![]() ![]() My favorite for a small garden is the Dolgo variety. Plant a variety with medium to large fruit to get the most from your tree. Edible varieties have fruit that are about two-inches in diameter, whereas ornamentals have tiny fruit or no fruit at all. The difference between an ornamental and an edible crabapple is the size of the fruit. (You may have noticed that it’s hard to find them at your local farmer’s market.) Often, these trees are bred only for their blossoms. In commercial production of apples the crabapple is used merely as a pollinator. Crab apples are edible and dependableĬan you eat crabapples? Absolutely! They’re perfectly edible. Crabapples on dwarf rootstock don’t take up much space.Īlthough these can still grow up to 12 feet tall, they can be easily managed in a small garden, with judicious pruning. When you are considering one for your small garden, look for one grafted onto dwarf rootstock. ![]() They don’t take up much spaceĬrabapples can be huge, sprawling trees, or small garden trees depending on the rootstock chosen. ![]() When you are planting apple trees in a new garden, plant a crabapple within 50 feet of your other apple trees to ensure good pollination. The bees would visit the crabapple blossoms and then visit the apple blossoms as they opened on the apple trees, improving the fruit set. Pollen from a crabapple tree will pollinate most apple trees provided that they blossom at the same time.Ĭrab apples are so effective at pollinating other apple varieties that old time orchardists would take branches of crab apples in bloom and put them in a bucket of water in the middle of their apple orchards. Crab apple trees pollinate other apple varietiesĪpple trees require a pollinator of another compatible apple variety to set fruit. Since the flowering season for crabapples is earlier and longer, it gives those stressed pollinators a reliable food source before berries and other fruit start to leaf out. The blossoms of these trees are a banquet for both native pollinators and honey bees. In spring my crabapple trees are abuzz with bumblebees and mason bees. The leaves hang on till the first killing frost and then change color quickly for a stunning display of gold and yellow. In late summer the red and yellow blushed fruit hangs in bundles from the branches, stunning against the August greenness of the rest of the garden. This gives me a full 3 to 4 weeks of flowering, at a time when the rest of my garden is just beginning to wake up. They blossom longer than any of my other fruit trees. My crabapple trees are the first trees to blossom in my garden. Ready to grow fresh greens, no matter WHERE you live? Sign up for myįREE quick-start guide and start growing some of your own food! ![]()
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