March 20, 1998

Few trees are as beautiful in the springtime as flowering crabapples. In a good spring, the blossoms will literally cover every branch resulting in bold display of white, pink , or red flowers. The many varieties offer a wide array of shapes from weeping to spreading to columnar to upright. There is a broad range of sizes, foliage and flower color. Since they are actually apple trees, they produce fruits in a wide array of colors and sizes. Choose the right variety and you will add visual interest to your landscape in all seasons. Birds will appreciate the little apples in the winter when food is scarce.

The most important consideration in selecting a flowering crab is disease resistance. Many old varieties are very susceptible to apple scab and fire blight. Apple scab has been particularly troublesome in recent years because weather conditions have been perfect for the disease organisms to wreak their havoc. The disease starts out as small irregular dark spots on the leaves. Later the leaves turn yellow and fall from the tree. In the past couple years, most susceptible trees were naked as jay birds by midsummer.

While it is possible to chemically control the disease, most gardeners do not feel it is worth the annual expense of time and the exposure to spray drifts and mists. According to Jim Schuster, University of Illinois horticulture educator, it makes more sense to remove old disease-prone trees and replace them with newer disease-resistant varieties.

Although the list of new disease resistant varieties continues to grow, old varieties are still often sold because they can offered at a low price. The old saying, "You get what you pay for", is especially true in this case. Watch out for susceptible varieties like 'American Beauty', 'Hopa', 'Pink Perfection', 'Red Jade', and 'Spring Snow'. Beware of plants labeled only, 'Flowering Crab". You really don't know what you're getting. The extra dollars spent for a named variety is easily saved in the costs of spraying, raking, and pruning to control disease.

The crabapple, Malus 'Sugartyme', is my personal favorite. You can see a row of these splendid trees planted in the parkway along the north side of Visitation School in Kewanee. Even in 1996, when apple scab had devastated most susceptible trees by the fourth of July, 'Sugartyme' never dropped a leaf. This tree has an upright oval form with glossy deep green leaves. Flowers begin as pink buds and open to sparkling white. The small fruits, like holly berries, cover the branches in the fall and persist into late winter. At maturity 'Sugartyme' will be about twenty feet tall and wide.

Another exceptionally attractive specimen is Malus 'Prairiefire'. The foliage is deep reddish purple in spring and matures to dark green. The tree has an upright rounded form with rich dark red flowers and small dark purple apples. At maturity, 'Prairiefire' will be about twenty feet tall.

If space is limited, the Sargent crabapple, Malus sargentii, may be the perfect choice. It grows six to eight feet tall and up to twice as wide. Its single, fragrant flowers are red in bud, opening to white. Migrating birds will make good use of the bright red quarter-inch fruits.

Some plantsmen consider the crabapple, Malus 'Donald Wyman', to be the most beautiful of all. It has beautiful single white flowers with dark green foliage. It is a dense rounded tree that broadens with age and matures at about 15 to 20 feet. Its abundant bright red fruit persists late into winter.

There are hundreds of crabapple varieties and many are outstanding landscape specimens. Others are not worth the pots in which they're grown. You can get a list of recommended varieties from your local extension office or professional nurseryman. Digital gardeners can do a Yahoo search for "flowering crabapples" to get several lists of recommended varieties.