Crab apple tree on public boulevard in my neighborhood
With their stunning buds and flowers, the interesting shapes of their growth patterns, fall leaf colors and fruit that matures in fall but oftentimes persists through winter, crab apples have been called the “jewel of the landscape.”
Crab apples are planted in parks, on boulevards and in many other public places, as well as urban and suburban yards all over the world. Their flamboyant display of spring blooms is often the reason. The flowers bud out before the leaves unfurl, creating a jewel-like display on the branches. The flowers then open, most often a different color than the buds, adding another dimension to the display. Finally the leaves arrive, their delicate spring green contrasting nicely with the white, delicate pink, or even deep red flowers.
Crab apples can grow from 8 to 40 feet high, with most varieties averaging 15 to 25 feet in height. Their growth habit varies with the variety but usually take one of the following shapes: weeping (pendulous), rounded, spreading (horizontal), upright (columnar), vase-shaped, or pyramidal. Coupled with their range of flower and fruit colors, a crab apple variety can be found to suit most any landscaping need.
With proper drainage crab apples are adaptable to any soil conditions, but they thrive in loam. They are reliably hardy through Zone 4. Crab apples are excellent pollinators for regular apple trees and branches of crab apples are sometimes grafted onto a standard eating apple for pollination purposes.
Plant balled and burlaped (B & B) or container potted crab apple trees in fall. Plant bare root specimens in spring only. Crab apples require little care except watering and a little fertilizer until midsummer. Prune crab apples only to remove water sprouts (vigorous growth from branches), suckers (vigorous growth from roots), dead, diseased, damaged or crossing branches. Prune in early June; pruning later in the year will reduce the number of flowers and fruits the following year.
Crab apples are crab apples if their fruit is 2 inches or less in diameter. On many varieties the fruit stays on the trees until well into winter, with some varieties holding onto its fruit into the following spring and summer. The fruit of crab apples can range in color from dark-reddish purple through reds, oranges, golden yellows, even a few green varieties.
The larger varieties can be spiced and canned or made into crab apple jelly or wine. That’s an addition to the landscape worth its weight in gold.
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