Teddy12b
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Location: North East Indiana

Any crab apple better than others for pollination?

I'm thinking of planting a couple crabapple trees to help supplement pollination. Are there any particular breeds of crab apple that are better or worse than the others? I'm in 46845 on the line between zone 5 & 6, so most times I lean towards zone 5 to play it safe.

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applestar
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I think your first criterion should be that the crabapple will bloom at the same time as your existing apple varieties. If you have varieties that bloom at different timing, then maybe get more than one crabapple with appropriate blooming periods.

JONA
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As Star has said it's vital that they coincide with the blossom period.
The great advantage of using a Crab for pollination is that they flower over a much longer period than the traditional apple tree. Also their pollen is far more viable.
I would though suggest that you try to get a Malus that has the same colour blossom as you fruit trees.
We have found that if you get one that has a blossom that varies too much from the main trees..then the bees are inclined to stick to that colour and ignore the main target.
One that we found ideal was Malus John Downie which not only has very similar blossom colour but also produces a largish fruit that makes superb jelly.

valley
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Thanks for that information.

Richard

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applestar
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That's a neat detail about the blossom colo(u)rs affecting pollinator behavior. I would never have thought of that. (Filing info for future ref :wink: )
Thank you :D



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