Crab apple
Stake for the first two to three years and water well through the first two summers.
Care
Needed for the best flower and fruit display.
Water well while establishing; established trees are fairly drought-tolerant.
Fertile, well-drained soil, adaptable to most types.
Formative pruning while young, in winter while dormant, to establish an open shape; established trees need only light thinning of crossing or damaged branches.
A general feed in early spring while the tree is young or growing in grass, and a mulch over the root area. A mature crab apple in reasonable soil fruits perfectly well unfed.
Grafted, like all apples — a seedling from a pip will be a different tree entirely, usually a poor one. Propagation here means buying a tree on the rootstock that gives the size you want.
Month by month
Months change with the climate: in southern Italy tomatoes go out two months earlier than in England.
- JanuaryFormative or light thinning pruning while fully dormant. how ›
- MayEnjoy the spring blossom, a magnet for pollinators.
- OctoberEnjoy the decorative autumn fruit, valuable for wildlife and usable for crab apple jelly.
Months based on climate: UK. Your choice stays on this device.
- JanuaryFormative or light thinning pruning while fully dormant. how ›
- MayEnjoy the spring blossom, a magnet for pollinators.
- OctoberEnjoy the decorative autumn fruit, valuable for wildlife and usable for crab apple jelly.
Months based on climate: Northern Italy. Your choice stays on this device.
- JanuaryFormative or light thinning pruning while fully dormant. how ›
- AprilEnjoy the spring blossom, a magnet for pollinators.
- OctoberEnjoy the decorative autumn fruit, valuable for wildlife and usable for crab apple jelly.
Months based on climate: Central Italy. Your choice stays on this device.
- JanuaryFormative or light thinning pruning while fully dormant. how ›
- AprilEnjoy the spring blossom, a magnet for pollinators.
- NovemberEnjoy the decorative autumn fruit, valuable for wildlife and usable for crab apple jelly.
Months based on climate: Southern Italy and islands. Your choice stays on this device.
Common problems
How to spot it. Dark, scabby spots on leaves and fruit, worse in wet springs.
What to do. Rake up and dispose of fallen leaves; choose scab-resistant cultivars where possible.
How to spot it. Blackened, scorched-looking blossom and shoots — a notifiable bacterial disease.
What to do. Cut out well below the affected area, disinfect tools, seek advice if extensive.
How to spot it. White, fluffy patches on bark.
What to do. Encourage predators; treat if severe.
Popular varieties
Questions
Crab apple: is it hardy?
H6: Hardy in the vast majority of UK gardens. It survives down to −20 °C.
Can it grow in a pot?
Grafted, compact cultivars can be grown in a large pot for several years.
Crab apple: when do you prune it?
Formative pruning while young, in winter while dormant, to establish an open shape; established trees need only light thinning of crossing or damaged branches. In the calendar for UK, pruning falls in January.
Crab apple: when does it flower?
In the climate of UK it flowers in April–May.
When do you feed it?
A general feed in early spring while the tree is young or growing in grass, and a mulch over the root area. A mature crab apple in reasonable soil fruits perfectly well unfed. Feeding months, UK: March.