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im 3M 11 A 10- UU GROWING Flowering Crabapples

ome and UHiden Ijn^o. 13 5 U.S. DEPARTMM' AGRICULTURE Growing Flowering Crabapples

Flowering crabapples are ask your county agricultural agent or (-shedding) or . your State agricultural college to rec- Their range from white to ommend varieties suitable to your area. brilliant pink and purple. Some of the more commonly grown , which arc pea size to 2 inches \arieties of crabapples are described in in diameter, are green, yellow, or red. this section. Crabapple flowers are Fruits on some varieties drop in the single, semidouble, or double. Single fall; fruits on others cling through flowers have five pstals. Semidouble winter. flowers have six to 11 . Double Some flowering crabapples are suit- flowers have 12 or more petals. ed to onc-stoiy houses and small yards as well as to large estates, parks, and Aldenham highway plantings. Aldenham ( x purpurea Since flowering crabapples require 'Aldenhamensis') is a spreading about 50 cumulative days of under or small that grows 10 to 15 feet 45° F. to break their dormancy, many tall. of them do not grow well in areas Its flowers are single and semidouble, where winters are mild. red to purplish red, and 1 to 1 /j inches Flowering crabapples grow well in across. They bloom annually, except in most kinds of soil and often do well on extreme southern areas. very poor soil. They need good soil Its first are reddish or pur- drainage, however, and watering dur- plish bronze; they turn green. ing periods of drought. Fruits are purple to brownish pur- You can grow flowering crabapples ple, and about % inch across. successfully if you— • Buy nursery-grown trees. Arnold • them in late winter or early spring. .Arnold {Malus x arnoldiana) is an • Prepare ¡jlanting holes carefully; upright, spreading shrub or small tree be sure the ¡jlanting site is well drained. that grows 10 to 15 feet tall. • Maintain a mulch around the Its flowei-s are single, pinkish white trees or shrubs. to white, and about 2 inches across. • Water them during dry periods. They blossom heavier in alternate years. VARIETIES Fruits are yellow with a reddish tint, and up to /a inch across. You can ask a reputable nurseryman in your area to recommend or Bechtel varieties; the he has for sale gen- erally are adapted to your area. You Bechtel [Malus iocnsis 'Plena') is also can ask neighbors which kinds an upright, spreading tree that grows have done well for them. Or you can 10 to 15 feet tall. Its flowers are double, pink or pink It is 10 to 15 feet tall when fully , and about 2 inches across. They grown. bloom annually, except in extreme Its flowers are semidouble or double, southern areas. rose pink, and about 2 inches across. Bechtel rarely produces fruits. They bloom annually. Fruits are yellow to yellow, Carmine and Y2 inch across. Carmine (Malus x atrosanguinea) is an upright, spreading shrub or tree Eleyi that grows 10 to 15 feet tall. Eleyi (Malus x pupurca 'Eleyi') Its flowers arc single, rose or rose is an upright, spreading, and round- pink, and up to 1 inch across. They headed tree that grows 10 to 20 feet bloom annually. tall. Its leaves are glossy dark green. Its flowers are single, red to pur- Fruits are usually yellow to red, and plish red, and about 1 '/a inches across. up to /a inch across. They bloom heavier in alternate years. Dolgo Fruits are red to purple, and ¡^ to 1 inch across. Leaves turn from red- Dolgo (Malus 'Dolgo') is an upright, dish or purplish bronze to green. spreading, and roundheaded tree that grows 10 to 20 feet tall. Japanese (Flowering) Its flowers are single, white, and about 2 inches across. They bloom Japanese () is an heavier in alternate years. upright, spreading shrub or tree that Fruits are red, coneshaped, and 1 to grows 10 to 15 feet tall. 1 /s inches across. Its flowers are single, red to pinkish white, and 1 to I/2 inches across. Dorothea Blooming is good in southern areas. Dorothea (Malus 'Dorothea') is an Fruits are yellow, brownish or red- upright, spreading shrub or small tree. dish, and about J/j inch across.

SINGLE SEMI-DOUBLE DOUBLE BN-30398 Japanese (flowering) crabapplc

Katherine Midget

Katherine (Malus 'Katherine') is Midget (Malus x micromalus) is an an upright, spreading shrub that grows upright, spreading shrub, or small tree 10 to 15 feet tall. that grows 10 to 15 feet tall. Its flowers are semidouble or double, Its flowers arc single, pink, and IJ/i pink to pinkish white, and about 2 to 2 inches across. They bloom heavier inches across. They bloom heavier in in alternate years; and poorly in lower alternate years. southern areas. Fruits are greenish yellow, and up to Fruits are yellow, and /a to 1 inch yi inch across. across. Parkman Lemoinei Parkman (M. halliana var. Park- Lemoinei (Malus x purpurea 'Lem- manii) is a slow-growing shrub or oinei') is an upright, spreading shrub small tree that grows 6 to 7 feet tall. or small tree that grows 10 to 15 feet Its flowers are double, pink to rose tall. pink, and about 1 inch across. They Its flowers are single and semi- bloom annually. double, red or purplish red, and about Fruits are reddish brown, and less 1/2 inches across. They bloom an- than /a inch across. nually, except in the lower South. Fruits are dark red, and /a to Pink Weeper 1 inch across. Reddish or purple- Pink Weeper (Malus 'Oekonomie- bronze leaves turn green. rat Echtermeyer') is a weeping shrub or small tree that grows 10 to 15 feet Its flowers are semidouble or double, tall. pink, and 1 to 1 /a inches across. They Its flowers are single, purplish red, bloom heavier in alternate years. and about 1 /j inches across. They Fruits are yellow, and about /z inch bloom annually. across. Fruits are purple to purplish brown, Tea and about 1 inch across. Leaves turn from reddish or purplish bronze to Tea () is an up- green. right, spreading, and V-shaped tree Prince Georges that grows 10 to 15 feet tall. Prince Georges (Malus 'Prince Its flowers are single, pink to white, Georges') is an upright, dense, and and about I/2 inches across. The roundheaded shrub or small tree that bloom is heavier in alternate years. grows 10 to 15 feet tall. Fruits are greenish yellow with a red- Its flowers are double, rose pink, dish tint, and about % inch across. and about 2 inches across. Prince Georges does not bear . Van Eseltine Van Eseltine (Malus 'Van Esel- Red bud (Crabapple) tine') is an upright, V-Shaped tree Redbud (Malus zumi 'Calocarpa') that grows 10 to 15 feet tall. is an upright, spreading tree that grows Its flowers are double, rose pink to 10 to 15 feet tall. pale pink, and 1 "/a to 2 inches across. Its flowers are single, pinkish to They bloom heavier in alternate years. white, and about 1 inch across. In Fruits are yellow or red, and ^ northern areas, blossoms arc heavier to 1 inch across. in alternate years ; blossoming is poor in southern areas. Fruits are red, and up to /a inch across. Sargent Sargent () is a spreading shrub that rarely grows over 7 feet tall. Its flowers are single, white, and about 1 inch across. They bloom heav- ier in alternate years. Fruits are red or purplish red, and about Yi inch across.

Scheidecker

Scheidecker (Malus x scheideckeri) is an upright shrub or small tree that BN-30399 grows 10 to 15 feet tall. Van Eseltine fruits PLANTING age that often occurs if you drive stakes later. The best time to plant flowering crabapples is in late winter or early CARE OF TREES spring before growth begins. Mulching The planting site should be well drained and provide sufficient grow- After planting, cover the soil under ing space—at least 150 square feet for the branches with a mulching mate- the small species and 300 to 500 square rial—peat moss, bark, or leaves. Apply feet for larger sjjecies. a layer about 3 inches deep, and add Dig a planting hole at least 18 inches new mulching material annually to deep and twice the diameter of the maintain the mulch. rootball or spread of the roots. Mulching helps keep the soil moist; Crabapples usually are sold bare- and as the mulching material decays, root. If you buy them balled and bur- it releases some nutrients for use by the lapped, do not remove the burlap be- crabapple tree or shrub. fore setting the tree or shrub in the hole. After the plant is in place, cut Weeding the twine around the top of the root- ball and fold back or cut off exposed If you maintain an adequate mulch parts of the burlap. around crabapple trees or shrubs, few Plant the tree or shrub so that the weeds will grow. Those that do can be roots are slightly higher than they were pulled easily by hand. Be careful if in the nursery. Then refill the hole with you use a hoe or other weeding tool topsoil and press the soil firmly around around crabapples, you may harm the shallow roots. the roots. Finally, water the plant thoroughly. Watering After the plant has settled, it should be about the same depth as it was be- Crabapples are fairly drought resist- fore transplanting. ant, and 12 to 15 inches of rain during Stake and brace crabapple trees at the growing season usually is adequate planting time. This prevents root dam- for good growth. During droughts.

Set tree slightly deeper than it stood in the nursery Pack soil firmly atx)ut roots.

Make hole large enough to Tree set too Shallow. Roots crowded and turned up. spread roots naturally. however, the plants should be watered seriously disfigure or kill the trees. In- at weekly intervals. When you water, spect your crabapple trees frequently soak the root area thoroughly. Be care- for signs of diseases and de- ful that you do not dro\vn trees or scribed in this section. See your county shrubs growing in poorly drained soil. agricultural agent or State agricultural experiment station for information on Fertilizing how to control diseases and insects. If crabapples are planted in reason- Diseases ably fertile soil that is well supplied with organic matter, they seldom need Powdery Mildew fertilizing. Powdery mildew is a common fungus If you want to stimulate growth of disease, particularly in humid areas. crabapples after they have recovered Crabapples usually survive it without from transplanting, or if they show much damage. The disease is charac- signs that the soil is infertile (small, terized by a white moldy growth that pale leaves and annual twig growth of disfigures the leaves and stems. less than 5 inches), apply the same fer- Cedar tilizer that you use for your la\ n or gar- den. Apply it once between late winter Cedar apple rust is a fungus disease and early summer. that originates on cedar trees and in- Use 2 pounds of fertilizer per inch of fects flowering crabapples. trunk diameter. Spread the fertilizer The disease appears first as yellow in a band 2 or 3 feet wide under the spots on the upper surfaces of leaves. ends of the branches. (Do not let the These spots enlarge, turn orange, and fertilizer touch the trunk.) Then develop small black specks in their thoroughly soak the fertilizer into the centers. Blisters form in the leaf tissue ground. under the spots. Severely infected Pruning leaves become distorted and fall from the plant. Heavy pruning of crabapples can ruin their natural appearance and re- Fire blight is a bacterial disease that sult in an excessive number of shoots. may severely damage susceptible vari- The only pruning normally needed is eties of flowering crabapple. Some va- to remove ( 1 ) shoots at the base of the rieties are immune to fire blight. trunk, (2) shoots at the top of the Infected leaves turn brown or black plant, and (3) branches that are dead, and eventually dry up; they remain at- diseased, or broken. The best time to tached to the branch. The bark on in- prune crabapples is in winter. fected twigs becomes dark and sunken. Coat all pruning cuts that are an .\ milky or brownish ooze may form on inch or more across with white lead the infection. paint or tree-wound dressing. Cankers form where the disease en- DISEASES AND INSECTS ters a large branch or a trunk. The bac- teria overwinter in these cankers and Few diseases and insects attack are a source of infection the following flowering crabapples but some can year. Tent caterpillars are hairy black Apple scab is a fungus disease that in- worms. They have a white stripe and fects the leaves and twigs. The disease a row of blue spots on their back, and appears on leaves as dark-green, vel- brown and yellow lines along each side. vety spots. The fungus overwinters in They are about 2 inches long. Tent fallen leaves and reinfects trees during caterpillars feed on young leaves in the rainy weather in the spring. spring. They live in webs in the crotches of trees at night and feed Insects during the day. Aphids Fall webworms arc pale green or yel- Aphids, or plant lice, are usually low and have a dark stripe down their green but may be brown or black. Their back and a yellow stripe along each presence is frequently accompanied by side. They are about 1 inch long. Web- large numbers of ants. worms feed on leaves from May to Usually, aphids attack the leaves of September. They form loose, unsightly flowering crabapple. They suck juice webs at the ends of branches. from the leaves and make them crinkle or curl downward. Sometimes, aphids Flathead Apple Tree Borer attack shoots that develop late in the The adult borers are metallic olive- season and water sprouts that grow gray or brown beetles about yá inch from the base of the trunk or from be- long. They appear on tree trunks in low ground. The wooly apple aphid, May or June. Larvae are slender, yel- which is bluish black and has a white low-white grubs about 1 ^ inches long. wax covering, sometimes is found in They have a broad and flattened body cracks or pruning wounds. enlargement behind their small, brown Spider Mites head. Spider mites are red or greenish- Larvae tunnel in the bark and sap- red pests that feed on the underside of of trees. The bark over tunneled leaves. They are barely visible to the areas becomes discolored and shriveled, naked eye, but sometimes can be de- and finally dies. tected by fine webs on the undersides Newly transplanted trees that are of leaves. infested often die the first year after Infested leaves become yellow, gray, transplanting. Damage to established or brownish and flowers become dis- trees is worst during dry weather, par- colored or faded. Severely infested ticularly on trunks exposed to the sun trees become stunted. Spider mites fre- after excessive pruning. quently attack severely during dry years. Prepared from information furnished by Caterpillars Crops Research Division and Entomology Tent caterpillars and fall webworms Research Division, Agricultural Research attack flowering crabapple. Service.

Washington, D.C. GPO : 1968 O —312-608 Issued November 1967 For sale by the Superintendent of Hocuments, L'.-S. Ciovernmcnt Printing Office , ll.C. 20402 - Price 5 cents