‘Prairifire’ crabapple
For those of you tired of the monotony of Bradford pears, go shopping for ornamental crabapples (Malus spp.). Most crabapple cultivars mature into long-lived small flowering trees less than 20 feet in height at maturity. Most fit under utility lines.
Worldwide, there are over 400 cultivars of crabapples in nursery commerce. Most are susceptibility to one or more serious foliar diseases. These pathogens include fire blight, cedar apple rust, apple scab, powdery mildew and frog-eye. All 18 listed below are rated with good to excellent disease resistance.
Ornamental crabapple fruit add ornamental beauty from late summer through winter. Fruit size is small, less than 5/8 inches in diameter, and large flocks of small birds are attracted to your property. There is no mess on lawns, walkways or cars.
Here is your shopping list of 18 of the best.
Adams – 20 x 20ft. (magenta flowers & red fruit)
Adirondack – 18 x 10 ft. (white flowers & orange-red fruit)
Cardinal® – 16 x 22 ft. (pink-red flowers & red fruit)
Centurion® – 20 x 15 ft. (pink flowers & red fruit)
David – 12 x 12 ft. (white flowers & red fruit)
Donald Wyman – 20 x 20 ft. (white flowers & red fruit)
Doubloons – 18 x 16 ft. (double white flowers & yellow fruit
Firebird® – 8 x 10 ft. (magenta flowers & red fruit)
Louisa – weeping 10 x 12 ft. (pink flowers & yellow fruit)
Pink Princess™– 8 x 12 ft. (rose pink flowers & red fruit)
Prairifire – 20 x 20 ft. (red-purple flowers & dark red fruit)
Purple Prince® – 20 x 20 ft. (rose red flowers & maroon fruit)
Royal Raindrops® – 20 x 15 ft. (pink red flowers & red fruit)
sargentii – short spreader 8 x 14 ft. (white flowers & red fruit)
sargentii ‘Tina’ – dwarf 5 x 6 ft. (white flowers & red fruit)
Sugartyme® – 18 x 15 ft. (white flowers & red fruit)
White Cascade® – weeping 15 x 15 ft. (white flowers & lime-yellow fruit)
zumi ‘Calocarpa’ – 20 x 24 ft. (white flowers & red fruit)
* Thanks to J. Frank Schmidt & Sons Co., Boring, OR for their cultivar height and width data and foliar disease ratings.
