Flowering Crabapples

One of the things I most look forward to in the spring is the beautiful blooms on the flowering crabapple trees. Even though the flowers are relatively short-lived, between 10-14 days, the various varieties will bloom at different times, giving us a 4-5 week period for enjoyment.

The trees' flower colors vary widely, ranging from red to pink and white. If you pay close attention, the swollen flower buds may also offer a different color range than the fully open petal. I've also noticed that the intensity of the flower color changes throughout their bloom period. Often, very dark pink in the early stages can appear almost white by the end of the bloom.

Here's a video highlighting many varieties:

Unless you have the label or records of a planted tree, it can be challenging to know what variety you are looking at because of these flower color transitions. The same is true for leaf color. Depending on the variety, leaf colors can change throughout the season with varying shades of green mixed with coppery and crimson tones. There are also many purple-leaf varieties available.

Fall colors can also be very showy on the flowering crabs.

So, if you spot a "treasure" in your community (and you have to have one), you may have to do some detective work to determine what variety you are looking at, paying attention to the flower buds, petals, leaf color, and shape of the tree.

Flowering crabs come in many shapes and sizes, which can help narrow down the variety you are looking at. Some are grafted dwarfs or have weeping habits. Many newer varieties are pyramidal, making them ideal for smaller yards or creating borders. And there are trees that will be in certain size ranges, whether it be 10 feet, 20 feet, or 30 feet at maturity.

And since we are talking about crabapples, I should probably mention the fruit. Most varieties sold and grown today have small fruit that develop throughout the growing season, becoming quite showy in the fall and winter months. The majority of these are not for human consumption. Fruit sizes are usually between 1/4-1" and in clusters. Wildlife, such as birds and squirrels, love them and feed on the fruits throughout winter. As with the flowers and leaves, the colors here can also range from yellow to orange to red to dark purple.

For many years, I sold trees at garden centers. I was always surprised (eventually not surprised) that many customers did not want fruit on their crabapple trees. I enjoy the fruit as much as I enjoy the flowers. I guess they felt the fruit was messy. To each, their own, but the wildlife keeps the areas where my trees are planted pretty clean, and they sure are fun to watch. And what a great way to provide food all winter long for these critters.

The Spring Snow Crabapple is the only tree I am aware of that is sterile and fruitless in this group. For that reason, it is one of the most commonly planted trees. It has a beautiful white, absolutely packed flower display in the spring. Unfortunately, it is susceptible to apple scab disease, which can cause early leaf drop but usually does not cause the tree's death.

The Dolgo crab is an older variety with white flowers and larger fruit over 1" that can be used for human consumption. A few years back, I helped a winemaker harvest the fruits on a large tree. I had never gone up and down a ladder so many times in one day, and my aching muscles ensured I did not forget it the next few days!

I mentioned Apple Scab being a problem with the spring snow variety, but it can also be problematic on many other varieties, especially in humid areas. Cedar Apple Rust is another fungal problem affecting apples. Fireblight is a bacterial disease that can eventually kill trees in the entire Malus (apple) genus.

When shopping for a new tree, make sure you do some research and/or check the label for disease resistance, which is available on many newer varieties.

If you are dealing with leaf disease problems in your trees, fungicide sprays can be used in the spring to keep these foliar diseases in check. But Fireblight is usually controlled by sanitation by pruning out infected branches in the dormant season.

Due to their hardiness and dozens of varieties to choose from, it's hard not to want at least one flowering crab in your garden!

To start your search, Bailey Nurseries is a wholesale-only grower but has some good information available to the public on its website. Its website has photos and descriptions of many different hardy varieties for northern gardens.

Thanks for stopping by Garden Hike!

Kevin

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