If it stirs interest, it is time to read on.
In this article
What is crabapple?
It is not wrong but it is not entirely right too.
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They are native to Asia and North America.
They are sought because of their growth habit making them a compelling sight for fruit and flower displays.
They bear smaller fruits that are slightly bitter compared to the common apple.
Its fruits are used in apple cider and preserves.
What does crabapple look like?
As have been mentioned, crabapples are smaller in height compared to the common apple tree.
They also have more spines and have stiffer stems and branches.
As a decorative tree, it has very beautiful foliage.
It is known for its five petals that come in white, pink, and purple colors.
Its fruits are winter tolerant too but they are small in size with less than 2 inches in diameter.
In general, this is how a crabapple looks.
A flowering crabapple tree.
The small but luscious crabapple fruits.
What are crabapple trees good for?
It is a common misnomer that crabapples are not edible or that they are justdecorative trees.
In this case, what are crabapple trees good for?
Crabapples are tartier than common apples making them a favorite target of honey bees.
you’ve got the option to add them to jellies and preserves too.
Grafting
Truth be told, crabapples have more strength and vigor than the common apple.
They have a good reputation in not being infected easily with disease and they can tolerate harsh climatic conditions.
Beyond these characteristics, there are still other ways to identify a crabapple tree.
Leaves
Crabapple leaves change in color throughout the entire year.
The leaf edges are serrated too and grow alternately instead of growing across from each other.
They are oval in shape with a pointy end.
Leaves form in clusters.
Young leaves grow with hairy undersides while old leaves are hairless.
Flowers
The blooms appear in between April to May.
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Its flowers bloom in clusters of five petals, semi-double petals, and double petals.
Fruit
There are also variations in the size of crabapple fruits but they are always two inches in diameter.
If it is bigger in size than that, that is definitely not a crabapple.
Height
As medium-sized trees, crabapples grow at a maximum of 15-30 feet.
In this post, we will cover more than twenty of them.
This will help you when the time comes when you make up your mind to plant one.
It will grow small red-violet fruits after but would be too bitter to even consume.
Its small red-purple fruits will supply food for the birds during the winter.
Dolgo crabapple (Malus x Dolgo)
The Dolgo is always a popular choice.
It blooms earlier than the other variants with spreading shape foliage.
It towers with white fragrant blooms that will leave a long-lasting scent around.
Lollipop crabapple (Malus Lollipop)
It has an elegant touch in beautiful yards.
It has small, pure white blooms in the spring and a pale-yellow color in the fall.
It maintains a circular shape all throughout even after pruning that is why it is named as such.
It is resistant to diseases, bearing red fruits.
It starts as red buds that will eventually grow white in the summer with tinges of pink and burgundy.
It will bear small, glossy fruits after that should best be left for the critters in winter.
Coralburst crabapple (Malus Coralburst)
It is distinct for its symmetrical round heads.
It opens with coral pink buds and semi-double bold pink petals in the mid-Spring.
Bronze fruits will follow after plus it is disease resistant so all good.
They bloom in mid to late spring and leave a gentle scent in the air.
It is called profusion because of its purple-red leaves in the spring and bronze-green in the summer.
Its dark red-purple flowers have these distinct white centers.
It is disease resistant too.
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Its red berries can persist through the winter with a pyramid shape as it matures.
Another 60 petals will continue to bloom from it in the late spring.
It will bear fruits that will mature in the fall.
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It is good for making jellies.
Its fruits are distinct for their round shape but flat bottoms and red overcoats.
It is best for smaller sized gardens.
They are also harvested for wine and cider.
They are on displays during May prodding those large white blooms.
It looks like a candy cane with its white and pink flowers.
It is slow-growing but it grows a lot of red-orange berries.
Brandywine crabapple (Malus Branzam Brandywine)
It is one of the top crabapple choices for years.
It has very lush foliage with bright pink double petal flowers.
It has a distinct rounded shape and will stand from 10-20 feet.
It will have dark green leaves in the summer and red-orange leaves in the fall.
Harvest the yellow-green fruits as they ripen and turn them into jams and jellies in time for winter.
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Its parent plant is the sargent and is disease resistant.
It is grown in containers.
How far do crabapple trees grow?
Crabapples typically grow with a smaller stature and require less maintenance work but how far do crabapple trees grow?
Their root system is also the same as their spread so imagine a ten feet root spread, right?
When do crabapple trees bloom?
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Crabapples can bloom for two straight weeks depending on the crabapple variety and of course the weather condition.
Nonetheless, crabapples are expected to bloom around April or May.
The planting time takes into consideration crabapple varieties.
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As for the other considerations, here is how you plant a crabapple tree.
Plant depth
The first step to planting is of course locating the best spot.
They must also be planted in a spot where they could get six hours of undisrupted sunlight.
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The next thing to do is to dig a planting hole with 4-feet diameter.
Around the planting hole should be at least an 8-feet diameter to provide space.
Soil mix
Add peat moss and compost to the soil you dug out.
When the hole is filled, gently stomp your feet to even the soil.
As soon as you do this, water the site and wait for it to drain completely.
Add some soil if they get too compressed.
Repeat the process until soil compression stops.
Watering
Crabapple trees need one inch of water per week for the first year it is planted.
A 2-5 inch mulch should also be applied every summer to help in the blooms and fruits.
How to prune a crabapple tree
Pruning is also not necessary when it comes to crabapples.
One very important advice though, pruning after June will make the next years bloom diminished.
How long do crabapple trees live?
Crabapple trees are known to be long-living deciduous trees.
A few crabapple variants are notable because they get to live for up to seventy years.
How to prevent crabapple shoots?
Although crabapples are quite resistant to other diseases, they are prone to shoots straight from the rootstock.
They are bad for our prized crab apples because they drain the energy of the plant.
One of the most common reasons why shoots persist in crabapples would be soil moisture and even irrigation.
To address this and avoid the onset of shoots, you need a trowel and look through the soil.
Minimal shoots will still form and it is best to cut them off as soon as they even sprout.
How big does a crabapple tree get?
While there are dwarf varieties of crabapples, the typical height for crabapples would be 15 to 30 feet.
And for medium-sized trees like crabapples, 30 feet is more than enough for these types of trees.
Crabapple diseases
Crabapples are distinct because they are often resistant to common diseases, unlike the others.
But of course, they are not invincible.
You would be glad to know though that there are only three common crabapple diseases.
Pruning infected branches and irrigating would address the problem.
Apple scab
This is common to a lot of fruit-bearing trees.
Infected fruits will have rough spots on the surface and leaves fall prematurely making it look bare and thin.
The Fungicide will be the best recourse as soon as the flower buds take color.
Applying fungicide for three weeks will stop it.
Frogeye leaf spot
Leaf Spots are purple in color forming in the margins after the leaves unfold.
Old spots will turn gray following a pattern.
The leaves will also turn to yellow and will fall prematurely.
Are crabapples edible?
The short answer to can you eat crab apples is yes.
But across variants, the taste will be different.
The smaller the fruit, the sourer it could get.
Of course, it still has toxic value too like its cousin, the common apple.
Stay away from eating its stem and seeds and you will be okay.
How to use crabapples?
There are a lot of ways to put crabapples into good use and here are some of them.
Natural shade
They have a good foliage spread, sturdy trunk and strong root system.
Pectin
you could ferment crabapples and make pectin out of them.
Crabapple juice and liqueur
For the juice, just add sugar and cream of tartar.
Just leave it in a bottle for two months and you will have your own crabapple wine.
Crabapple sauce
You might have had one during Thanksgiving.
It is easy to make with just two ingredients: crabapples and sweeteners.
Just drain and mash.
These are just at the tip of the iceberg.
It offers natural decor, shade and display.
It is so beautiful to look at when it blooms.
Go and plant one now because you are in for a lot of treats.
