Flowering crabapples are one of the showiest flowering trees for impressive spring landscaping. But the show doesn’t stop when the flowers close. These attractive, versatile small trees produce an abundance of edible summer fruits and brightly colored fall foliage. The prolific flowers attract bees, butterflies, and any other pollinators, making them excellent trees for wildlife. Birds and other small wildlife feast on the fruits.
Crabapples are members of the rose family (Rosaceae) in the genus Malus. There are about 50 different species and a tremendous number of hybrids and cultivars. Regardless of which variety you grow, research shows that they all thrive in similar conditions with full sun and moist, well-drained, slightly acidic soil. This article details 21 beautiful and easy-to-grow crabapple varieties you can add to your home landscape.
‘Adams’
‘Adams’ is a crabapple cultivar that can grow 20 feet tall and 20 feet wide. It develops a dense branching system with an attractive symmetrical, rounded crown.
While the leaves of this variety are primarily green during most of the growing season, they typically emerge in spring with a light reddish tint. Deep pink flower buds open to reveal dense clusters of single pink blossoms. The small, ½ inch red fruits are long-lasting into late fall and winter.
‘Adirondack’
This upright flowering crabapple tree makes a fine addition to the landscape. ‘Adirondack’ grows 12 to 18 feet tall and 6 to 10 feet wide with many upward-growing branches. It flowers in mid-spring, densely covering this small tree with masses of deep pink and white buds that open to reveal beautiful white flowers, showing just a touch of pink.
The medium-green leaves will turn reddish-orange in the autumn. Deep salmon-pink fruits measure ½ inch across and are extremely showy.
‘Beverly’
The ‘Beverly’ crabapple cultivar grows between 15 and 25 feet tall and equally wide. It develops a spreading, rounded crown and makes an excellent small shade tree. In early to mid-spring, red flower buds open to reveal snowy white flowers.
Attractive ¾ inch fruits turn bright red at the end of summer. The fruits mature in the fall and persist on the tree into the winter months, providing an excellent food source for winter birds. The bright green leaves turn coppery-yellow when the weather chills in autumn.
‘Brandywine’
‘Brandywine’ is a spectacularly flowering crabapple tree cultivar. Large, double, dark pink flowers practically engulf the branches in late spring with a blanket of fragrant, vibrantly soft pink petals.
‘Brandywine’ grows between 15 and 20 feet tall and equally as wide. Relatively large, attractive, greenish-yellow fruits follow the flowers and help feed the resident bird population. The bright green summer leaves turn to a coppery yellow and then dark maroon-red in the fall for a beautiful autumn display.
‘David’
This cultivar is a compact smaller tree with a rounded crown. ‘David’ grows only 15 feet tall and 15 feet wide. The leaves are light green and glossy during the growing season, turning yellow in the fall.
This cultivar blooms heavily in alternating years, so don’t worry if it doesn’t flower one year. The following year’s display will be well worth the wait! While blooming, ‘David’ provides one or two weeks’ worth of snowy white single flowers that open from pale pink buds. The fruits measure only ½ inch or less and are bright red, persisting into the winter months.
‘Donald Wyman’
‘Donald Wyman’ flowering crabapple trees are popular in landscaping. They can grow up to 20 feet tall and 20 feet wide. These trees have a broad, spreading form full of dark green leaves that turn golden yellow in autumn.
In mid to late spring, a profusion of pink buds opens to reveal fragrant, pure white, single flowers. The flowers are followed by glossy red fruits that measure ¾ to 1 inch across.
‘Louisa’
‘Louisa’ is a spectacular cultivar with an eye-catching form. This highly ornamental weeping crabapple variety grows between 12 and 15 feet tall and 15 feet wide. ‘Louisa’ is an early spring bloomer with pink buds and pale pink and white single flowers.
Not only are the branches and flowers lovely, but they also produce colorful fruits. Its tiny yellow-orange crabapple fruits are less than ½ across but provide a tasty treat for foraging birds. The dark green, glossy foliage turns yellow-orange in autumn.
‘Prairifire’
This stunning tree is for those who want to make a statement with their landscape. ‘Prairifire’ is all about red. Its dark green leaves are tinged with red, the stems and leaf veins are red, and the flowers begin as crimson red buds and open to reveal masses of long-lasting bright pink blossoms. Its small ½ inch fruits are bright red. Even the fall foliage becomes reddish-bronze.
‘Prairifire’ grows 20 feet wide and tall, with a somewhat rounded, upright, spreading crown, making this a beautiful smaller shade tree.
‘Prairie Rose’
‘Prairie Rose’ is a small flowering crabapple tree reaching 20 feet wide and tall. It has a rounded, spreading crown and makes an appealing smaller shade tree. The flowers are large and fragrant. Crimson buds open into abundant and beautiful deep pink blossoms.
If you don’t like cleaning up crabapple fruits on the ground, this cultivar is ideal because it is usually fruitless, although this means you also won’t get the showy fruit display of most other varieties. The leaves of ‘Prairie Rose’ are a medium-green color and turn yellow in the fall.
‘Purple Prince’
‘Purple Prince’ is a small, rounded tree with upright, spreading branches. It can grow 18 to 20 feet tall with branches up to 20 feet wide. Young leaves emerge as a maroon-tinged green, turning dark green in the summer, then golden yellow in the fall.
Deep maroon-pink flower buds open into spectacular, single, deep pink blossoms. By fall, these trees produce many ½ inch purple fruits. The fruits are long-lasting and persist into the winter, providing a valuable food source for birds and other wildlife.
‘Profusion’
Are you looking for a small flowering crabapple tree with huge ornamental value? Look no further than ‘Profusion.” This cultivar develops a very attractive upright spreading crown and grows up to 30 feet tall and wide.
It’s an early-season bloomer, so your spring landscape will start with a bright and colorful bang. Deep fuchsia buds open into single, deep pink blossoms. The ½ inch fruits are also bright red and extremely showy. The leaves of this cultivar emerge purplish-green in the spring and become bronze by mid-summer.
‘Radiant’
The ‘Radiant’ flowering crabapple tree is as showy as its name implies. These trees can grow up to 30 feet tall and 30 feet wide. They have an upright, rounded crown with dense branches that fill with radiant flowers.
Each spring, the many deep red buds will open to reveal single dark pink blossoms. The leaves emerge red in the early spring but become green as they age. ‘Radiant’s’ small red fruits are just as attractive as the flowers and measure only ½ inch across.
‘Red Barron’
‘Red Barron’ is another variety that nearly glows red. These trees can grow up to 18 feet tall with an 8-foot spread. These are columnar trees that are very useful for narrow spaces. They look great when grown with several others as a tall hedgerow.
‘Red Barron’ is an early blooming variety with single, bright reddish-pink flowers. Its long-lasting ½-inch fruits are also bright red and long-lasting, persisting on the tree into the winter months and attracting hungry winter birds. The ‘Red Barron’ leaves emerge purple-tinted in the spring, changing to bronze-green in the summer before turning bright orange-red in the fall.
‘Red Jade’
‘Red Jade’ is a smaller cultivar, growing only 15 feet tall, with a 15-foot spread. It develops long, slender, gracefully weeping branches and has a very showy overall form. This variety is best grown as a single specimen, so you can fully appreciate its ornamental appeal.
Pink buds open into white flowers with a slight pink blush. After flowering, wait for the ½ inch, glossy, bright red fruits nestled among its bright green leaves.
‘Royal Raindrops’
Just when everything is looking perfectly green in the springtime, ‘Royal Raindrops’ bursts into bloom with a profusion of bright pink to red blossoms. This small tree grows just 15 to 20 feet tall and up to 16 feet wide. It develops a very appealing upright, spreading form and makes an excellent landscaping tree.
The flowers are followed by tiny ¼ inch bronze fruits that are popular with foraging birds. The bronze-tinged green leaves turn red and orange for a showy fall foliage display.
Sargent Crabapple
The Sargent crabapple is a naturally dwarf species native to Japan. It grows only eight feet tall but can reach 15 feet wide. Sargent crabapple develops a shrubby, broadly horizontal spreading form and makes a good hedge or background planting.
In early spring, M. sargentii is covered with red buds that become fragrant, pure white flowers. The tiny ¼ to ½ inch fruits are abundant and persistent, lasting into the winter. The dusky green leaves may have a wash of purple and turn brilliant shades of red and orange in the fall.
Sargent ‘Tina’
‘Tina’ is a cultivar of the Sargent crabapple and is one of the smallest varieties available. This dwarf variety grows only 5 feet tall and would be the best crabapple variety to try growing in a container.
‘Tina’ has a nicely rounded crown with widely spreading branches. In early spring, watch for the reddish buds to open into a proliferation of fragrant pure white flowers. Tiny ¼ inch fruits are bright red and appealing to the resident birds.
‘Snowdrift’
As its name implies, ‘Snowdrift’ is a white-flowering crabapple with a multitude of snowy white blossoms that open from delicate pink buds. This cultivar grows up to 20 feet tall and equally as wide and makes a very lovely small shade tree.
This is a popular variety with a symmetrical, broadly rounded crown and upright form. ‘Snowdrift’ fruits are ½ inch wide and a showy orange color. Its bright green glossy leaves turn golden yellow in the autumn.
Southern Crabapple
The southern crabapple (Malus angustifolia) is a species native to the southeastern United States. It grows in open woodlands and along woodland edges. The southern crabapple blooms in mid to late spring. Rich pink buds become fragrant, showy, pale pink flowers that will attract a multitude of pollinators.
The sawtooth leaves are typically green but can display shades of red and purple at maturity. Small ¾ to one-inch fruits are bright yellow-green and sour tasting but will attract plenty of hungry birds and other wildlife.
‘Sugar Tyme’
‘Sugar Tyme’ is as sweet as sugar. In early to mid-spring, its branches are laden with densely packed pure white, fragrant, single flowers that open from delicate pink buds. This small tree grows up to 18 feet tall and 15 feet wide.
It has an attractive upright, spreading growth form with an oval crown and makes an excellent small shade tree. After flowering, watch for the ½ inch, bright red fruits that will persist into the fall and winter and provide food for foraging wildlife.
Sweet Crabapple
The sweet crabapple (Malus coronaria) is a species native to eastern North America. This small tree grows between 15 and 30 feet tall with a broad, open, symmetrical crown. In the springtime, the sweet crabapple bursts into bloom with a profusion of fragrant, pale pink flowers that open from pale pink buds.
The light green leaves turn golden yellow in the fall. Also, in the fall, watch for the bitter ¾ to one-inch fruits turning from green to yellow. You can use these fruits to make preserves or leave them on the trees as a wildlife-friendly feast.
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes. All crabapple fruits are edible, but because they aren’t typically bred for sweetness, flavor, texture, or consistent fruit production, the fruits don’t taste great. Many are so small they aren’t worth the effort required to eat them. A few varieties of crabapple produce sweet and tasty fruits, while most others are extremely tart or bitter. If the fruits are large enough to work with, and you want to do something with them, you can easily use them in pies, apple butter, apple jam, or preserves.
Apples and crabapples are in the same genus, Malus. Apples are typically bred to produce delicious edible fruits, and crabapples are typically bred for producing beautiful spring flowers. The major difference, however, is about the size of the fruits. Fruits that measure two inches or more in diameter are considered apples. Fruits that measure less than two inches are considered crabapples.
Some varieties of crabapple are self-fruiting, while others will need another apple or crabapple variety nearby to achieve cross-pollination and fruits. Even self-fruiting varieties will develop a better and more prolific fruit crop with the help of cross-pollination. If you are growing apples for eating, you will also get your best apple crop by growing a crabapple in the vicinity. Since crabapple trees are so showy and beautiful, if you have the space, go ahead and plant two trees. If you have room for only one tree, don’t worry, you’ll still get to enjoy its spectacular spring floral display.
If you purchased a young tree sapling from a nursery or garden center, it’s already a couple of years old. After you plant it in your yard, you can expect your crabapple tree to start flowering within the next two or three years. The flowers and fruits may be sparse for the first few years, but don’t worry. Your tree still has some maturing to do. When it’s between six and eight years old, you will start to see some very impressive flowering and fruit production.
Most varieties of crabapple are not considered invasive because they don’t readily or aggressively spread beyond their initial plantings. There are a couple of varieties to watch out for, however. The Japanese flowering crabapple (Malus floribunda) and the tea crabapple (Malus hupehensis) are both species that can spread aggressively and invade natural environments, competing with native species. If you’re looking for a crabapple tree for your landscape, stick with the native species of one of the many well-behaved cultivars.
Does your landscape need a small tree to brighten your spring garden with vibrant flowers? Flowering crabapple trees are the perfect small tree for almost any yard. All you need is a sunny location with moist, well-drained soil.
Flowering crabapples are not only aesthetically-pleasing, but they also provide plentiful feeding opportunities for spring pollinators and fall birds. There are a huge number of stunningly beautiful cultivars to choose from, all producing copious flowers, and many with spectacular fall foliage and showy miniature apple-like fruits.
