Saw this tree in an old vacant lot where I go to admire and worry over the OTHER tree (see the pics). Very old, twisted, ugly tree--with the most fantastic blooms. My guess is a Crabapple? What do you think? Took some cuttings, so would like to know.
Crabapple. Checkout the "plant file".
http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/showimage/190644/
probably crabapple, but there would have been fallen fruit, as most all I've seen in Raleigh bear fruit. that would be the give away. I adore jelly made from crabapple.
if not crabapple, decidedly an unpruned fruit tree of some sort. apple, peach, or plum my guess. fruit trees, especially older varieties I've seen, can "go wild' with growth and become unproductive. that color bloom I've seen on cherry trees, too.
I think I am wrong. Crabapples have more upright branches. At least mine do.
Could it be a very old Flowering Quince ? I say this because Quince branches go in all directions. Would love to know the correct answer.
I had a quince, and it did get a bit tangled up like this one, but was a shrub, not a tree. maybe I had a different kind of quince.
Crabapple for me. The branch form here is characteristic of older trees.
Resin
Hmm...maybe they are somewhat like some of the really old peach trees I see, that become quite twisted with age. What's the lifespan of a Crabapple, anyone?
We had a few very old crabapple trees near me when I was a child and that looks like a crabapple. I always thought the old trees looked creepy so it stuck in my mind. Especially durning the winter in early evening. I say old because they just looked old, back to creepy looking.
Light bulb goes off. I don't have room for any more fruit trees but some common areas in my neighborhood could probably use a creepy tree or two. Someone formed a garden club a few months ago maybe I will have to drop in for a meeting or two.
Looks very much like an old pear tree I inherited when I bought my property 20+ years ago. The wild arrangement of branches that I get if I don't prune every year looks very much like this one. Any possibility of a close up of the blossom? The leaf sprouts and knotty joints I think I can see in the picture look like a pear tree's growth.
Here's the close-up of leaves and flowers--I couldn't figure out how to put two pics in one thread...
http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/t/963795/
Yote: I have a damson plum tree in the yard in Asheville and it is old and was decrepit. I've been pruning it and feeding it and last year it was laden with fruit! Might be a plum of some kind.
Based on all the input from this and the other threads, I think its narrowed down to some kind of fruit. Pear and Crabapple are in the lead--it closely resembles both, and both are long-lived, and can take this twisty shape. I need to find out from others in my area if Crabapples are blooming right now. As I mentioned in a thread, my pears in my yard have not yet bloomed, but are very close, so I guess it could be Pear, and just be a little earlier than mine.
crabapples should be in bloom shortly, yotedog
Thanks, BonJon!
And the winner is......GESSIEVIOLET!! (I'll be sending you your new car and wardrobe...). Its definitely a pear--has set tons of beautiful fruit. Go figure, mine in my yard have not even finished blooming! Thanks to everybody!
Well, gosh! I don't know why there was a contest. The answer was so obvious to those in the know! BTW I am known in my circle (the size of a flea's eye) for my humility and lack of boastful pride!
Seriously, I hope the tree is filled with fruit come harvest time! That is the one time of year that I have LOTS of friends whom I've never seen actually stop by my house to ask for some pears, a few even share the preserves they make with us. I love it!
So glad you got it figured out... I've been checking back.
Got my Granny's pear preserve recipe all ready....just hope no one else has discovered "my" tree!
