This grafted <\/strong>late dropping crabapple is one amazing tree. The original tree is located on the NY\/PA border. The Sonofcal\u2122 tree carried through some great disease resistance from its parents. More importantly, it produces slightly larger fruit with great taste and produces heavy annual crops of 1 1\/2\u2019\u2019 crabapples.<\/p>\n This tree begins dropping the beginning of October. They have a steady drop of roughly 100 apples a day from what seems like an endless supply!! Sonofcal\u2122 is always loaded with apples and deer sign under it! If you take a look all the way in the top of this tree, you can see apples on every branch except this year’s growth. When there are that many apples on 1-year old wood, it\u2019s a sure sign of a strong early producing tree! All these facts make this one of the best fruit trees for deer.<\/p>\n This picture is from late February. This tree was still holding a small fraction of the apple crop that it was carrying back in October. The flesh inside these crabapples was still intact and remained very palatable. The Sonofcal\u2122 crabapples were still dropping consistently in mid February and keeping the \u201c100 apples per day\u201d pace that it did all season and the sign below it showed the appreciation from the deer in the area! This tree has seen an ambient temperature of -24 F, however, I\u2019m conservatively labeling it for hardiness zones 5-8.<\/p>\n 2-3′ ( 3\/8” dia.)<\/strong> These trees will have a good root system. They will be whips around 3′ high with a trunk diameter of 3\/8”.<\/p>\n 3-5′ ( 1\/2” dia.)<\/strong> 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”.<\/p>\n 4-6′ (+ 1\/2” dia.)\u00a0<\/strong>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”.<\/p>\n 2-yr 4-6′ (5\/8”-3\/4” dia.) <\/strong>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.<\/p>\n Sonofcal Crabapple 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\u2019 to 30\u2019 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.<\/p>\n 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. Sonofcal Crabapple is very precocious, with many trees producing very quickly anon this standard root making it an all-around excellent rootstock for wildlife plantings.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Plant at least 1 different apple or crabapple varieties within close proximity to each other for pollination. Grams Gift, chestnut crab crabapple or enterprise apple both makes an excellent pollinators for Sonofcal\u2122 crabapple. Plant all apples and crabapples in moist, well drained soil with a soil pH between 5.8 \u2013 7 with adequate nutrient levels for optimal growth.<\/p>\n If you have not completed a soil test click here<\/a> <\/strong>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.<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n Sonofcal 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\u2019 to protect your trees. This will ensure your deer eat your fruit in a few years and not your trees this year.<\/p>\n Shipping to<\/span> Plant Hardiness<\/span><\/a> 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. <\/span>You can select your ship date as you checkout on the website. <\/b>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. <\/span>You can select your pick-up date on the website as you checkout<\/b>. Please call or message us to make an appointment to pick up your trees if you can not make the date you selected.<\/span><\/p>\n For More Information Visit:<\/p>\nThe Sonofcal\u2122 crabapple 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.<\/h5>\n
TREE SIZE<\/h3>\n
STANDARD ROOTSTOCKS<\/h3>\n
PLANTING INSTRUCTIONS FOR SONOFCAL\u2122 CRABAPPLE<\/h3>\n
SHIPPING\/PICK UP<\/h3>\n