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$19.95 – $35.95
Lockdown Crab™ is an apple crab and is a new cultivar to the Wildlife Management World. Actually, a new apple to the World and is a product of natural selection.
This grafted apple produces heavy crops of 2”+ fruit and drops most of its fruit during November and a few continuing into December. When planted in an area where it blooms from early to mid-May in the north, Lockdown Crab™ will ripen and begin to drop in late October, with the main drop during that important mid-November period. If you are planting below the 40th parallel north, I’m sure you will see this drop time shift and become a few weeks earlier as you go south of this location. Lockdown produces fruit annually and does its job well. I’ve known this tree for three fruiting seasons, and it has not failed to fruit in those three years.
This sweet apple is heavy bearing and an annual producer. It also shows resistance to C.A.R., Apple Scab, Powdery Mildew, and Fireblight in the Northeast.
Lockdown Crab™ has readily tolerated temperatures of -35 degrees, making it well suited for Northern Climates. With all of its great qualities, Lockdown Crab ™ would be a beneficial component when looking for an enticing food source for wildlife north of the 40th latitude at a time during that critical lockdown period. Lockdown Crab ™ will have a mature height of 20’+. Plant Hardiness Zone 4-7.
Description
Lockdown Crab™
Lockdown Crab™ is an apple crab and is a new cultivar to the Wildlife Management World. Actually new to the World and is a product of natural selection. This crab comes from Whitetail enthusiast David Whalen of Northern New York. There are more than 3,000 wild apple trees growing on his property! Out of those 3,000, as of right now, only a few are being propagated for wildlife.
This grafted apple crab produces heavy crops of 2” fruit and drops most of its fruit during November and a few continuing into December. When planted in an area where it blooms from early to mid-May in the north, Lockdown Crab™ will ripen and begin to drop in late October, with the main drop during that important mid-November period. If you are planting below the 40th parallel, I’m sure you will see this drop time become a few weeks earlier as you go south of it.
This sweet apple crab is heavy bearing and an annual producer. It also shows resistance to C.A.R., Apple Scab, Powdery Mildew, and Fireblight here in the Northeast.
Lockdown Crab™ has readily tolerated temperatures of -35 degrees, making it well suited for Northern Climates. With all of its great qualities, Lockdown Crab ™ would be a beneficial component when looking for an enticing food source for wildlife north of the 40th latitude at a time during that critical lockdown period. Lockdown Crab ™ will have a mature height of 20’+. Plant Hardiness Zone 4-7.
The Lockdown 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 have 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”.
2-yr 4-6′ (5/8”-3/4” dia.) These two-year-old trees will have an extensive root system and can have multiple branches with a diameter of 5/8” and greater. We will be pruning the trees back to a shipping height of 66” with the roots. Our largest box is 66″x 14″x 15″ and will hold 15 of the 2-yr trees. Free local pick-up is open to the surrounding states of Pennsylvania.
STANDARD ROOTSTOCK
Lockdown Crab is grafted to a standard root that 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 means much more fruit on a given tree. This rootstock will develop deep ”Real roots” making it exceptionally well anchored, penetrating well into the subsoil, pulling up lost nutrients, and making it very drought tolerant. This root is a great all-around rootstock for wildlife plantings.
This standard-size rootstock is adaptable to many soil types and conditions, especially when planted in less desirable locations. Therefore, with its full vigor, can be used in areas that were once wooded and are now food plots, reclaimed land, shale mountain soil, dryer uplands, and ridges. This standard rootstock will also perform well in improved soil in an orchard-style setting. We are only grafting onto the most vigorous roots in a given year. When grafting onto the top 30% of seedlings, you get a rootstock about 40% more vigorous tree than many clonal stocks used for wildlife trees today. Lockdown Crab is very precocious, with many trees producing very quickly anon this standard root making it an all-around excellent rootstock for wildlife plantings.
PLANTING INSTRUCTIONS FOR LOCKDOWN CRAB™
Plant at least one different apple or crabapple variety within close proximity to each other for pollination. Grams Gift, Chestnut crab, or Dolgo crabapple will make an excellent pollinator for Lockdown Crab™. Plant all apples and crabapples in moist, well-drained soil with a pH between 5.8 and 7 and adequate nutrient levels for optimal growth.
If you have not completed a soil test, click here and improve your soil I would highly recommend doing so. However, if you are not going to, I would recommend mixing 1 ounce for every three sq ft of 0-20-20 granular fertilizer in your soil at the time of planting. The first number tells you the 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 must be mixed in through the soil. We recommend completing a soil test and making amendments for the 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 of the following year and each year after planting.
Lockdown Crab™ 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, not your trees this year.
SHIPPING/PICK UP
Shipping to Plant Hardiness zones 2 – 8 will begin again in mid-March on Mondays, Tuesdays, and Wednesdays (you select your ship date) and continue until the last Monday in April. Dormant bare-root trees must be planted in the spring, while trees in your area remain dormant. You can select your ship date as you checkout on the website. If you are picking up your trees, typically, the last week in March or the first week in April is perfect for planting in Pennsylvania. We have opened up the free local pick-up to the surrounding states as it could be more cost-effective if you order more than 30 trees. You can select your pick-up date on the website as you checkout. Please call or message us to make an appointment to pick up your trees if you can not make the date you selected.
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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.), 2-yr old 4-6' (+5/8''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.
Selected pickup dates: 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. Before picking up, please contact us letting us know
when you are planning to come so we can have your order ready for you when you arrive.
Shipping: When buying grafted trees, depending on the amount of trees you order will determine
the size box the trees will be shipped in. If you order 4 two year old trees, they will fit into a 66in
x 8in x 8in box. Ordering 5-15 two year old trees will fill into a 66in x 15in x 14in box. Ordering
16 or more two year old trees will fill into 2 or more boxes, depending on the total amount of
trees bought. Trees may need to be professionally pruned to fit in these boxes. Ship dates will be
selected by you before completing you order. We ship trees from early March to late April. You
should select a ship date that is suitable for the location you are planting your trees. Trees will
ship through UPS on Monday’s, Tuesday’s, and Wednesday’s. 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 Tree Tube 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 Tree Tube 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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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.
This apple crab is also a product of natural selection by nature that has never been sprayed and is growing wild in North Western Pennsylvania in plant hardiness zone 5a. This tree fully ripens and is a heavy producer. It begins to drop about October 1st and continues to do so well into late November with a constant steady pace here in Pennsylvania.
Candy Crab™ is among a few 1,000 wild crabs growing within the same vicinity yet is exhibiting no signs of C.A.R, Scab, Powdery Mildew, or Fireblight here in the Northeast present in this area. During the polar vortex of 1994, Candy Crab would have experienced temperatures typically seen in plant hardiness zone 4a. Yet, it is still standing here today, making this crab very suitable for zone 4b and maybe even below.
The name Candy Crab™ fits this new cultivar perfectly, and I see it being sold well beyond the use for wildlife. If you like to eat apples, you would be crazy not to have a Candy Crab™ planted behind the house or on the way to your stand. Mature height will be 20+. Plant Hardiness zones 4b -7.
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