soon as the order is received. You may have to select a ship date but I can assure you if you are just ordering tree tubes they will ship immediately. If TreePro products are purchased with trees, then they will ship with the trees.
Due to the cost of shipping there will be a minimum of 4 trees that have to be purchased in order for checkout to occur.
Due to phytosanitary regulations, we do not ship to Alaska, California, Hawaii, Idaho, Oregon, and Washington.
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This grafted tree is extremely cold hardy, originating from plant hardiness zone 4a.
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Candy Crab™ is a 2" apple crab or an apple with a complex flavor and finishes with a delightful sweetness. Once you eat one, you will want more of these delicious fruits because of their crisp and exciting flavor. I would describe it as a celebration inside your mouth. I have tasted loads of wild apples and domesticated apples in my travels but never one such as this. The fruit belongs in a grocery store not being planted for deer. It is the best apple I have ever had the pleasure to eat. In my pictures, this crab is heavily loaded every year, yet it still has a nice size to it.
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Maturity height 20'+.
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Big Lou™ Crab is easily one of the most unusual and unique trees I have ever encountered. This grafted tree is a heavy annual producer of a 2" apple crab that holds and drops a portion of its fruit during the months of late October, November, December, and January here in Pennsylvania. Big Lou™ Crab drops the most fruit during December and January but will also retain enough fruit that it will continue to drop well into February. For a video from January 17th, 2020, CLICK HERE.
Big Lou™ Crab has a very unusual taste. During the middle of winter, it takes on a nutty yet pear-like flavor. It's easy to see from the pictures and the video of this tree that Big Lou is a Whitetail's favorite treat in very late fall and in through winter. Unlike most other fruit I have ever seen, the fruit holds its integrity, even after being frozen and thawed many times. In the pictures of Big Lou's fruit, you can see that the flesh of this fruit is still firm and intact in the middle of January. If you like to hunt Pennsylvania's late hunting season in January or many other states throughout the Northeast or the Midwest, this tree is necessary. For a video of Big Lou™ on March 1st, 2021, CLICK HERE
The original tree resides in North Western Pennsylvania in plant hardiness zone 5a. Big Lou exhibits no sign of Apple Scab, C.A.R, Powdery Mildew, or Fireblight here in the north. The original tree has seen a sub-zero temperature of -24 that would place its resilience well into plant hardiness zone 4. Plant Hardiness zones 4b - 7. Mature height of 20'+
Peak Attraction™ is a grafted apple crab with many exceptional characteristics that make this tree an exception cultivar for wildlife. These characteristics include a high resistance or immunity to apple scab, cedar apple rust, powdery mildew, and fireblight in a no-spray situation. Peak attraction™ is an annually productive tree, producing 2'' apple crabs that I would describe as a sweet nutty-flavored apple. This tree begins dropping in mid-October, continuing through November. It retains a few 100 fruits into December and January. Still, during November, the main drop occurs for a large portion of the U.S. When the peak of deer movement during the rut matches fruit falling, it creates something extraordinary. The apple crabs falling during this time is why this tree has earned the name peak attraction™. This tree exhibits a high level of vigor when grafted onto Dolgo roots, and productivity almost to be unmatched. As we look at these pictures of Peak Attraction™, the original tree is a giant and well over 50' tall from the excessive vigor that this tree has. The original tree resides in plant hardiness zone 4b, making it very hardy from zones 4b-8. You will have a mature height of 20'+
Ed's Crazy Crab™ is a grafted apple crab that earns its name because, as shown in this picture, it pounds out the fruit! I have known this tree for three or four years, and I have yet to see it fail to set a heaving amount of fruit. Ed's crazy Crab™ is prolific and sets fruit annually that falls all fall long. The tree is red-leaved and red-fleshed, producing a golfball-sized fruit dropping from October into the new year. Ed's Crazy Crab™ has shown disease resistance across all major apple tree diseases in a no-spray situation. I have seen a small amount of cedar-apple rust, yet nothing to get excited about. The original tree stands about 35' tall and resides in plant hardiness zone 4b. This tree begins dropping its apple crab in October, peaks during my favorite time during November, and retains some fruits dropping throughout December. The original tree resides in plant hardiness zone 4b, making it very hardy from zones 4-7. You will have a mature height of 20'+
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