Flowering crabapple time in western Oregon was extra special this spring. Local weather conditions treated us to an unusually lovely, long-lasting display. Especially nice are the trees planted in 2017 at the entrance to our office in Boring. Sparkling Sprite® Crabapple dazzles us every year, keeping its perfectly rounded, symmetrical shape as though it receives a careful annual pruning, but it does not!
Raspberry Spear® Crabapple, planted in 2019, is becoming a scene stealer as it blooms bright magenta across the walkway from Sparkling Sprite® Crabapple’s pink-tinted, snowy white globe. These and other outstanding crabapples from the JFS breeding program can be found at fine garden centers across the continent.
Offering much more than pretty springtime flowers, these garden workhorses have superior foliage quality with exceptional disease resistance. Their highly ornamental, non-messy fruit is tiny, long-lasting and attractive to birds, and their early-blooming flowers are highly favored by pollinators, according to University of Kentucky scientists. Excellent branch structure and attractive bark add to their all-season appeal. Hardy and tolerant of a wide range of climatic and soil conditions, ornamental crabapples are top performers among the smaller stature ornamental landscape trees. All are great choices for enhancing pollinator habitat. Choose one of our extraordinary cultivars to plant in recognition of Pollinator Week, June 16-22. They come in a variety of colors, shapes and sizes!
Sparkling Sprite® Crabapple
Malus ‘JFS-KW207’ PP 27954
Pink buds of Sparkling Sprite® Crabapple open to fragrant, pink-tinged white flowers that smother its densely branched, rounded head. Perfectly suited for patio, terrace or container culture, the summer foliage of this petite top-grafted tree is exceptionally clean, bright green and disease resistant.
“This variety truly does sparkle with its bright white flowers that emerge from pink buds,” says Cathy Bown, JFS Inside Sales representative. “Its abundant crop of tiny yellow fruits persists into the winter months, providing food for our winged friends.”
Growers and landscape managers appreciate its naturally dense and rounded growth habit that practically eliminates the need for pruning to achieve a formal, topiary-like head. Heavy annual flower and fruit crops promise beauty year after year. Top-grafted at 4 ft., its mature height and spread is approximately 12’ x 12’.
Raspberry Spear® Crabapple
Malus ‘JFS KW213MX’ PP 31008
Swoon-worthy magenta-pink flowers and purple foliage are multiplied exponentially when viewed on our low-branch form of this remarkable new ornamental crabapple. Blooms and leaves stretch from near ground-level to the tip-top of its narrowly upright branches. Ideal for use in space-challenged, compact landscapes including rooftop gardens, courtyards, container plantings, streetscapes and hedgerows. Whether branched at ground level or raised up to a canopy that begins at about four feet, its dense foliage makes it a good option for visual screens that are a great fit for narrow spaces. Bright flowers attract pollinators, and the dark red, persistent fruit extends the seasonal show into the winter months. USDA Zone 4 hardiness.
Ivory Spear® Crabapple
Malus ‘JFS KW241MX’ PP 31076
As implied by its name, a narrow column of fragrant white flowers juts skyward in spring. Blooms emerge from deep pink buds that cluster along the stiffly upright branches of this unique new ornamental crabapple. Flowers are followed by a uniform column of dark green leaves that remain clean and disease free throughout the summer months. Bright, cherry red fruits of about half-inch diameter add bright contrast when they appear among the leaves in late summer, which turn yellow in autumn. Height and spread of 18′ x 7′ assure its suitability for tight growing spaces.
Ruby Dayze® Crabapple
Malus ‘JFS KW139MX’ PP31232
Sporting a rather formal upright oval form, Ruby Dayze® is especially notable for its profuse crop of bright magenta-pink flowers, dark purple foliage and long-lasting, deep red, ¼” fruits. Fall color is orange red.
This tree scores on all fronts, featuring the most scab resistant foliage among red-leafed crabs that we have yet seen. In fact, it offers excellent resistance to all four of the common crabapple diseases: scab, fireblight, cedar-apple rust and mildew. Growers love its more upright, tightly oval shape, as will gardeners. city foresters and others who maintain it in landscapes. Mature height and spread of this USDA Zone 4 tree are 22’ x 16’.
Snow Crystal® Crabapple
Malus ‘JFS KW218MX’ PP34356
“This little beauty is sure to get the attention of all your neighbors, including your neighborhood pollinators,” says Brian Mumm, JFS Inside Sales Representative. “This compact, symmetrical tree is packed with bright white flowers in mid spring,” he adds. Blooms are followed by dark green leaves that accentuate its distinctively compact, pyramidal form throughout the growing season. Tiny (1/4-inch) yellow to golden orange fruits take the four-season show into the winter months. Boasting excellent resistance to the main diseases that affect crabapples, plus a distinctively compact canopy that reaches a height and spread of 15’ x 12’, it’s a standout crabapple to be admired.
Royal Raindrops® Crabapple
Malus ‘JFS KW-5’
Magenta-pink blooms are profuse and bright, eye candy for the winter weary and a sure sign of spring. Deep purple, cutleaf foliage emerges as the flowers fade, maintaining its rich purple color despite summer heat. Tiny, bright red fruits appear in late summer and persist into winter, attracting birds well after the leaves are gone. Fall color is a medley of purple, bronze and orange.
Superior disease resistance, adaptability, and heat and drought tolerance are reasons to choose this improved cultivar that outperforms other purple-foliaged crabapples. Growers appreciate that its upright growth habit and strong branch angles reduce the need for pruning and shaping to develop a balanced canopy. A vigorous grower, it quickly gains caliper while developing a sturdy, well-tapered trunk. Since its introduction in 2003, this unique crabapple has become our top-selling flowering tree.
The story of our “Search for the Best” ornamental crabapples is shared in Malus, Journal of the International Ornamental Crabapple Society. Authored by Guy Meacham, JFS New Plant Development Manager, In Search of the Best (page 24) describes the multi-generational quest undertaken by the Schmidt family and staff to breed, trial, select and introduce new and improved ornamental crabapples to the horticultural trade and to the gardening public.
Author Guy Meacham tells the story of our breeding and selection program that began in earnest around 1990, under the direction of Keith Warren. He led our new plant development efforts until his retirement in 2014, at which time he collaborated for several more years with Dr. Michael Dirr in co-authoring The Tree Book,published by Timber Press. Meacham, who joined JFS as an intern in 1985, served for many years as our Greenhouse Propagation Manager. Under Keith’s mentorship, he transitioned into the plant breeding role and guides it into the future. He’s capably assisted by Plant Development Specialist Jim Donohoe.
Gardeners! Please note that our nursery is strictly wholesale. To purchase these and other trees grown by our nursery, please use our Retailer Locator to find sources of JFS trees near you.
