Crabapple pruning question

So, I bought a couple of crabapple trees for $8.95 at Lowe's. End of season sale. They are not great examples of their species, but they flower so nicely and give food to the birds, so I figured I'd just get them anyway. They are tall, about 7-8 feet tall, but no real "branches" to speak of. At about 4 feet tall, the trunk kind of splits into two branches. Each "branch" is currently covered in fruits for about the last 18 inches to the tip. Each branch is about 3 to 4 feet long. They sort of hang out to the side because they are heavy with fruit, but otherwise, there are no real branches on the tree.

I can post pictures later if needed, but just imagine a really tall, lanky Y shape.

My question is, how do I encourage branching? All the pruning sites I can find seem to focus on pruning stuff that has too many branches and is way overgrown. I was thinking maybe I should chop each of the two arms of the Y to maybe a foot or so (after flowering next spring) and that would encourage new branching? Or is that too harsh? Or should I do it now? I know they'll probably never be perfect specimens, but I'd like to try and do what I can to make them a bit bushier.

Thanks,
Claire

I'm going to go out on a limb here - pun intended - and say leave them alone. They have a lot of growing to do and need the leaves as food factories to produce new growth. Cut that of and well.... you get the picture. Just which Malus are these?

Two are labelled as "Profusion" and one just says "Red Crabapple." Mystery species I guess! I have a fairly long gravel driveway and would eventually like to have flowering crabs up each side of it in mixed pinks and whites. That's where they are planted and I can certainly leave them alone - I just don't want the branches to break because they get so long and awkward looking and we get a lot of wind here.

Hmmm, well "Red Crabapple" cetainly covers a lot of cultivars. The 'Profusion' is also a dark red/pink. That ought to be a beautiful sight up a long driveway. They would be best left alone until established. Then if needed, begin to prune for shape. Here, squirrels do an unwanted pruning by climbing out on the slender branches tips after the fruit and breaking them off in the process. Except for crossing branches, I've never had to prune for form or to encourage any growth. Take care to remove any suckers. Dig down with your fingers and pull them off from the originating root. The digging in the roots won't hurt the tree. Don't cut the suckers as this will only encourage more. There is a chemical spray which kills suckers called Sucker Stopper. It is expensive and last for about three months. Then a reapplication may be necessary. Removing them by hand, while tedious, is cheaper and more effectively discourages future sucker growth.

http://www.neeps.com/055038.html

Hi there. Interesting info re: digging vs cutting suckers. I'll definitely dig next time, since I've been developing a wad o' sucker stumplets at the base of every crabapple tree I own (and they keep coming back).
I have a question that is a little off topic, but I was wondering if anyone out there happens to know why my Bechtel crabapples all get random yellow leaves throughout the summer. None of my other crabapples do this (I have at least 7 different types), just my Bechtels. Any ideas?

Are they yellow with spots, or are they just plain yellow? I had a crabapple at my old house that would get leaf spots every year, it would start off the leaves were green and they'd develop blackish spots on them and by the end of the summer the spots would get more numerous and larger and a lot of the leaves would be yellow (still with the spots though). If that's what is happening with yours, some crabapples are probably more resistant to things like this than others, so it could be the Bechtels are more susceptible.

SnowlineRose:

Malus ioensis 'Plena' (Bechtel crabapple) is susceptible to cedar-apple rust and apple scab. I'd suggest that rust is providing you with the yellowed foliage.

There are many disease-resistant crabapples on the market, and I bet most of yours fall in that category if they don't show foliar problems. What are some of the other types you are growing?

Much farther off topic, I just had the pleasure of visiting Bend a few weeks ago. Stellar - we had a big old time romping around the lava beds south of there. Utterly devoid of crabapples...

Thanks for the info. I'll have to take a closer look at the leaves this weekend. What is odd is that it will just be one leaf here and there (like 5 total at a time on one tree), and the leaf will be completely yellow while all others on the tree are green. So weird.
The crabapples I have planted (so far) are: Royal Raindrops (fabulous branching structure), Golden Raindrops, Indian Magic, Snowdrift, Purple Prince, Prairiefire, and four Bechtels. I had a weeping Molten Lava, but the groundsquirrels ate all of its roots clean off a couple of winters ago.
ViburnumValley - small world that you were in Bend, OR - from KY! Great pict - very representative of the high desert that flows eastward from the base of the Cascade Range.

It may not be as dire as a fungal disease - could simply be sloughing some foliage. Closer looks are always better, and maybe post a pic if you find anything interesting.

The other clones you are growing are some pretty highly rated selections. Haven't grown 'Royal Raindrops' myself yet, but I'm familiar with the others. I really like 'Golden Raindrops' (yellow fruit, dissected foliage, incredibly vigorous grower) and 'Prairiefire'.

Of course, the reason one finds so many named selections of crabapples is because they derive from such mixed hybridized heritage. No one selection performs the same way in every part of this diverse-growing-condition country, much less the rest of the world. For those contemplating growing this great plant, consult local information available through the Cooperative Extension Service or the nearest university with a horticulture program. Most all of this info would be available online as well, but make sure it refers to your growing area, not someplace else where conditions will be different.

We had a fine time on a whirlwind week wandering the west half of Oregon. Few disappointments - finding the McKenzie Pass outside Sisters closed was one. But - that saves something to do next time...

Where did the yellow leaves appear? Were they placed randomly throughout the tree or were they on the bottoms of the limbs? Were they pure yellow or did they have dark green veins? All of these facts matter. Pictures or verbal descriptions might help.
Overall, how are the trees growing? Well? Poorly? I love the flowers on Bechtel crabapples, and even the little apples are cute. I have grown them here in New Mexico with no real problems, but they did take a while to get started. Years, actually. But once they started they were covered both with flowers and, in time, fruits. How are yours behaving in the big picture?

ok - I finally got some picts. The yellow leaves appear in random places in each of our four Bechtels. Overall, the trees are doing well. Here's a pict of one of them. I don't know if you can see the yellow leaves in this pict (that's how isolate they are).

And here's a close-up of one of the yellow leaves. Maybe it wouldn't hurt to apply some systemic stuff on the trees?

My guess is that your tree could use some nitrogen. Not too much, but when trees turn yellow at the bottom of the branch up, that sounds like a nitrogen deficiency. If the leaves turn yellow but stay green around the veins, it sounds like an iron deficiency. This doesn't look like iron deficiency.
I am no expert, but I would try a bit of nitrogen fertilizer on your trees -- perhaps more in the form of manure or rabbit pellets because we are past the middle of the summer and you don't want to spur a bunch of new growth with winter headed our way. Then in the spring maybe it will come up with all green leaves.
Feel free to take a small branch like the one in the picture to your county agent who knows a lot more than I do, but, to me, it doesn't look like a disease.

Many thanks for the good advice, paja. I'll try applying some manure on the Bechtels. I've been working my way around the property putting manure on our shrubs and trees, but I hadn't yet gotten to the area where the Bechtels live. I'll also try to remember to take a little branch to our local farmer's market next week - the ag extension folks have a booth there. Thanks again!

My pleasure!