Description

Road Kill Crab™ Crabapple

The Road Kill Crab™ is a prolific, fast-growing crabapple that produces heavy crops year after year. This grafted crabapple has extreme vigor and produces heavily on one-year-old wood.

As the branches fill with fruit, they can take on a natural weeping appearance. The 1″ to 1½” crabapples have a spicy-tart flavor and are highly attractive to whitetail deer.

Road Kill Crab™ has proven to be an exceptional wildlife crabapple here at Blue Hill Wildlife Nursery. It grows quickly, produces young, and continues to carry heavy crops as the tree matures.

How Road Kill Crab™ Got Its Name

The original Road Kill Crab™ tree grows over a roadside. Over the years, I noticed something that was hard to ignore. A lot of road-killed deer ended up lying on the road beneath this tree.

That is how Road Kill Crab™ earned its name.

The name may be a little unusual, but the tree has proven itself. If you’re looking for a crabapple to feed or attract deer, this is one I have been impressed with over the years.

Road Kill Crab™ Fruit Drop

Road Kill Crab™ starts shedding a few crabapples in early October and continues dropping fruit well into December.

Like many crabapples, this tree can hold onto some of its fruit. Some years, Road Kill Crab™ will hang onto a large amount of fruit until a good wind comes through.

That can actually be useful for wildlife. Instead of dropping everything at once, the tree can continue providing fruit over an extended period.

The 1″ to 1½” fruit also provides a good size for deer to eat. The spicy-tart flavor makes this a very attractive wildlife crabapple.

Road Kill Crab™ for Deer and Wildlife

Road Kill Crab™ is an excellent choice when your goal is to create a dependable soft mast source for deer.

The tree produces heavily and starts dropping during the fall hunting season. Its fruit can continue into December, giving deer access to natural food well after some earlier crabapples have finished dropping.

A mature Road Kill Crab™ can put a tremendous amount of fruit above the ground. This makes a full-size tree valuable for wildlife plantings because you can produce a large crop of fruit without taking up a large amount of ground space.

Plant Road Kill Crab™ near bedding areas, staging areas, travel routes, food plots, or other locations where you want to concentrate deer movement.

Road Kill Crab™ Production

One of the things I like most about Road Kill Crab™ is how quickly it begins producing.

This crabapple is very precocious and will generally produce fruit the same year it is planted. It is also self-fertile, so you do not need another crabapple just to get this tree to produce fruit. I have never seen Road Kill fail to fruit.

Its extreme vigor allows it to establish quickly and continue growing into a large, productive wildlife tree.

Road Kill Crab™ has also produced well for me in a no-spray situation. I have seen excellent resistance to common apple-family diseases, including:

• Apple scab
• Cedar apple rust
• Powdery mildew
• Fire blight

Road Kill Crab™ Tree Size

The Road Kill Crab™ will reach a mature height of 20+ feet.

The trees we sell are produced from plant tissue taken from the original Road Kill Crab™ tree. We graft that material onto new roots.

This gives you a genetically identical tree to the original tree shown in our pictures and description.

Available are 2-Year Trees — 4-6′ (1/2″-5/8″ Diameter)

Our 2-year Road Kill Crab™ trees develop extensive root systems before they reach you. Many trees will have multiple branches with a trunk diameter of 1/2″ or greater.

We prune each tree to a shipping height of approximately 66″. This allows us to safely ship the tree with its root system intact.

• 6’+ before pruning
• 1/2″-5/8″ trunk diameter
• Extensive root system
• Multiple branches
• Pruned to approximately 66″ for shipping
• Up to 15 trees per shipping box
• Free local pickup available

Available are 2-Year Select Tree — 4-6′ (5/8″-3/4″ Diameter)

Our Select Road Kill Crab™ trees are the largest trees we offer. These trees typically have better feathering and trunk diameters approaching 3/4″.

We prune the trees to approximately 66″ for shipping. Our largest shipping box measures 66″ x 14″ x 15″ and holds up to 14 Select trees.

• Largest trees available
• 6-8′ before pruning
• Trunk diameter approaching 3/4″
• Better feathering and branching
• Pruned to approximately 66″ for shipping
• Up to 14 trees per shipping box
• Free local pickup available

Road Kill Crab™ Rootstock

Road Kill Crab™ is grafted onto a standard, cold-hardy, vigorous rootstock.

This rootstock produces a full-size tree that can reach approximately 20-30 feet. For wildlife plantings, a full-size tree has a major advantage.

A larger tree can produce much more fruit while using a relatively small footprint on the ground below. This gives you more food production in a given area.

The rootstock also develops deep roots that anchor the tree well. Those deep roots help the tree handle dry conditions and allow it to reach deeper into the soil for water and nutrients.

Because of this, the rootstock is an excellent choice for wildlife orchards, food plots, and other wildlife plantings.

Road Kill Crab™ is also very precocious. Many trees begin producing fruit at a young age, even when grafted onto standard rootstock.

Road Kill Crab™ Pollination

Road Kill Crab™ is self-fertile, so it can produce fruit on its own. However, planting another compatible apple, apple crab, or crabapple nearby can still provide valuable cross-pollination. 80% of the trees we sell in the apple family will pollinate Road Kill and Roadkill will pollinate them. Don’t over think it.

We recommend planting different named trees within the apple family when possible. Trees with the same name are genetically identical and generally will not provide the cross-pollination you want.

Good Pollination Partners

Grams Gift Crabapple makes an excellent pollinator because it has a long bloom period and overlaps well with many apple and crabapple varieties.

Road Kill Crab™ blooms mid-season. This gives it an opportunity to receive pollen from earlier varieties while also providing pollen to later varieties.

Think of a bee leaving one tree and visiting the next. You want that bee to land on blossoms from a different named variety. That simple movement transfers pollen and helps produce a good crop.

Most apple-family trees bloom within a relatively short window. Therefore, you do not need to overthink pollination when planting several compatible apples, apple crabs, and crabapples together.

Planting Instructions for Road Kill Crab™

Plant Road Kill Crab™ in moist, well-drained soil with a pH between 5.8 and 7.0. Choose a location that receives at least six hours of sunlight each day.

A soil test is one of the best things you can do before planting. It will show you what your soil needs for healthy tree growth and fruit production.

Phosphorus and potassium are important nutrients for young trees. However, these nutrients do not move easily through the soil. For this reason, make needed amendments before or during planting.

If your soil test shows a low pH, add pelletized lime according to the soil test recommendations.

Protect Your Road Kill Crab™

We strongly recommend protecting young trees from deer and other wildlife.

• Space trees approximately 20 feet apart.
• Give each tree at least 6 hours of sunlight.
• Use a minimum 5-foot tree cage.
• Install a 2′ x 2′ breathable weed mat.
• Add approximately 10 gallons of stone over the weed mat and 2 gallons under that weed mat.
• Wrap the base of the tree with aluminum window screen to help prevent rodent damage.

A good tree cage is especially important on a wildlife property. You want the deer eating the crabapples in a few years, not eating the tree this year.

Road Kill Crab™ Shipping

We ship dormant, bare-root trees to USDA Plant Hardiness Zones 2-8. Shipping begins in early March and continues through the first week in May.

You need to select your preferred shipping date from the calendar during checkout. Plant bare-root trees while trees are still dormant in your area or just as green-up is happening.

If you need very late fall or winter shipping, select March 1 from the calendar and contact us at ryan@bluehillwildlifenursery.com. We can then work with you to set up a ship date when conditions are right to send the trees to your area.

Road Kill Crab™ Local Pickup

The last week of March through the first week of April is usually an excellent planting window here in Pennsylvania.

Free local pickup is also available for customers in Pennsylvania and the surrounding states. You can select your pickup date during checkout.

If you cannot make your selected date, contact us and we can arrange another pickup time.

We are open for tree pickup Monday through Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.

Road Kill Crab™ at a Glance

• Fruit size: 1″ to 1½”
• Fruit flavor: Spicy-tart
• Fruit drop: Early October through December
• Production: Heavy and annual
• Precocity: Very early producing
• Self-fertile: Yes
• Mature height: 20+ feet
• Rootstock: Standard, cold-hardy, vigorous
• Wildlife value: Excellent for deer and other wildlife
• Plant Hardiness Zones: 4b-8

Road Kill Crab™ is not just a tree with a memorable name. It is a fast-growing, heavy-producing crabapple that has earned its place here through years of watching deer, fruit production, and tree performance.

For More Information

Continue your research with these helpful resources please click below:

• Crabapple Trees for Deer
• Tree Planting Guide
• Apple Pollination Guide
• Rootstock Information
• Shipping and Pickup Info