Sweet Crabapple (Malus coronaria) offers year-round appeal with fragrant spring blooms and a distinctive winter silhouette. It supports wildlife by attracting pollinators, serving as a host plant for Lepidoptera, and providing food for birds, turkeys, rabbits, and deer with its persistent fruit.
I. Appearance and Characteristics
Malus coronaria, also known by the names sweet crabapple or garland crab, is a North American species of Malus (crabapple). The species grows primarily in the Great Lakes Region and in the Ohio Valley, with outlying populations as far away as Alabama, eastern Kansas, and Long Island. It prefers rich moist soil.
Malus coronaria often is a bushy shrub with rigid, contorted branches, but frequently becomes a small tree up to 10 meters (33 feet) tall, with a broad open crown. Its flowering time is about two weeks later than that of the domestic apple, and its fragrant fruit clings to the branches on clustered stems long after the leaves have fallen.
The bark is reddish brown, longitudinally fissured, with surface separating in narrow scales. Branchlets at first coated with thick white wool, later they become smooth reddish brown; they develop in their second year long, spur-like branches and sometimes absolute thorns 2.5 centimeters (1 inch) or more in length.
The wood is reddish brown, the sapwood yellow; it is heavy, close-grained, not strong. Used for the handles of tools and small domestic articles. It has a specific gravity of 0.7048; and density 703.5 kilograms per cubic meter (43.92 pounds per cubic foot).
Its winter buds are bright red, obtuse, minute. Inner scales grow with the growing shoot, become 15 millimeters (1⁄2 in) long and bright red before they fall.
Its leaves alternate, and are simple, ovate, 7.5–10 cm (3–4 in) long, 4–5 cm (1+1⁄2–2 in) broad, obtuse, subcordate or acute at base, incisely serrate, often three-lobed on vigorous shoots, acute at apex. Feather-veined, midrib and primary veins grooved above, prominent beneath. They come out of the bud involute, red bronze, tomentose and downy; when full grown are bright dark green above, paler beneath. In autumn, they turn yellow. Petioles are slender, long, often with two dark glands near the middle. Stipules filiform, 15 mm (1⁄2 in) long, early deciduous.
The flowers bloom from May to June, when leaves are nearly grown. Perfect, rose-colored, fragrant, 4–5 cm (1+1⁄2–2 in) across. They are borne in five or six-flowered umbels on slender pedicels. The calyx is urn-shaped, downy or tomentose, five-lobed; lobes slender, acute, persistent, imbricate in bud. The corolla has five petals, is rose colored, ob ovate, rounded above, with long narrow claws, undulate or crenelate at margin, inserted on the calyx tube, imbricate in bud.
There are 10–20 stamens, inserted on the calyx tube, shorter than the petals; filaments by a partial twist forming a tube narrowed in the middle and enlarged above; anthers introrse, two-celled; cells opening longitudinally. The pistil consists of five carpels inserted in the bottom of the calyx tube and united into an inferior ovary; styles five; stigma capitate; ovules two in each cell.
The fruit is a pome or apple ripening in October. Depressed-globular, 2.5–4 cm (1–1+1⁄2 in) in diameter, crowned with calyx lobes and remnant of filaments; yellow green, delightfully fragrant, surface sometimes waxy. Flesh white, delicate and charged with malic acid. Seeds two or, by abortion, one in each cell, chestnut brown shining; cotyledons fleshy.
II. How to Grow and Care
Sunlight
Sweet crab apple prefers sunlight and grows well in full sun. Sufficient sunlight for about 8 hours a day is recommended. Sunlight will have a great impact on flower colors, while insufficient sunlight will lead to lighter colors. If there is strong light in summer, sweet crab apple needs proper shady conditions to avoid high-temperature injuries. Too much light may cause leaf curling or spots on stems and leaves.
Temperature
Widely distributed in the northern temperate zone, sweet crab apple is generally very adaptable to the distinct seasons, including hot summers and cold winters. It can tolerate temperatures as low as -30 ℃. Sweet crab apple can’t tolerate extremely high temperatures in summer; temperatures above 32 ℃ will affect its growth. The tree is drought-tolerant and doesn’t require much water, hence, avoid over-watering it.
Watering
Watering is important and required within two days after transplanting. The soil should be completely saturated so that the roots can get sufficient water supply. If sweet crab apple is planted in a courtyard, water it until water accumulates on the soil surface without seepage for an extended time. If it is planted in a flower pot, fill the tray under the flower pot with water to let the water slowly penetrate into the soil.
About ten days after transplanting, water sweet crab apple again to promote growth. Watering thereafter should be based on external climate and soil conditions; there is no need to water when the soil is still moist. Water should be provided when the soil is relatively dry, but don’t water so much that it accumulates around the tree.
Watering once every 3-5 days in winter is generally advised. With sufficient sunlight in summer, sweet crab apple should be watered once every 1-2 days. Be careful not to provide too much water each time. The best irrigation time is in the morning or on sunny days. This timing can promote water absorption and root respiration in the case of transpiration during the day. Avoid watering on rainy days, as this can easily cause root rot.
Soil
Sweet crab apple can adapt to various soils. The most suitable soil for growth is slightly acidic or neutral, humus-rich, loose, well-drained, and sandy. The best pH range for the soil is 6-8. During cultivation, the soil can be mixed with garden soil, peat soil, and organic fertilizer in a proportion of 6:3:1.
Fertilizing
Sweet crab apple prefers fertilizer, and soil fertility will affect its growth and reproduction. It is best to apply sufficient base fertilizer composed mostly of organic fertilizer as well as some quick-acting fertilizer. Fertilizer application in fall produces the best results; it promotes rooting and accumulation of more nutrients for the following year’s growth. Additionally, there are two other recommended fertilization times: before spring buds and when the fruit begins to grow. Dig out a small soil ditch 30 cm around the trunk, and then add the fertilizer evenly, water thoroughly, and loosen the soil properly after drying.
Planting Instructions
It is generally easiest to plant sweet crab apple by buying seedlings rather than sowing seeds. The recommended planting time is before budding in early spring or after leaves fall in early winter. Before planting, thoroughly check whether the roots of the tree are healthy. If rotten roots are found, they need to be quickly cut and disinfected with carbendazim.
When planted in a garden, the pit depth should be about 40 cm and the diameter about 60 cm. If the root is large, the size of the pit needs to be twice as big as the root ball. Before transplanting, apply some rotten organic fertilizer as the base fertilizer. In severe cold zones, pay attention to keeping sweet crab apple warm while transplanting. Add a cover such as wood chips or mulch at the base of the plant to ensure it overwinters safely.
Pruning
Pruning is very important for sweet crab apple and is usually performed between late fall after its leaves drop and early spring before it sprouts. Pruning not only keeps branches scattered and maintains the tree’s shape, but also ensures ventilation and sunlight transmission, which is conducive to its growth. Promptly cut off dense, overlapping, thin, and infected branches, or prune out a suitable and aesthetic shape based on the viewing environment. When blooming, you can also cut off some branches and cut away withered flowers to promote budding and the blossoming of new branches.
When pruning and cutting longer branches, leave enough new buds for branches to grow better afterward.
Propagation
If there is a seedling growing at the root, you can cut the seedling from the plant before budding in spring or after leaves fall in autumn and winter. It is best to cut off the roots of the seedling and transplant them into new pots or dug pits.
Transplanting
For sweet crab apple, late winter to early spring is perfect for transplanting as the cool conditions support root growth before leaf development. They prefer sunny locations with good soil drainage. Ensure to keep the soil moderately moist after transplanting for best success.
III. Uses and Benefits
The fruit is made into both preserves and cider.
