Crab Apple (Malus)

These days Crab Apples are grown primarily as an ornamental and not for their small tangy fruit. There are still some who treasure the fruit, using it to make various preserves but they are few and far between. Breeders have also focused more  on the aesthetic characteristics as opposed to the culinary. Crab Apples are small deciduous tree in the same genus as the common apple. Their bare branches swell with bud at the end of winter and explode with masses of colourful blossoms in early spring.

Care

Plant bare-rooted  Crab Apples in winter, while they are leafless and dormant. Chose a position which receives full sun and has rich, well drained soil. Water in with a seaweed solution, water regularly until established, but only when the soil is beginning to dry. Prune lightly after the flowering season to remove any broken branches and to thin out some of the weaker branches. Keep an eye out for suckers below the bud union and promptly remove any that appear.

Uses

An excellent feature plant when planted as a single specimen, also makes a good loose, informal screen. Also produces a wonderful little fruit which is great for making jelly.

Varieties

Ornamental

Betchel

Cinderella

Hamlet

Lancelot

Sugar Tyme

Tom Matthews

Royal Raindrops

Fruiting

Maypole

Gorgeous   

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