Crabapples . . . With No Apologies - Harvard University

12 Pages·2010·3.61 MB·English

Crabapples . . . With No Apologies
Jeff Iles
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An oldie but a goodie, red-flowered ‘Liset’ is still a popular crabapple.
One of my favorite older horticulture others described in the book, including Malus
books is a signed copy of Ornamental floribunda, ‘Liset’, ‘Profusion’, and ‘Red Jade’,
Crabapples by Arie F. den Boer. Pub­ have prevailed and would be totally appropriate
lished in 1959 by the American Association of in today’s landscapes.
Nurserymen, this little manual was perhaps What I really enjoy about the book, though,
the first successful attempt at popularizing the is the author’s unapologetic and matter­of­fact
various species, varieties, and cultivars of crab­ acceptance of crabapples, warts and all. For
apples (those taxa in the genus Malus bearing example, he begins the chapter on insect and
fruits 2 inches in diameter or smaller). I like the disease pests with this blunt statement: “It
book because it provides a unique glimpse back should not be considered strange or disturbing
to an era when selections like ‘Aldenhamensis’, that apples and crabapples are visited once in a
‘Almey’, and ‘Dorothea’ ruled the nursery sales while by some unwelcome guest.” You have to
yards. Those cultivars are rarely seen today but admire Mr. den Boer’s understated admission
Crabapples 3
that certain members of the genus Malus do large, non­persistent fruit. Unfortunately, a suf­
have pest issues, but the reality is few landscape ficiently large population of ‘Hopa’, ‘Radiant’,
plants are problem­free. and other less­than­stellar cultivars still can
Yet for some reason crabapples are subjected be found in present day landscapes, reinforcing
to much disrespect by certain detractors, even the misperception that all crabapples defoliate
those who readily accept the premise that most in July and double as fast­food emporiums for
landscape plants aren’t perfect. crabapple nay­ every yellow jacket wasp in the neighborhood.
sayers are happy to share their tales of crabapple But surely we—whether plant scientists or
woe, particularly when they involve suscepti­ backyard gardeners—should understand the
bility to foliar diseases (“My Uncle Vito over in folly of making blanket statements about a
Dubuque had a crabapple in his front yard that group of plants with upwards of 900 named
would defoliate completely every July.”) or fruit selections. After all, a family (in the non­
litter (“You think that’s bad … my Aunt Betty taxonomic sense) that large is bound to produce
had one that would drop loads of rotting, messy a few bad apples, if you’ll excuse the pun.
fruit all over her patio every summer.”) These
Why Crabapples Still Rule
repeated knocks against crabapples often trace
to plantings of once­popular, older crabapple The fact is that crabapples remain atop the list
cultivars such as ‘Hopa’ and ‘Radiant’. Origi­ of small ornamental trees used in residential
nally embraced for their head­turning spring and commercial landscapes in UsDA hardi­
flower extravaganzas, these cultivars are now ness zones 4 through 7 for many very good
sadly, and maybe a bit unfairly, remembered reasons. crabapples offer an avalanche of fra­
only for debilitating disease problems and overly grant and colorful spring flowers in white and
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Select apple-scab-resistant cultivars in order to avoid the heartbreak of mid summer crabapple defoliation.
4 Arnoldia 67/2 • 2009
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Malus floribunda sports beautiful pink buds and white flowers.
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Crabapples with persistent fruit provide months of color.
Crabapples 5
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The weeping branches of ‘Red Jade’ laden with bright red fruit.
shades of red ranging from palest pink to deep sun) and given modest annual care, crabapples
burgundy. As an added spring attraction, many can have a functionally effective life of at least
crabapples display beautifully contrasting col­ 40 to 50 years, and sometimes much longer.
ors as the flower evolves from tight bud stage
Where Do They All Come From?
to fully opened flower—for example, deep pink
buds opening to white flowers or deep red buds There are interesting stories behind the dis­
becoming bright pink flowers. Most crabapples covery, naming, and introduction of every spe­
have handsome foliage with leaf color ranging cies, variety, and cultivar of crabapple. From
from dark green to burgundy. Though generally M. baccata, gleaned from the wilds of siberia
not noted for fall foliage color, some crabapples and named by Linneaus in 1767, to modern
including M. tschonoskii and ‘satin cloud’ cultivars that owe their existence to count­
develop eye­catching shades of orange, crimson, less crosses and backcrosses, one has to marvel
and purple, while others flaunt hues of apricot at the imagination, determination, and luck
(‘Prairie Maid’) and golden­yellow (‘Amberina’ required to bring a single crabapple selection
and ‘Red swan’). Providing as spectacular a display to the attention of the gardening public. As an
as their spring blossoms but much longer last­ illustration, consider the circuitous birthing
ing, the best crabapples bear bushels of vividly­ path for the much admired weeping crabapple
colored fruit that enliven the fall and winter ‘Red Jade’.
landscape. Another plus is the broad array of The ‘Red Jade’ story begins in the early to mid
growth habits and mature sizes that makes it 1800s in northeast Asia with the discovery and
possible to choose a crabapple for practically introduction of Malus prunifolia. The plumleaf
any landscape situation. Finally, when planted crabapple was known for having many forms,
on appropriate sites (well­drained soils and full and as luck would have it, a weeping form was
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A Father Fiala introduction, ‘Orange Crush’ crabapple is gaining popularity.
discovered and given the cultivar name ‘Pen­ duction sports orange­crimson flowers, handfuls
dula’. Later, M. prunifolia ‘Pendula’ was crossed of deep maroon fruit, and excellent disease (and
with M. floribunda (Japanese flowering crabap­ Japanese beetle) resistance. But its existence
ple) with the result being a small, weeping tree and subsequent rise to fame comes only after a
eventually dubbed M. floribunda ‘exzellenz mind­numbing series of crosses, ending finally
Thiel’. selected by späth Nursery in Germany when Father John Fiala crossed M. ‘Liset’ with
and introduced to North America by the Arnold M. ‘Red swan’. And you can bet M. ‘Orange
Arboretum in 1912, this diminutive, disease­ crush’ will join the hybridization dance many
prone crabapple was one of the first weeping times before it’s put out to pasture.
ornamental trees used in the United states. In
Selecting the Right Crabapple
1935 serendipity stepped in as Dr. George M.
Reed of the Brooklyn Botanic Garden either Finding a great crabapple for your landscape
discovered or purposely germinated and grew is pretty easy these days. The vast majority of
open­pollinated seedlings from M. floribunda crabapples now sold in nurseries and garden
‘exzellenz Thiel’. What initially captured his centers have much improved resistance to dis­
attention isn’t clear, but one of those seedlings ease compared to their predecessors, and also
developed into a beautiful weeping tree. In 1953 feature highly ornamental fruit that is either
it was given the cultivar name ‘Red Jade’; the small in size, persistent, or relished by our
name remains a bit of a mystery but probably winged friends.
refers to the bright red, ½ inch diameter fruit The decision to include one or several crab­
and the glossy “jade” green foliage, two notable apples in a landscape planting really hinges on
and recognizable features of the cultivar. several factors. First and foremost, the tree you
Now fast­forward to one of today’s rising choose must fit the site. For example, if you
stars, M. ‘Orange crush’. This delightful intro­ don’t have sufficient room for a large tree (stan­
Crabapples 7
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dwarf selections such as ‘camzam’ (camelot®),
‘cinzam’ (cinderella®), ‘coralcole’ (coral­
burst®), or ‘Lanzam’ (Lancelot®). And if you like
the somewhat formal look of dwarf forms top­
grafted to a standard, then you must investigate
the aptly­named ‘Lollizam’ (Lollipop®) and two
Malus sargentii selections, ‘select A’ (Firebird®)
and ‘Tina’. If you’re looking for an upright­grow­
ing selection that will pose minimal problems
for pedestrian and vehicular traffic, the increas­
ingly popular ‘Adirondack’ (selected by Don
egolf at the United states National Arboretum)
is the crabapple for you. But if space constraints
aren’t an issue (parks, golf courses, entryway
plantings, large residential lots, etc.) imagine
the visual impact of informally arranged drifts
(5 to 9, or more) of red­flowering ‘cardinal’, red­
fruited ‘David’, or gold­fruited ‘schmidtcutleaf’
(Golden Raindrops®).
Next, consider special maintenance issues
Dense-crowned ‘Coralcole’ (Coralburst®) crabapple fits such as disease susceptibility. In a perfect
in smaller spaces. world, we’d quickly rule out using crabapple
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White-flowered ‘Adirondack’ has a tidy upright-vase shape. The crabapple to the right is ‘Purple Prince’.
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Clockwise from upper left:
‘Camzam’ (Camelot®)
‘Jewelcole’ (Red Jewel™)
‘David’
‘Donald Wyman’
‘Schmidtcutleaf’ (Golden Raindrops®)
The “Best” Crabapples (Malus spp.)
TAxA FLOWeR FRuiT HT/WD FORm FOLiAGe
‘Adirondack’ white orange-red (½") 18'/10' upright (inverted cone) dark green
Limitations: slow-growing
‘Camzam’ fuchsia-pink burgundy (3⁄8") 10'/8' rounded/compact dark green/burgundy
(Camelot®)
Limitations: not much late-season interest
‘Cardinal’ pinkish-red deep red (½") 16'/22' broadly spreading dark purple-red
Limitations: none known
‘Cinzam’ white gold (¼") 8'/5' rounded, upright light green
(Cinderella®)
Limitations: slow-growing
‘David’ white scarlet (3⁄8") 15'/20' rounded light green
Limitations: alternate bloom; light apple scab noted; fruit mummies persist until spring
‘Donald Wyman’ white bright red (3⁄8") 20'/20' rounded medium green
Limitations: apple scab noted; fruit mummies persist until spring
floribunda pink-white amber (3⁄8") 12'/20' spreading/irregular medium green
Limitations: unimpressive fall fruit display
‘Schmidtcutleaf’ white golden-yellow (¼") 20'/15' upright medium green/deeply cut
(Golden Raindrops®)
Limitations: alternate-year bloom; fire blight has been reported
‘Lanzam’ white gold (3⁄8") 10'/8' oval medium green
(Lancelot®)
Limitations: flowers/fruit borne on interior of the tree which diminishes their ornamental effect
‘Louisa’ rose-pink amber (3⁄8") 10'/15' weeping dark green/glossy
Limitations: fruit are ornamentally insignificant
‘Orange Crush’ rose-red red (3⁄8") 15'/15' rounded purplish-green
Limitations: none known
‘Prairie maid’ deep pink red (3⁄8") 15'/15' rounded medium green/yellow-apricot fall
Limitations: none known
‘Prairifire’ pinkish-red dark red (½") 20'/20' rounded purple turning reddish-green
Limitations: requires pruning to correct overcrowded branching
‘Purple Prince’ rose-red maroon (½") 20'/20' rounded purple turning bronze-green
Limitations: heavy fruit production may weigh branches down
‘Jewelcole’ white red (½") 15'/12' pyramidal medium green
(Red Jewel™)
Limitations: none known
‘JFS-KW5’ pinkish-red red (¼") 20'/15' upright purple cutleaf/orange-red in fall
(Royal Raindrops®)
Limitations: none known
10 Arnoldia 67/2 • 2009
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is not a permanent and bind­
ing contract between pathogen
and host). In fact, all it takes
is one lucky “super” ascospore
infecting a previously resistant
crabapple host to begin the pro­
cess of resistance breakdown in
that host. Notable examples of
resistance breakdown and the
subsequent development of
scab have occurred on Malus
‘Prairifire’, ‘Bob White’, ‘Jew­
elcole’ (Red Jewel™), and flori-
bunda. But sometimes positive
attributes outweigh the nega­
tive, and therefore I’m willing
This specimen of ‘Bob White’ shows just a few spots of apple scab on its leaves.
to look the other way when
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the most visually stunning
fruit displays in all of Malus-
dom (see front cover).
When the topic of fruit
size and persistence comes
up, crab apple detractors fre­
quently trot out the poster
child for obnoxious fruiting
behavior, Malus ‘Dolgo’ (ignor­
ing the fact that its large crim­
son fruits are great for making
tasty preserves). But it would
be disingenuous to paint all
crabapples with the same
brush. For example, crab apple
selections like ‘Jewelcole’ (Red
if only Aunt Betty had planted her ‘Dolgo’ crabapple (shown here) out in the yard
instead of next to the patio she wouldn’t have a crabapple mess underfoot. Jewel™) and ‘Donald Wyman’
produce bright red, extremely
selections with poor resistance to fungal patho­ persistent fruit that eventually fall from the
gens Venturia inaequalis (apple scab) or Botry- tree, but only after they’ve dried and shriv­
osphaeria obtusa (frogeye leaf spot) responsible eled to one­half their original size. Others like
for premature defoliation, and would never ‘snowdrift’ and ‘Bob White’ drop very little
entertain the addition of a crabapple suscep­ fruit thanks to the work of opportunistic and
tible to the bacterium Erwinia amylovora (fire grateful birds. And on those sites where fruit
blight). The fungal prankster responsible for production of any kind is forbidden, fruit­
apple scab (actually, there are several races of less selections ‘spring snow’ and newcomer
V. inaequalis) has been especially frustrating ‘Jarmin’ (Marilee®) are viable options.
Crabapples 11
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The bright red fruit of ‘Donald Wyman’ last through the winter.
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The bite-sized orange fruit of ‘Snowdrift’ attract birds.