Crabapple

Crabapples are small apple trees with little, sour fruits, and they are among the most colorful trees you can plant. A tree is usually called a crabapple if its fruits are 2 inches (5 cm) across or smaller. Crabapples put on a show in every season, from spring blossoms to bright autumn fruit that can hang on the branches into winter.

Scientific Classification & Quick Facts

Common name	Crabapple
Scientific name	Malus
Kingdom	Plantae
Phylum	Tracheophyta
Class	Magnoliopsida
Order	Rosales
Family	Rosaceae
Type	Small deciduous tree
Habitat	Scrubland, hedgerows, woods and field edges
Native range	Cool regions of Russia and Asia
Colours	White to pink to dark red flowers
Flowering season	Late April to late May
Height	Up to about 8 m

A Tree for All Seasons

In spring, crabapple buds are often deep pink or red, then open into clouds of white, pink, or rosy-red flowers. In summer the leaves fill out, and in autumn the fruits ripen to red, orange, yellow, or gold while the leaves change color. After the leaves drop, the fruit and the shape of the branches stand out against winter snow. No wonder crabapples are called “jewels of the landscape.”

Crabapples also come in many shapes, including round, spreading, upright, vase-shaped, and weeping. Because they are tough and adaptable, they are planted in yards, parks, schools, and along roads.

• Crabapples are very sour to eat raw, but they make delicious jelly because they are full of pectin.
• Many birds, such as cedar waxwings and robins, eat the fruits, and deer and other mammals eat fallen apples.
• Crabapple wood is hard and is used for carving and tool handles, and as fragrant firewood.

What Crabapples Look Like

Crabapples are small deciduous trees, meaning they lose their leaves in autumn. Most grow about 15 to 25 feet tall, though some are smaller shrubs and a few reach 40 feet.

The flowers grow in clusters and have five petals with yellow anthers in the middle. The fruits are like tiny apples, usually less than 2 inches across. They ripen in late summer and fall, and on many trees they stay on the branches well into winter.

Where Crabapples Grow

There are around 30 to 55 species of wild apples and crabapples. They grow naturally in cool, temperate parts of Europe, Asia, and North America. Europe has its own wild crabapple, and North America has several native species, such as the sweet crabapple and prairie crabapple, which grow at the edges of woods, in thickets, and on prairie margins.

Their flowers are a great source of nectar and pollen for bees and other insects. Gardeners have also bred hundreds of ornamental varieties for their flowers, fruit, and disease resistance.

Growing Crabapples at Home

Soil

Crabapples can grow in many soils, but they do best in rich, loamy, well-drained soil that is slightly acidic, around pH 5.0 to 6.5. Avoid low spots where water collects, because soggy roots can rot. Once established, crabapples can handle fairly dry sites.

Pale, small, or scorched-looking leaves are often a sign that a tree is stressed by poor conditions.

Planting

Photo by: Jim Champion

The name “crabapple” has nothing to do with the sea creature called a crab. It probably comes from an old word for a wild, sour apple.

Container-grown and balled-and-burlapped trees can be planted from spring to fall, as long as the ground is not frozen. Bare-root trees should be planted in early spring while they are still dormant.

Keep the roots moist until planting. Dig a hole about two to three times wider than the root ball and no deeper, so the tree sits at the same depth it grew before. Spread the roots out without bending or circling them, since circling roots can strangle the tree as it grows. Trim off any broken roots.

Refill the hole with the original soil, mixed with some compost if the soil is poor. Water as you fill to settle the soil, rather than stamping it down hard. Then spread about 2 inches of mulch around the tree, keeping it away from the trunk, and keep grass from growing right up to it.

Watering

A young tree needs about 1 inch of water a week during its first year, from rain or a hose. Too much water can be just as bad as too little, because waterlogged roots can rot.

Once established, crabapples need less help, but during long droughts they benefit from a deep soaking every week or two. A thirsty tree usually will not die quickly, but it will grow less and produce fewer flowers and fruits.

Sunlight and Climate

For the best flowers and fruit, plant crabapples in full sun, with at least six to eight hours of direct sunlight a day. Most varieties are very cold hardy and grow well in USDA zones 4 to 8, and some even survive zone 3.

Flowering

Depending on the variety and the spring weather, crabapples bloom from mid-April to May. Flowers may be single (five petals), semi-double (6 to 10 petals), or double (more than 10 petals). Double flowers usually last longer, but these varieties often produce few fruits.

Care and Pruning

In reasonably fertile soil, crabapples need little fertilizer. Feed them only if they grow less than about 6 inches a year or the leaves are small and pale.

Prune lightly in late winter. Remove suckers (shoots from the base), water sprouts (straight shoots from branches), and dead, damaged, or crossing branches. This lets in light and air and helps prevent disease.

Pests and Diseases

The most common crabapple diseases are apple scab, which spots the leaves and makes them fall early, plus fire blight, cedar-apple rust, powdery mildew, and frogeye leaf spot. The easiest way to avoid them is to choose a disease-resistant variety.

Insects such as aphids, leafhoppers, leafminers, tent caterpillars, and Japanese beetles may nibble the leaves, but they usually cause only minor damage. Caterpillar nests can be pruned off or removed by hand with gloves on. Treat young trees only if a large share of the leaves is being eaten.

Popular Crabapple Varieties

Here are some well-known crabapple varieties and what makes them special:

• ‘Molten Lava’: 12 to 15 feet tall and weeping, with white flowers, red-orange fruit, and yellow-orange bark that brightens winter.
• ‘Red Jade’: A graceful weeping tree, about 10 to 15 feet, with pink buds, white flowers, and glossy red fruit that lasts into winter.
• ‘Mary Potter’: Low and wide, about 10 to 15 feet tall, with white flowers and small red fruit.
• Sargent crabapple (Malus sargentii): A small, spreading shrub-like tree about 6 to 10 feet tall, with white flowers, tiny red fruit, and good scab resistance.
• ‘Red Jewel’: About 12 to 15 feet tall, with white flowers and bright red fruits that hang on through fall and winter.
• ‘Donald Wyman’: Up to about 20 feet tall, with pink buds, white flowers, glossy leaves, and shiny red fruit that birds love.
• ‘Sugar Tyme’: 15 to 18 feet tall, with pale pink buds, fragrant white flowers, and long-lasting red fruit.
• ‘Jackii’ (Malus baccata ‘Jackii’): A larger tree, 30 to 40 feet tall, with white flowers, dark red fruit, and dark green, disease-resistant leaves.
• ‘Bob White’: About 20 feet tall, with white flowers and small yellow fruit that stays on the tree through much of the winter, feeding birds.
• ‘Sentinel’: An upright, narrow tree about 15 to 20 feet tall, with pale pink flowers fading to white and small red fruit.
• ‘Strawberry Parfait’: A spreading tree with pink flowers edged in darker pink and yellow fruit with a red blush.

Crabapple FAQs

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