Crabapple plant: Facts, growth, care and uses

Any of the several tiny trees belonging to the genus Malus in the rose family, usually known as crabapple plant or crab apple plant(Rosaceae). Both North America and Asia are home to crabapple plants. They are frequently cultivated for their appealing growth pattern, springtime flower show, and ornamental fruits. The crabapple plants are ideal and can be used to make jellies, preserves, and cider, even though they are considerably smaller and tarter than ordinary apples (Malus domestica).

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See also: Apple Tree: How to Grow and Maintain Tips

Crabapple plant: Facts table

Crabapple plant: Physical description 

Crabapple plants are more angular and shiny than regular apple plants. The plants have deciduous foliage and frequently have lovely fall foliage. Because they are deciduous, the plants frequently exhibit lovely fall foliage. The twigs bear the simple, oblong leaves alternately, each with a serrated border. The fragrant white, pink, carmine or purple blooms emerge in dazzling masses in the early spring; some species and cultivars have five-petaled blossoms, while others have semi-double (six to ten petals), double, or even more blossoms (more than ten petals), all of which are aromatic. The pome fruits are usually smaller than 5 cm (2 inches) in diameter and frequently last through the winter.

Crabapple plant: How to grow

The majority of identified crabapple cultivars are grafted plants established by skilled nurserymen who attach decorative variety branches to hardier rootstocks. For the majority of amateurs, this process is impractical. It is possible to take softwood cuttings from your existing crabapple tree, root them, and grow them into plants, although the offspring might not be as tough or productive as the parent tree.

The only exception to this grafting process is if you have a species of crabapple that is entirely ungrafted, such as Malus floribunda (Japanese crabapple) or Malus mandshurica (Siberian crabapple).

From cuttings

If you want to attempt to grow your crabapple trees from cuttings, follow these steps.

1. In the first growing season, remove flexible green growth at the ends of the crabapple branches into 8- to 12-inch lengths using sharp trimmers.

2. Lower leaves should be stripped off before the bottom three inches of the cuttings’ bark is removed with a sharp knife.

3. Each cutting should be planted in a pot filled with damp, gritty sand after being stripped and dipped in rooting hormone.

4. To keep moisture in, place the cutting in a loosely closed plastic bag. Then, place the pot somewhere sunny. Maintain moisture in the cutting until roots appear, which typically takes 4 weeks. Inspect frequently and add moisture as needed.

5. Once the cutting’s roots have grown, take the plastic bag off and continue to cultivate the crabapple plant in direct sunlight. You can move the sapling into a bigger container with commercial potting soil once a few more weeks have passed.

6. Till the crabapple plant grows big enough to be transplanted into the garden, keep growing it in the container. By the fall, an early spring cutting needs to be prepared for planting in the garden.

From seeds 

• Since the majority of recognised crabapple cultivars are grafted plants, seed collection from the fruit does not typically result in a plant that is as hardy and disease-resistant as your parent plant.
• Nonetheless, if you want to give it a try, gather some seeds from dried, completely ripe fruit.
• It is usually better to preserve the seeds through the early winter and start them indoors in late winter if they are harvested in the fall.
• Put the seeds in little pots filled with a mixture of peat moss, perlite, vermiculite, and commercial potting soil.
• The seeds should be pressed firmly into the potting soil before being covered with a thin layer of potting soil.
• Set the pots in a suitable, warm location after moistening them.
• A plastic cover over the pots is used.
• Remove the plastic cover from the seeds once they begin to sprout, then continue growing them while making sure the potting soil is consistently moist.
• Transplant the seedlings into larger containers using commercial potting mix when they are about 6 inches tall.
• Squeeze the tops back to promote side branching.
• The seedlings can be placed in the garden after a week or two of acclimatisation to outside circumstances when they are around 18 inches tall.

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Crabapple plant: How to care

Light

If there are other trees on your property, make sure they don’t overshadow the crabapple because it needs at least six hours of sunlight each day to produce a sufficient amount of flowers and fruit. Certain cultivars may live in a location with some shade.

Soil

To give your plant roots a strong start after planting, be sure to provide lots of organic soil. They prefer a pH that is somewhat acidic and has rich soil with good drainage. Natural mulch works wonderfully for crabapples. Turf lawns next to the plants may increase their susceptibility to pests and fungi. Whenever a heatwave hits in the summer, mulch additionally helps in keeping the roots cool and moist.

Water

Once it has grown, your crabapple plant shouldn’t require additional watering unless the climate is unusually dry. Although they are typically drought-tolerant, you should give your plant a deep watering at the base once a week, in the morning or evening, if the rainfall in your area is especially low. These trees thrive best with around 1 inch of water each week, provided through watering or rainfall. The growth cycle and productivity of trees can be harmed by excessive rainfall or excessive watering. To prevent the soil around the tree’s roots from being overly wet during rainy spells, you can drape a tarp or other covering over them to make a protective barrier.

Temperature and Humidity

Crabapple plants thrive in climates with chilly winters and warm but not sweltering summers. However, because most crabapple plants need a prolonged duration of winter at 45 degrees Fahrenheit or less, they are not suitable for most warm areas.

Fungal and bacterial diseases are significant issues in these plants when high humidity (over 60 per cent) and extended temperatures above 70 degrees Fahrenheit are present.

Fertiliser

The majority of apple plants don’t require a lot of fertiliser. As a general guideline, apply some compost around the tree’s roots in the spring and some composted manure in the late fall. Nutrient-rich soil can be preserved by using natural mulch (such as wood chips or pine bark).

Crabapple plant: Uses 

• The fruit is laxative and astringent. The fruit pulp that has been crushed can be applied as a poultice to treat swellings or minor skin wounds.
• Consuming fruit prevents constipation.
• The bark is anthelmintic, cooling, and soporific, especially the root bark.
• Bilious fevers, remittent fevers, and intermittent fevers are all treated with an infusion.
• Up to 2.4% of an antibacterial compound called “florin” can be found in the leaves.
• Raw or cooked fruit is used for juices, jellies, and preserves.
• If you wait until the fruit has been frozen before harvesting it, the flavour will be much enhanced.
• The fruit’s high pectin content can be used to aid in the setting of other fruits while creating jam, among other things.
• Moreover, pectin is supposed to shield the body from radiation.
• The seed can be used to make edible oil.
• Only if the fruit was being used for a different purpose, like making cider, and the seeds could be separated from the leftover pulp, would it be practical to use these seeds as an oil source.
• The leaves can be brewed into a very palatable tea.

Crabapple plant: Toxicity

The flesh of a crab apple is completely safe for consumption. Yet, just like other apples, the seeds have a poisonous substance that, if consumed, can become cyanide. So don’t worry; as long as you stay away from the seeds and core, these apples are harmless. Crab apples should never be given to dogs as they can result in fatal poisoning and have severe symptoms.

Crabapple seeds, stems, and leaves are known to contain poisonous compounds that, if consumed in sufficient quantities by animals, can be lethal.

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