Crabapples

How to choose a crabapple

Start with shape, then flower colour. The Japanese crabapple (Malus floribunda) is the classic spreading form, about 5m tall and wide, with crimson buds that open pale pink and fade to white. Royal Raindrops has magenta flowers, cut purple leaves and small red fruit, on an upright tree to 6m. Raspberry Spear is the narrow one: 5m tall but only 1.5m wide, made for driveways and side boundaries. Showtime and Crimson Knight are compact at about 4m with strong pink to red flowers. Plena carries large double pink flowers with a violet scent, and Malus trilobata is a taller, upright tree to 8m with white flowers and reliable autumn colour.

Where crabapples work

Crabapples need a winter chill, so they are at their best in temperate and cool climates: Melbourne, Adelaide, Canberra, Tasmania, the tablelands and the cooler parts of Sydney and Perth. They take frost easily and grow in most soils with reasonable drainage, including clay. Plant them in full sun as a lawn specimen, a pair at a gate or a row along a drive. They are a natural choice among flowering trees and one of the best small trees for urban gardens.

Planting and spacing

Give spreading forms 4m to 5m between trees and keep them 3m from buildings. Raspberry Spear can be planted 1.5m to 2m apart for an avenue or screen. Plant in winter while the tree is bare if you can. Dig a wide hole, set the root ball level with the soil, stake for the first year and water deeply once a week through the first two summers.

Care basics

Crabapples need little pruning: in winter, remove crossing or damaged branches and any shoots from below the graft. Feed in early spring with a complete fertiliser and keep a mulched circle clear of grass around the trunk. Water in dry summers while the tree is young. Like our other deciduous trees, they give summer shade and let winter sun through.

Common questions

How big do crabapple trees grow?

Most reach 4m to 6m tall. Spreading types grow as wide as they are tall, while columnar forms such as Raspberry Spear stay under 2m wide.

When do crabapples flower?

In spring, usually September and October, for two to three weeks, followed by fruit that colours in autumn.

Can you eat crabapples?

The fruit of ornamental crabapples is small and sour. It is mostly left on the tree for display and for birds, though it can be cooked into jelly.

Do crabapples grow in warm climates?

They flower best where winters are cold. In subtropical areas flowering is light and unreliable.