Flowering Crabapple 'Prairie Fire'...question

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Mipii (Robin) Blissfield, MI(Zone 6a) Feb 08, 2014

Just came across this thread...researching Malus Prairiefire (I think I've got pomes for this variety). Leave it to ViburnumValley to post something unusual when I was expecting something straight forward:

Image: http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/fp.php?pid=4882885
Thread: http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/t/841240/

How do you think that happened? Can they be trained as tree or a shrub (a faux shrub with a single stem)?

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ViburnumValley Scott County, KY(Zone 5b) Feb 08, 2014

Flowering Crabapple is a plant that too many people think of in only one way - basically a lollipop on a stick (even one named that: http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/go/164719/ ).

Quoting:
How do you think that happened?


I believe those trees at Bernheim Arboretum were planted as young individuals, and then not excessively pruned as they grew - retaining many low branches. The collections there don't require turf up to the trunks - in fact, many woody plants perform much better without the competition from lots of grass. I have visited this collection often since the mid 1980s, though not yet this year. Maybe a stroll in the snow is in order...

In fact, Flowering Crabapple is grown commercially as both a single stem small tree (most common) and as a multi-stemmed small tree. The single stem plants are most often budded or grafted on some standard understock, which means that suckering may become an issue. The multi-stems (that I'm familiar with) are "own root" which means that any suckers will be the same plant.

I would rather have the own root plants, because I plant over the entire 10 acres of the Valley and I'd rather not have to battle issues like dissimilar understock suckering.

So! You can grow Flowering Crabapple about any way you'd like. It may be difficult for you to find much other than a single stem small tree at retail vendors, and if it is growing on one of the standard understocks, then it is nigh on impossible to convert that situation into a shrubby or multi-stem plant of the clonal selection.

When you say you have "...pomes of this variety..." do you mean you have fruit/seeds? If so, you'll be able to grow Flowering Crabapple seedlings which may or may not exhibit the traits of the plant from which you collected them. Likely, these seedlings will express an array of traits inherent in Prairifire's parentage as well as of the pollinating partner which contributed to those seeds.

Ought to be an interesting journey...

Post #9765148
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Mipii (Robin) Blissfield, MI(Zone 6a) Feb 08, 2014

Quote from ViburnumValley :
I believe those trees at Bernheim Arboretum were planted as young individuals, and then not excessively pruned as they grew - retaining many low branches. The collections there don't require turf up to the trunks - in fact, many woody plants perform much better without the competition from lots of grass. I have visited this collection often since the mid 1980s, though not yet this year. Maybe a stroll in the snow is in order...[/quote]

Lol...they couldn't grow grass up to the trunk even if they wanted to, there is no grass that's full shade tolerant, given the tree's full skirt to the ground.

[quote="ViburnumValley"]In fact, Flowering Crabapple is grown commercially as both a single stem small tree (most common) and as a multi-stemmed small tree. The single stem plants are most often budded or grafted on some standard understock, which means that suckering may become an issue. The multi-stems (that I'm familiar with) are "own root" which means that any suckers will be the same plant.


Interesting, I've never seen a multi-stemmed Crabapple, didn't know they existed.

I would rather have own root plants also. My pomes could produce a multi-stemmed variety, yes it'll be interesting. I'm guessing how hybrids become stable is by planting seeds and selecting the seedling that most resembles the cultivar. Allow the selected ones to produce more seed, harvest those and repeat. After a few generations of consistent characteristics, I'd deem it stable.

There are seeds within those pomes collected, there are two to three seeds per pome.

Thanks for the info VV!

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Pseudo Eau Claire, WI(Zone 4a) Feb 08, 2014

You need to get up to the Minnesota Landscape Arb in mid May. They've got an immense collection of Malus. This section of the arb is gently rolling land, which makes it that much more impressive. BTW, that Bernheim pic is interesting. I wish I had seen it while we were there. When would've the Kentucky crabs (sounds like a sports team) been flowering spring of 2012?

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