Crab apples provide year-round color with their vibrant foliage and fruits. They are small to medium-sized trees with attractive, densely-branched crowns and rugged, often rough bark.
Resilient plants like these make excellent additions to modern gardens, flourishing even in colder climates while adding spring color and providing fall color throughout the season. Plus, with beautiful fall leaves and fruit to offer an added flourish for all-season interest.
Leaves
Crab apple trees make an excellent choice for cool areas as they tend to be more winter hardy than most spring-flowering shrubs and more heat tolerant than fruit trees. Plus they boast colorful fall foliage as well as charming spring and summer blooms; plus some cultivars produce delicious autumn-ripening fruits! It is no wonder this small tree is such a hit among gardeners.
Crab apple leaves vary by variety, but all are usually opposite and ovate to round or oval in shape. Their colors range from green to dark purple with red or pink tinges on their undersides; some varieties even feature stripes of yellow, bluish-green and red on them!
Crab apples produce fragrant white flowers in spring that range from single or double blooms with five to eight petals, sometimes tinted pink, which bloom into small round or oblong fruits that turn yellow, orange, or red by autumn and linger on their trees into winter. Some varieties produce fruit with sour tastes which can be used to make jellies.
As most crab apples do not self-pollinate, they require another tree’s pollen in order to set and bear fruit the following year. Gardeners frequently plant multiple crab apple trees either as focal points in groups or mixed in with other flowers that bloom simultaneously with them for a more captivating landscape design.
Wildlife and birds love these small trees for many reasons – not only do they look fantastic, but their branches provide shelter to squirrels, songbirds and other animals, while the fruit from many varieties of crab apples last well into winter and provide nourishment for birds!
To maximize the benefits of your crab apple tree, plant it in a sunny location with well-draining soil. When planting, dig a hole twice as wide and deep as its root ball before filling with soil to reduce air pockets. After watering well initially after planting, continue watering weekly before gradually decreasing frequency after the plant becomes established.
Flowers
Crab apple trees’ flowers vary dramatically in terms of color, fragrance and appearance depending on their cultivar. Blooms typically open in spring with five petals or more depending on which variety it belongs to; fruits typically ripen in fall but may remain through winter depending on which cultivar was selected for growth.
Crab apple trees are relatively low maintenance trees that don’t need extensive pruning to remain in good shape and reduce disease risks. Pruning can still help shape them however; just make sure it takes place during late summer to shorten new growth by one-quarter to one-third. Overcrowded branches should also be pruned away in this fashion to promote airflow around them and avoid wet weather pruning which encourages disease spread. Luckily, several modern varieties of crab apples are resistant to common pests and diseases like scab, leaf spot and apple rust.
Crab apples make beautiful additions to any landscape, from being hardy and low maintenance, to their exquisite beauty. As specimen trees or planted together into rows or groups for a grove effect. A row along a driveway can add extra curb appeal, and their low stature make them particularly suitable for placing under powerlines.
Crab apples can be grown throughout the United States and Canada, though their distribution tends to be most prevalent in Eastern regions. Unfortunately, they’re not suitable for every climate – as such they should only be planted between Zones 3-9.
For optimal results when growing a flowering crabapple tree, choose a site in full sunlight. This will enable your tree to thrive while creating the most colorful display possible from its fruits and blooms. In addition, its soil should be loose yet well-draining with ample nutrients available to feed its roots.
When selecting a site for your crabapple, keep in mind its susceptibility to root rot in poorly draining soil. If you have clay-like or sandy soils, consider amending with organic matter to increase drainage and fertility. Also keep in mind that the seeds and core of crab apples are toxic, so small animals and pets should stay clear from them.
Fruits
Crab apple trees are highly valued trees due to their multifaceted benefits: natural decor, shade and an eye-catching display of flowers and fruit. Furthermore, their easy growth makes them the perfect addition to a backyard garden or park, or as an ornamental tree. In fact, their flowers, fruits, leaves, birds and other creatures visit gardens and parks across the nation regularly and find comfort from this tree’s flowers, fruit or leaves!
Apples tend to be smaller in size than pears and tend to grow in clusters two inches or smaller in diameter, rather than individually drooping pomes like those seen on rowans (Malus sieboldii). Their simple ovate leaves feature serrated edges and grow alternately on the twigs; fragrant flowers may bloom single, semi-double, double or even single with white, pink, carmine or purplish hues in springtime – some varieties produce flowers with five petals while others boast six to 10 petals!
Like most deciduous fruit trees, crab apples benefit from regular pruning in the fall and summer to maintain optimal health and beauty of their trees. Dead, damaged or overcrowded branches must be pruned off regularly to maintain health and beauty for these deciduous fruit trees. Crab apples also prefer moist soil conditions so it’s wise to water in spring/summer as growth commences.
Crab apples don’t seem to suffer the same maladies that large fruit trees do, with older varieties often suffering serious ailments; however, newer disease-resistant strains have made the crab apple one of the more popular backyard trees once again.
Whoever’s searching for an easy-care tree with year-round appeal should consider the compact weeping “Snowdrift” crab apple tree variety. With pure white blossoms blooming each spring against red buds and orange-red fruits contrasting against yellow autumn leaves, its small fruits make delicious jelly and make an eye-catching focal point in any landscape setting. Fire blight and scab resistance is an added bonus while it remains moderately susceptible to mildew and leaf spot problems.
Identifying a Crabapple
Crab apples can be difficult to identify even for those familiar with them, due to being members of the rose family like wild plums and hawthorns (Crataegus spp). However, there are certain features that set crab apples apart from other trees: their scaly bark, alternate leaves, five-petaled flowers, and clustered fruits are distinguishing features that help identify crab apples from others.
if you are uncertain if what you are seeing is a crabapple tree, take note of its branches. Crab apple branches tend to be round with either ascending or spreading growth patterns and may droop low resembling weeping tree-like structures.
Leaves of an elliptic-to-ovate shape with serrated edges can be found growing alternately on branches. Their colors range from green to dark green or an array of muted fall hues like yellow and orange hues.
Crab apple trees produce showy five-petalled blooms in spring that open into five petalled fruit in fall that ranges in size from small and round to pea-sized, providing birds and wildlife with food throughout winter months. Many crab apples remain on trees throughout winter to provide birds and animals with food during colder times.
An important characteristic of crab apples is their fruit, which typically measures less than two inches and contains numerous seeds. Some cultivars produce larger fruit.
Crab apple trees can be identified by their distinctive twigs: cracking and scaly. Furthermore, their branches often sport single rows of thorns on their branches to distinguish it further from other trees.
A good way to identify Sugar Tyme cultivars or any other cultivar is by inspecting their seeds and cores, which contain natural substances called cyanogenic glycoside that your body metabolizes into cyanide when consumed (2). If in doubt, seek assistance from your local nursery or plant expert who will be able to determine whether or not a shrub or tree you have is indeed a crab apple cultivar.
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