Our Top 3 Flowering Crab Tree Picks

One of the rewards for living through long Iowa winters is the delight of spring blooming flowering crab trees.

If you have memories of flowering crab trees that dropped very large apples, or that lost all their leaves by the end of June – No Worries!  New varieties of crabs no longer have these characteristics. They have either no berries(apples) or very small berries that birds will clean. The old varieties that lost their leaves by July were susceptible to a disease called cedar apple rust fungus. New varieties are resistant to this as well.

Our Top 3 Flowering Crab Tree Picks

Spring Snow -  Deep green foliage with white blooms, fruitless, Grow 12-15’ 

Prairie Fire – Green foliage with the deepest red/pink blooms currently available, small berries that birds will clean, grow 20-25’ 

Camelot – A wonderful dwarf variety. Buds deep pink with blooms pink fading to white along the entire stems of the tree, small berries that birds will clean, grow 10-12’

More on Crab Trees HERE.

The Beauty of Spring: Flowering Crabs

The beauty of spring: Flowering Crabs

For many gardeners the first couple weeks of May are their favorite time of the year.  Tulips, daffodils, bluebells, rhododendrons, creeping phlox and other flowers are in full bloom. To top off the spring glory, flowering crabs and other spring blooming trees are in full array.

Flowering crabs are a great addition to any yard.  They are hardy and easy to grow. Blooms range in color from white to pink to reds and sizes vary from 8’ to 30’.

Now is a good time to purchase and plant a flowering crab as you will be able to see bloom colors at the nursery.

New varieties of crabs have been chosen so that they have no berries or very small berries. In addition, they are resistant to a fungus (cedar apple rust) that would cause older varieties to lose their leaves by July.  New varieties also come in dwarf sizes for the homeowner with limited space.

Here are some of our favorite varieties of flowering crabs:

Prairie Fire: (probably our best seller) – blooms are deep pink/red, grow 15-20’, small berries birds will mostly clean

Spring Snow: White blooms, no berries, grow 25-30’

Rejoice: Semi double rose pink blooms, grow upright 15-20’, small berries birds will mostly clean

Royal Raindrops: Leaves are burgundy, flowers deep pink, grow to 20’, small berries birds will mostly clean

Camelot:  Dwarf, grow 10’, Buds red changing to pink and then fade to white, blooms follow entire length of branches, small berries birds will mostly clean

Golden Raindrops: White blooms, tiny golden yellow fruit (1/4”), grows upright (20’), vase shaped

Showtime: Large bright fuschia pink showy flowers in the spring, dark green foliage with a red overlay, grows 15-20’

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