Prariefire Crabapple Malus ‘Prariefire’ • • ZONE: 3-8 SHAPE: Low, dense, broadly rounded HEIGHT: 15-20’ EXPOSURE: Full Sun SPREAD: 15’ GROWTH RATE: SOILS: Capable of growing in a wide range of soils & conditions. Tolerates Acidic, Alkaline, Clay, Loamy, Moist, Wet, Sandy. Prefers Well-Drained. DESCRIPTION: This hardy tree is capable of growing in a wide range of soil and water conditions. Yet, it is a beautiful four-season ornamental tree. Its dark red, cherry-like bark is prominent in winter landscapes. Profuse numbers of crimson buds open to long-lasting dark pink & purple-red blossoms. Leaves first emerge a glossy deep purple, turning to dark green with purplish veins in summer and brilliant orange-golds in autumn. This is an excellent landscape tree that can be planted near utility lines due its short height and adjacent to paved roads because of a trunk that remains narrow while the branches stretch out broadly and densely. The Prairiefire Crabapple is disease-resistant and adaptable to many different site conditions. WILDLIFE VALUE: • The fruits are an important food source for songbirds and upland game. HISTORY / LORE / USE: • The tree was introduced by Dr. Daniel Dayton, University of Illinois, in 1982 as a disease-resistant cultivar. Crab apples are a good source of pectin – their juice can be made into spicy preserves or added in small proportion to cider for extra flavor. The wood is popular when smoking foods, as it gives off a pleasant scent and produces a hot, slow fire without much flame. MOISTURE: • Some drought resistance. LEAVES / NEEDLES: • Leaves alternate and are simple, oval, 1 to 4 inches long. Young leaves are deep red- purple that matures to dark green in summer. Turns brilliant orange-gold in autumn. FLOWER COLOR: BLOOM TIME: • Pink, red flowers May FRUIT DESCRIPTION: • Produces shiny 1/2" red-purple edible fruit, striking against the orange foliage of fall. • Crabapples are self-fertile, which means they depend on insects such as bees to transfer pollen between flowers on the same tree, though they do not require another tree of the same kind to produce crabapples. Source for this information: www.arborday.com , Wikipedia, and USDA Plant Facts. Plant Fact Sheet Malus mandshurica (Maxim.) Kom., Siberian CRABAPPLES crabapple, is a tall, spreading species, 25 to 35 feet in height, best suited to large, open areas. Profuse, (APPLES) fragrant flowers appear in May. The fruit, which can range in color from red to yellow, ripens from August Malus species to November. This species is often used in beach Plant Symbol = MALUS gardens which offer some protection from salt and wind. Contributed by: USDA NRCS Plant Materials Program Malus coronaria (L.) P. Mill., sweet crab, grows upright to as a shrub 15 to 25 feet tall, with pink flowers which appear in mid-March. The large fruit is used as a main wildlife food. Malus floribunda Sieb. ex Van Houtte, Japanese flowering crab, reaches a mature height of 20 to 25 feet and blooms heavily in May. The blooms are deep pink, fading to white. The red and yellow fruit stays on the branches into the winter, providing a food source for wildlife. Malus sargeniti Rehd., Sargent crab, is a bushy, densely branched shrub, usually twice as wide as it is USDA NRCS National Plant Materials Center tall. Its white flowers bloom profusely in mid May Beltsville, MD and are followed by deep red fruit, which remains on the branches until December. In addition to the Uses general uses listed above, Sargent crab can be Crabapples are used primarily in landscape plantings, effectively used as a pruned hedge. in shelterbelts, and for wildlife benefits. The fruit is eaten by songbirds and upland game, and can be used Malus sieboldii (Regel) Rehd., toringa crab, ranges in for making jellies and spiced apples. size from a shrub to a small tree. Its flowers are white and single, and its reddish-yellow fruit hangs in Status clusters from the branches. Please consult the PLANTS Web site and your State Department of Natural Resources for this plant’s Adaptation current status (e.g. threatened or endangered species, Crabapples can be grown on medium to heavy soils state noxious status, and wetland indicator values). that are somewhat poorly to well drained. The pH should be 5.5 or higher. Full sun is preferred for best Description performance, but they will tolerate light shade. Crabapples (Malus species) include about 25 species of deciduous or rarely half-evergreen trees or shrubs Crabapples is distributed throughout the majority of native to the temperate regions of North America, the United States. For a current distribution map, Europe, and Asia. They vary from a large shrub-like please consult the Plant Profile page for this species plant, 6 to 8 feet, to a medium tree, 15 to 35 feet. on the PLANTS Website. The branches are slender and upright. Flowers are showy and vary in color from white to pink to deep Establishment red. Blooms appear from mid April to early June Crabapples, like other trees and shrubs should not be depending on location. The apples produced are planted into living sod. The site should be prepared a either red or yellow and vary in size from 1/4 inch year ahead so that early spring plantings can be made diameter up to 3/4 inch. into weed free locations that are two feet larger in radius than the seedlings. Nursery seedlings of the species discussed above should be planted as early in Plant Materials <http://plant-materials.nrcs.usda.gov/> Plant Fact Sheet/Guide Coordination Page <http://plant-materials.nrcs.usda.gov/intranet/pfs.html> National Plant Data Center <http://npdc.usda.gov> the spring as possible. Grafted varieties are usually ‘Roselow’ sargent crab (Japan) is a bushy, densely purchased as container plants. When planted, the branched shrub that is often twice as wide as the 8 graft must be above ground. Do not fertilize during foot height. White flowers produce deep red fruit. the establishment year. Prune off all side branches ‘Roselow’ can be pruned as a hedge. Avoid planting that are not desired for permanent limbs, and provide this cultivar in wetter soils. It is not hardy in the protection from rabbits and deer in high population northern counties of NY, VT, NH, and ME. areas. Common toringa crab is variable in size but generally In hedgerows, space the plants 10 feet apart for is a small tree. It has white flowers and reddish ‘Roselow’ and 15-20 feet apart for ‘Midwest’. Plant yellow fruit that is borne in clusters. It is not hardy in at least 10 feet away from buildings. Mulching with NY, VT, NH, ME, and northwestern MA. hay, wood shavings, grass clippings, etc. will help maintain moisture and control weeds. Prepared By & Species Coordinator: USDA NRCS Northeast Plant Materials Program Management Weeds must be controlled for the first 2 years if Edited: 05Feb2002 JLK; 060802 jsp plants are to survive. The application of fertilizer is not recommended at the time of establishment. The For more information about this and other plants, please contact your local NRCS field office or Conservation District, and visit the size and shape of the tree can be managed by PLANTS Web site<http://plants.usda.gov> or the Plant Materials pruning. Prune all branches that form sharp angles Program Web site <http://Plant-Materials.nrcs.usda.gov> with the trunk, and remove all side branches except those desired for permanent limbs. Once crabapples become well established, little care is required. The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) prohibits discrimination in all its programs and activities on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex, religion, age, disability, political Pests and Potential Problems beliefs, sexual orientation, and marital or family status. (Not all Weeds and grass, if left to grow around young plants prohibited bases apply to all programs.) Persons with disabilities can stifle their growth. Rabbits may damage or kill who require alternative means for communication of program information (Braille, large print, audiotape, etc.) should contact young plants. If the rabbit population is high, some USDA's TARGET Center at 202-720-2600 (voice and TDD). protection is recommended. Diseases include fireblight, apple scab, frogeye leaf spot, and black To file a complaint of discrimination write USDA, Director, Office rot. Insects include fall webworm cankerworms, and of Civil Rights, Room 326-W, Whitten Building, 14th and apple maggot. Independence Avenue, SW, Washington, DC 20250-9410 or call 202-720-5964 (voice or TDD). USDA is an equal opportunity provider and employer. Cultivars, Improved, and Selected Materials (and area of origin) Read about Civil Rights at the Natural Resources Convervation There are many ornamental cultivars of crabapple Service. available from commercial nurseries and garden centers. Most are horticultural selections intended for urban and suburban landscapes, and many of these are grafted onto select rootstocks. The variety should be selected based on the intended use. If the use is primarily for wildlife food, seedlings of the species can be purchased at a fraction of the cost of grafted varieties which are recommended for ornamental plantings. The seed propagated conservation selections exhibit some variability. Some of the cultivars selected for conservation use include: ‘Midwest’ Siberian crab (Asia) is 25-35 feet tall, and usually spreads at least that wide. It needs considerable space for full development. ‘Midwest’ has white flowers with a pink cast, and is hardy everywhere in the Northeast. .