The Flowering Crab Apple Tree is one of the most beautiful decorative trees. Crab Apple Trees have pretty flowers in the spring and gorgeous little apples in the autumn. They make a lovely feature in your garden and provide food for wildlife. The crab apples can also be used for delicious jellies.
The crab tree though has even more hidden values. This pretty ornamental tree can be a great pollinator for your eating apple trees and can help increase the yields of your fruit trees!
The pollen of a flowering crab tree is able to fertilize the flowers of eating apples so it is a good idea to plant them near your other trees.
Wild crab apples are natives to Europe, Asia and North-America. As ornamentals for gardens though the hybrids are the most common choice. The flowering season of these modern hybrids is definitely a highlight in any garden!
In the autumn the crab apple trees surprise us again with their colorful little fruits. Depending on the variety they vary in size, shape and color.
Particularly wild birds benefit from those late fruits that provide food for them when there is little else available.
The pretty flowers also vary depending on variety. They can be white, pink or red. Double flowered varieties are also available.
These flowering ornamental trees can reach a hight of 19-26 ft m. They have a bushy habit often with a broad pyramid shape. They are frost hardy and tolerate urban climate and pollution.