Plant ‘em if you’ve got ‘em. If you don’t have ‘em, get ‘em. They are not referred to as “Jewel of the Landscape” by accident. Those wonderful ornamental flowering crabapples offer a distinct landscape feature for every single season, are easy to grow, generally require little maintenance and somewhere at a local nursery or garden center there is one with your name on it.

First, let’s chat a bit about crabapples. Both apples and crabapples are in the rose family (Rosaceae) and the genus, Malus. This is where size really matters. Trees that produce fruit in excess of two inches in diameter are considered to be apples. Trees that produce fruit two inches or less in size are considered crabapples.

There are several wonderful varieties of crabapples such as Dolgo and Hopa that do produce fruit large enough for nibbling on and which are more frequently used for making jelly. What we will be sharing in this article, however, is information about a baker’s dozen of my favorite ornamental crabapples. Here we go.

1. Malus ‘Adams’ (Adams Crabapple) has a rounded shape with a mature height of approximately 25’ and spread of 20’. It is adorned with pink flowers, orange to red fall color and ½” to 5/8” red fruit which holds well into the winter. Considered hardy in zones 4-7, it also has good disease resistance.

2. Malus ‘Indian Magic’ (Indian Magic Crabapple) is somewhat vase shaped in form, with a height of 18’ and spread that is similar. It has red buds that open to deep pink flowers, and has glossy orange to red ½” fruit that persists all winter. The foliage is dark green, turning orange to reddish in the fall. This one is disease resistant and considered hardy in zones 4-7.

3. Malus ‘Donald Wyman’ (Donald Wyman Crabapple) exhibits a rounded form at maturity with a height and spread of approximately 20’ each. It has large white flowers, 3/8” red fruit which persists well into the winter, and glossy green summer foliage. Hardy in zones 4-7 it has excellent disease resistance.

4. Malus ‘Liset’ (Liset Crabapple) is an 18’ high by 15’ wide spread and has a dense rounded form. Its flowers are a deep red color, the foliage is shiny purplish, and the fruit is ½” red to maroon in color. It is very disease resistant and rated for zones 4-7.

5. Malus ‘Pink Spires’ (Pink Spires Crabapple) is one of my favorites where space is limited, because it is upright in form and only has a 12’ spread. It can even be used in boulevards for this very reason. It ultimately attains a height of 20’, has profuse pink flowers and small, dark red fruit. The foliage is reddish in the spring, becoming green to bronze during the summer. This crab has great hardiness, being rated for zones 2-7.

6. Malus ‘Profusion’ (Profusion Crabapple) becomes a 20’ high tree with a 25’ spread at maturity. It exhibits bronze foliage in the spring, becoming more green over time. The flowers are reddish with a pink center and the fruit is a deep red. It has shown good disease resistance and is rated for zones 4-7.

7. Malus ‘Red Jade’ (Red Jade Crabapple) is my favorite of all the crabs. It reaches a maximum height of 10’ with a spread of 12’, has a distinctive weeping form and extremely interesting branching habit. Although a zone 4-7 tree, I have one that is doing famously here in the northern reaches of zone 3. With a little protection from the winter winds and rabbits, it has been a real success story for us. In addition to its branching characteristics it exhibits white to pale pink flowers and nice green summer foliage. As I now look out my window on this mid-January morning, I observe the small red fruit contrasting with the fresh snow. This crab really makes a statement along the edge of an ornamental pond or waterway or in a secluded courtyard.

8. Malus ‘Red Splendor’ (Red Splendor Crabapple) has an upright spreading form with a height and spread both of 20’. It is adorned with single pink flowers, small red fruit persisting through the winter and foliage that turns reddish purple in the fall. A zone 3-7 tree, it has shown excellent disease resistance.

9. Malus ‘Royal Gem’ (Royal Gem Crabapple) has a very small and compact form with a height and width both being 5’ – 8’. This zone 3-7 variety has red flowers, yellow fall color and great disease resistance. Because of its small stature it makes a great accent or specimen plant.

10. Malus ‘Royalty’ (Royalty Crabapple) displays a height and spread each of 20’ and an upright rounded form. Its flowers are dark red, the fruit deep red and up to ¾” and it has glossy red to purplish foliage all summer. This zone 3-7 tree is very hardy and also blight resistant.

11. Malus sargentii (Sargent Crab) is a very small spreading crabapple with dark green foliage, fragrant ¾” flowers with red buds opening to white. The small red fruits hold on until the birds get them. It achieves a height of up to 8’ and a spread of 15’ or more. A zone 4-7 plant it is one of the very best specimen crabapples available.

12. Malus ‘Snowdrift’ (Snowdrift Crabapple) is one extremely hardy hombre that will brighten any yard. It has been a favorite of mine for many years, displaying pink buds opening to masses of white flowers, has glossy green summer foliage and small orange to red fruit which holds well into the winter. Its zone 3-7 hardiness makes it very useful in the north country.

13. Malus ‘Spring Snow’ (Spring Snow Crabapple) is an unusual variety in that it does not fruit. It attains a mature height of 20’ with a spread of 15’, is somewhat upright in form, has pink buds opening to white flowers and has glossy green summer foliage. Although a zone 4-7 tree, I have used it with good results in zone 3. It displays good heat tolerance as well as disease resistance.

While there are many other nice crabapples to select from, this is a pretty good list to start with. Grace your yard in the spring with those beautiful blooms, in the summer with the developing fruit and lovely foliage, in the fall with the changing colors and mature fruit, and winter brings a wonderful view of the branching structure, the persistent fruit and if you are lucky a visit by the Bohemian or Cedar Waxwings. If you don’t already have a flowering crabapple, by all means bring home one of these orphans from your local garden center. You will be glad you did.

William Henry is a co-owner of Gizmo Creations LLC (http://www.gizmocreations.com), a landscape and website design company, located in the Brainerd Minnesota Lakes Area. Henry is a licensed landscape architect and has over 20 years of landscape design experience.

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