Sugar Tyme Crabapple Trees - In Espalier - Summer Growth - Late September 2024

Posted by on

The last time that I checked in on the pair of Sugar Tyme crabapple trees - that are planted on the southside of our house - was in mid-March when they started to leaf-out on the tips of the branches.  

I planted the pair of these trees in September of 2021, so this was the third FULL growing season. They seemed to do fine in 2022 and 2023. They bloomed each Spring and had fruit in their first Fall, too.

I last pruned these in February of this year - February 2024.  When they were dormant.  At that time, the tree on the right was showing some 'upwards' growth and was a bit more 'ahead' of the tree on the left.  But, I pruned them back to be horizontal cordons - four layers with a 'flat' top layer.

This growing season, the trees kept-on-going.  But, the tree on the right shot WAY ahead of the one on the left.  Have a look at the trees - as they currently look - at the end of September - in the photo below:

Sugar Tyme Crabapple Tree Espalier - Horizontal Cordon

The tree on the right has A TON of top growth.  And, upright growth.  All four layers of the espalier are filled out and flush with foliage.  My plan was to shape the tips *up* into a candelabra form of espalier, so I'm thinking that I can start that - for the tree on the right - with this Winter's dormant pruning.  I'll also need to clear out all of that top/upward growth.  

The tree on the left also has shown some good growth - but not NEARLY as much as the tree on the right.  The leader emerged.  And the layers extended out.  The bottom (right side) still is lagging behind.  But, once I prune-off that sucker, I'm hoping it will grow out.  

Why the difference?  First of all...I need to acknowledge that they were always a little bit different.  The tree on the right was 'ahead' of the tree on the left last year.  But, this year, the difference grew.  The only thing that I can think of is that the tree on the right is *closer* to the new cut flower bed that I filled with composted manure and other soil amendments.  I also watered those cut flowers more than anything else over there.  So....did this Crabapple tree benefit from being adjacent to this loamy-nutrient-rich soil?  Probably.  

I made an animated gif of these espalier trees - from February 2024 to the last day of September 2024 below.  Really shows the change over seven months.


Before and After - Sugar Tyme Crabapple Tree Espalier - Horizontal Cordon


Location: Downers Grove, IL, USA

Comments

Post a Comment

Be nice to each other here.

Popular posts from this blog

Lou Malnati's Salad Dressing Recipe as Published in the 60's

Posted by on
Image
Earlier this winter, I wrote about the old Lou Malnati's menu and mentioned that as I was waiting around for my pie to finish up, I spied an old Chicago Tribune article posted on the wall that included the original Lou Malnati's Italian Salad Dressing Recipe.  The Tribune reporter called it "prized".  We were set to host a little pizza party over the weekend, so I figured I'd give it a shot.  Here's the article as seen through my mobile phone's camera. I'm not a wine drinker, so the fact that the recipe called for Burgundy wine didn't strike me as odd.  I went shopping at Angelo Caputos in Addison - a really incredible shopping experience - and when I got to the wine section I found Burgundy wine was carried ONLY in those HUGE jugs.  And they were dirt cheap.  The only issue is that needed just 4 ounces.  We ended up with a whole-lotta-wine that Nat won't drink. I've taken the recipe and modified it a bit by eliminating the percentage
Read more

Tom Thayer's Italian Beef Recipe

Posted by on
Image
TOM’S TAILGATER ITALIAN BEEF COURTESY OF Steve Dahl  and  DAHL.COM Ingredients: One 3 ½ to 4 pound boneless beef chuck pot roast One package of Zesty Italian Salad Dressing and Recipe Mix One 16 oz. jar of hot giardiniera One 16 oz. jar of mild giardiniera One dozen baguettes (French rolls) Directions: In a four-quart Crock-Pot, pour in one bottle of giardiniera. Place the roast on top of the layer of giardiniera. Sprinkle the salad dressing mixture on top of the roast. Add the second bottle of giardiniera to the top of the roast. Cover Crock-Pot and cook on high for 6 to 8 hours. When fork tender, shred the roast in the Crock-Pot and allow it to combine with the other ingredients. Slice the baguettes in half and pile on the beef and giardiniera mixture. ------------------------------------ For the babe's baptism party, we hosted a collection of family and friends back at our house after the church proceedings. We ordered some of the food from Maggiano's in
Read more

Walnut vs Tree of Heaven vs. Sumac Backyard Identification - June 2020

Posted by on
Image
That's a look *up* from the ground through a young, skinny tree limb as well as a larger, more mature (and confirmed) Black Walnut tree.  The leaves, from a distance look similar.  Back last year, I mentioned that I wanted to try to identify if a couple of young trees were worth keeping or if I should remove them.  And, knowing that I wanted to hold myself accountable, I included it as #15 on my to-do list for the yard this year . After poking around on the web in various places , I think I've settled on this clear cut detail that I found on r/WhatIsThisPlant on Reddit :  Walnut tree leaves have no notches.  Tree of Heaven (an invasive tree), do.  From u/blacksheep998 : Ailanthus has a small notch at the base of it's leaflets. Black walnut leaflets, while slightly toothed, lacked that distinctive nub. So, that's first thing to check:  Does the little tree leaves have those 'thumbs' or notches?   *Looks closer*... Sure, enough.   Thumbs are pre
Read more