Crabapple Tree named Prairiefire #2

by J McCombie

Title

Crabapple Tree named Prairiefire #2

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J McCombie

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Description

Malus (/ˈmeɪləs/ or /ˈmæləs/), apple, is a genus of about 30–55 species of small deciduous trees or shrubs in the family Rosaceae, including the domesticated orchard apple (M. domestica). The other species are generally known as crabapples, crab apples, crabs, or wild apples.
The genus is native to the temperate zone of the Northern Hemisphere.
Starting with bursts of white, pink or red blooms in spring, followed by bright green (and in some cases red) foliage in summer, then green, red or yellow fruit in fall, crabapples are three-season performers. And with the wide variety of shapes, sizes and hardiness levels available, there's a crab that's tailor-made for just about every garden.
Many species were brought over by early settlers and cross-bred with native crabs to create cultivars with improved characteristics, such as hardiness and a greater range of flower and fruit colours. Unfortunately, many of the older varieties are very disease-prone and, surprisingly, are still frequently offered for sale.
While most people plant crabs for their early spring show, the shape, size and colour of the fruit and the colour of the leaves should also be taken into account. Smaller fruit will be easier for birds to eat - they'll often descend in clouds to let you know it's ripe-but if you're keen to use the fruit for pickling or for making jellies, bigger ones are easier to handle. And large fruit provide more winter interest. Choose varieties with bright red or yellow fruits, rather than those with green or dull red ones.
The new foliage of many crabs is tinged with a coppery tone that fades as the leaves unfurl; some varieties have leaves that are either tinged with red or are a reddish purple at maturity. Red-leafed trees add visual interest to the landscape during summer but should be used sparingly-too much of a good thing can look overwhelming.
A lovely small tree with new dark purple-maroon foliage that matures to reddish green, 'Prairiefire' fills its branches with red buds and prolific deep reddish pink flowers in spring, then dark-red fruits in fall. This hybrid, disease-resistant deciduous tree has an upright and spreading shape with dark green oval leaves. In mid-spring red flower buds arise all along the bare branches and open to magenta-pink flowers before the leaves emerge. The flowers are fragrant and attract bees, then give way to a crop of pea-sized (1/2 inch), dark red apples. In autumn the leaves turn mottled green, yellow, orange, orange-red and purple. Birds eat the fruits steadily and can strip the tree by the end of winter.

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July 9th, 2013

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