The Definitive Guide to Planting Crabapple Trees (And Why You’d Want To)

There are numerous reasons to consider planting a crabapple tree. Their ability to help pollinate other fruit trees, the tasty fruit, and their beautiful blooms make them a great asset for your yard or orchard.

Originally published August 2015; this post has been updated. 

crabapple tree branch with fruit.

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red crabapples on a branch

What is a Crabapple?

A member of the Malus genus, these trees are related to the standard orchard apple that you’re familiar with. 

A flowering crabapple shows off every spring with beautiful blossoms and does not fruit. Fruiting crabapples develop fruit that isn’t as large (or pretty) as standard apples. Even so, these fruits are great for cooking with; use them as you would any other apple variety.

Consider Planting a Crab Apple Tree

When people look for fruit trees for a small garden, they think of the standard grocery store fruit: Gala apples, Italian Prune plums, freestone Peaches, and a few other familiar fruit.

Here are five reasons crab apples should be in your garden plans. (And yes, there is no consensus on how to spell crabapple.)

1. Crabapples are Decorative

My crabapple trees are the first trees to blossom in my garden. They blossom longer than any of my other fruit trees. This gives me a full 3 to 4 weeks of flowering, at a time when the rest of my garden is just beginning to wake up.

These flowering trees bloom in white to pink flowers, some sporting deeply colored almost red flowers. Green foliage appears following the blossom stage.

In late summer the red and yellow blushed fruit hangs in bundles from the branches, stunning against the August greenness of the rest of the garden. The leaves hang on till the first killing frost and then change color quickly for a stunning display of gold and yellow.

2. They are Early Bee Food

In spring my crabapple trees are abuzz with bumblebees and mason bees. The blossoms of these flowering trees are a banquet for both native pollinators and honey bees.

Since the flowering season for crabapples is earlier and longer, it gives those stressed pollinators a reliable food source before berries and other fruit start to leaf out.

crabapple blossoms, white with a pink tinge

3. Crab Apple Trees Pollinate Other Apple Varieties

Apple trees require a pollinator of another compatible apple variety to set fruit. Pollen from a crabapple tree will pollinate most apple trees provided that they blossom at the same time.

Crab apples are so effective at pollinating other apple varieties that old time orchardists would take branches of crab apples in bloom and put them in a bucket of water in the middle of their apple orchards. The bees would visit the crabapple blossoms and then visit the apple blossoms as they opened on the apple trees, improving the fruit set.

When you are planting apple trees in a new garden, plant a crabapple within 50 feet of your other apple trees to ensure good pollination.

4. They Don’t Take Up Much Space

Crabapples can be huge, sprawling trees, or small garden trees depending on the rootstock chosen. When you are considering one for your small garden, look for one grafted onto dwarf rootstock. Crabapples on dwarf rootstock don’t take up much space and are good for smaller gardens.

Although these can still grow up to 12 feet tall, they can be easily managed in a small garden, with judicious pruning. Be sure to provide full sun for these trees.

Crabapples

5. Crab Apples are Edible and Dependable

Can you eat crabapples? Absolutely! They’re perfectly edible.

In commercial production of apples the crabapple is used merely as a pollinator. Often, these trees are bred only for their blossoms. (You may have noticed that it’s hard to find them at your local farmer’s market.)

The difference between an ornamental and an edible crabapple is the size of the fruit. Edible varieties have fruit that are about two-inches in diameter, whereas ornamentals have tiny fruit or no fruit at all. Plant a variety with medium to large fruit to get the most from your tree.

Which Variety Should You Plant?

My favorite for a small garden is the Dolgo variety. It is one of the earliest to blossom in the spring. The blossom buds on the Dolgo crabapple are deep pink and open to large, showy white flowers.

The red fruit is medium size — about two inches — with good flavor and a strong red hue that is visible in the jelly, the pectin, or the canned fruit. As an early bloomer, it pollinates the early-fruiting, heritage apple trees that I have in my mountain garden.

I grow it because it is hardy to zone 3 and will produce fruit in my shorter growing season. It has good disease resistance to fire blight, scab, cedar rust, and mildew.

You can plant crab apple trees whenever your soil can be worked. Container grown trees, or those sold as “balled and burlapped” can be planted spring, summer, or fall.

Bare root trees need to be planted in the early spring. [Go here for more on planting bare root fruit trees.]

Red dolgo crab apples hanging on a tree

FAQs

Are crabapples poisonous?

No. All crab apples are edible. Some ornamental trees produce small fruit (others don’t produce fruit at all). These tiny fruits are not poisonous and are perfectly edible. However, ornamental crab apple trees have been bred for their beauty, not the flavor of their fruit. Fruit from ornamental crabapple trees can be somewhat bitter.

If you find an ornamental tree that produces tasty but small fruit, consider using the fruit in recipes that don’t require peeling or coring to save time, such as apple butter or apple jelly.

Ornamental crabapple trees that drop small fruit can be a good (free) source of food for your flock of chickens as well as food for wildlife. Plant one in their pen and you can enjoy the beauty of blossoms in the springtime and they can enjoy the fruit later.

crabapple blossoms, crab apple fruit (red)

When are Crabapples Ripe?

In North America and the northern hemisphere, crab apples are generally ripe in the late summer or fall. Many trees have “persistent” fruit, meaning that even when they’re ripe they’ll remain hanging on the tree for a month or more.

Are Crabapples Fast Growing Trees?

It depends. Some crab apple trees grow faster than others. Ornamental varieties like Purple Prince (purple foliage) and Red Jewel are considered faster growing than others. Generally speaking, you can expect one of these trees to grow one-to-two feet per year.

Are they Prone to Disease?

Like their standard apple cousins, crabapples can succumb to blemishes like apple rust and apple scab. Both of these are surface blemishes and can be peeled off the fruit before using. Powdery mildew is another potential issue. Talk to your local nursery person about the best disease resistant variety for your region; it can vary by growing zones.

How Long Does it Take a Tree to Produce Fruit?

The climate and conditions in which your tree is growing will dictate how quickly it will fruit, but two-to-five years is a good range to plan on.

Dreaming of harvesting more fruit? There are other great fruit trees to consider, too!

apple butter on a spoon, with glass jar behind

Originally published August 2015; this post has been updated. 

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About the author: Chris is the author of The Beeswax Workshop: How to Make Your Own Natural Candles, Cosmetics, Cleaners, Soaps, Healing Balms, and More. She is a teacher, author, gardener, and community herbalist with 30+ years of growing herbs and formulating herbal remedies, skin care products, soaps, and candles.

80 comments… add one
  • Holly Aug 11, 2023 @ 15:13

    We just put a crab apple sapling in this year, and now my husband nicked it with the lawn mower. (I don’t know how, there isn’t grass that close anyway.) I’m seeing about using sap to protect it until it heals, but I don’t know anything about that. It would be easy enough for us to get some pine sap from some older neighboring trees, but I don’t know if this is a good idea or not. Can you help?
    Thanks

    • Kris Bordessa Oct 10, 2023 @ 14:33

      Certainly wouldn’t hurt to try!

      • Ken Oct 16, 2023 @ 4:34

        I nicked my apricot tree one year and pealed the bark off at the base. I wrapped it tightly with duct tape and that seemed to work just fine. The key is to keep it from drying out so it can heal.

  • Mary Jul 3, 2023 @ 9:38

    I learned a few new things about a tree I have. Thanks!
    I have 1 question: how frequently should I prune the tree?

    • Kris Bordessa Oct 10, 2023 @ 12:57

      Pruning maintenance should happen annually.

  • Bill Apr 26, 2023 @ 12:46

    Thank you for a great article.
    Explain self fertile. I understood the blossoms can fertile others without needing other trees or plants to pollinate.
    I have a Bonsai Malus Sylvestris. I brought it inside because it has a beautiful display of blossoms and didn’t want the wind to blow them off.
    So does it need a breeze to self pollinate ? I used a freezer to drag tulip stamens over the crab apple stamens. Will this suffice or is it necessary to pollinate from another Malus genus.

    • AttainableSustainable May 11, 2023 @ 3:41

      Apple trees require a pollinator of another compatible apple variety to set fruit. Pollen from a crabapple tree will pollinate most apple trees provided that they blossom at the same time.

  • Kenneth Feb 25, 2023 @ 13:59

    We moved to North Texas. Do you have a crabapple recommendation for this area, and do deer and squirrels eat crabapples?
    KD McK

    • Kris Bordessa Oct 10, 2023 @ 14:38

      Contact your local extension office for regional growing advice. And yes, deer and squirrels will eat them.

  • Denise Obray Feb 11, 2023 @ 8:04

    Hi,
    My weeping small Oregon Crabapple Tree was planted three years ago and is doing very well (I am in North Idaho). This winter it lost it’s leaves but did not lose it’s very small fruit (I honestly can’t remember if this has happened every year or not .. lol)

    Is it ok just to leave the fruit on the tree ? I want to be sure and get blooms in the spring (or whenever they arrive) and I don’t mind leaving the very small fruit on the tree. Thanks so much for your advice !
    Denise

    • Kris Bordessa Oct 10, 2023 @ 14:39

      The fruit will eventually fall off!

  • Dona Gibson Feb 4, 2023 @ 4:09

    I bought two crab apple trees in the autumn, they both had a lot of fruit on them until mid January. Now they are showing no signs of budding unlike my apple trees. Is it normal for crab apple trees to bud later than other fruit trees or is there a problem with them?

    • Kris Bordessa Oct 10, 2023 @ 14:44

      I’d contact your local cooperative extension office and ask what to expect in your region.

  • Linda Rasmussen Sep 6, 2022 @ 18:08

    Hi – I’m trying to find out if the crabapple native to the Pacific NW can be used as a pollinator for apple trees. It’s called Pacific or Oregon Crabapple and has a late bloom period like the young apple tree I recently planted. It’s definitely not one with sterile pollen. Thanks!

    • Kris Bordessa Oct 7, 2022 @ 17:39

      Try your local cooperative extension office and ask to talk to one of their master gardeners.

  • Amy Aug 15, 2022 @ 4:28

    We’re replanting our front and I’ve always planned on Dolgo crab apples! Currently we visit my uncle once a year and harvest from his trees to make crab apple jelly. My question is, if I plant two of the same variety, will I get fruit, or do the two trees need to be different varieties for cross-pollination? He’s got three trees, but they all seem to be the same variety, and they get lots of fruit.

    • Kris Bordessa Oct 7, 2022 @ 19:09

      They can be the same variety.

  • Ken Merkel Jun 14, 2022 @ 12:58

    Four years ago I planted a 4 1/2 ft tall Calloway crabapple tree and a 5 1/2 ft Dolgo 20 yards away. The following spring they both bloomed but only the Calloway produced fruit and that has been the scenario every year since. Why doesn’t the Dolgo produce? I have a very old unknown variety forty yards away that produces and another unknown about 150 yards away that produces fruit.

    • AttainableSustainable Aug 9, 2022 @ 4:02

      I’m really not sure!

  • Greta May 16, 2022 @ 9:54

    Are all crabapple blossoms safe to consume? Mine are blooming right now and I’m wondering if I can dry them and make tea with them? Thanks!!

    • AttainableSustainable May 17, 2022 @ 10:19

      They should be non-toxic, although I’ve never tried them so don’t know what they taste like!

  • Colet Apr 22, 2022 @ 7:08

    I have a flowering crabapple that have beautiful pink flowers and tiny apples are those good to make jelly?

    • AttainableSustainable Apr 26, 2022 @ 7:16

      Yes, they should be! Sometimes the tiny apples are meant for ornamental purposes, but they’re all edible so even if they’re tart using them for jelly is a good idea.

      • Adam May 20, 2022 @ 5:34

        We have one just the that and we harvest all our apples and make crabapple juice jelly and sauce every year.

        • AttainableSustainable May 24, 2022 @ 12:10

          Perfect! 🙂

  • Bill Mar 5, 2022 @ 15:10

    I live in California my wife from another country was eating a Gala apple and ask if she planted a seed from it would it grow said sure everything grows here but the apple will be different , so pick a spot in the yard and we planted the seed told her just keep the soil moist and wait sure enough it sprouted she was so excited, the tree is fully grown now gives wonderful shade in summer the bees love the blooms in spring and birds really enjoy the apples all winter long.

    • AttainableSustainable Mar 8, 2022 @ 8:36

      That’s wonderful 🙂

  • Latisha Nov 14, 2021 @ 10:59

    Living in the Caribbean, I’ve never seen a crabapple fruit or tree. I recently visited Chicago to experience autumn in its truest sense and found a crabapple true along a walking trail. I brought a fruit home to plant the seed. My zone is 10b/11. Will a crabapple tree survive in my climate if I give it sufficient shade and planted in the right soil?

    • Kris Bordessa Dec 13, 2021 @ 9:04

      These trees need a certain number of “chill hours” in order to produce fruit. (Varies.) You may not have that in your zone.

  • Reenie Oct 11, 2021 @ 10:27

    I have a crabapple sapling now 3 seasons old. It has reached a height of above 6 feet but no branches whatsoever. Should I trim it back or just get rid of it?

    • Kris Bordessa Oct 13, 2021 @ 14:15

      Topping trees will generally encourage them to send out branches. If it’s 6′ tall with no branches, I’d cut 2′ off of it.

  • Barbara Sturton Sep 3, 2021 @ 15:55

    Does the deep colour of the skin of the crabapple deepen the colour of the jelly? My jelly turned out to be clear but very dark

    • Kris Bordessa Sep 6, 2021 @ 16:09

      Usually if a darker skin is cooked in with the fruit, it will darken jellies.

      • Karen May 26, 2023 @ 5:53

        Does any one have a recipe for crab apple jelly? Thanks!

  • Jim Vralsted Mar 6, 2021 @ 8:55

    Do you think the Dolgo crab apple would be a decent choice for pollinating both Macintosh and Winesap trees. From your article you seem to like it’s abilities.

  • Lesly Vick Nov 26, 2020 @ 11:11

    Will any crabapples do well in southern California? My zone is 10b and I believe my heat zone is 10 or 11.

    • Kris Bordessa Nov 30, 2020 @ 7:52

      I’d contact your local cooperative extension office to ask!

  • Nicole Aug 9, 2020 @ 7:18

    Hello. I just bought a new home near Gatineau Park in Quebec. I saw some raccoons in our pool in the backyard and it just dawned on me that maybe the crabapple tree in our front yard attracted them? Is there anything I can do to discourage them? Pick up the dropped apples? Will they climb the tree? Thanks

    • Kris Bordessa Aug 11, 2020 @ 7:28

      Hard to say what attracted them. They like the water. They’ll also come for cat/dog food. But maybe crabapples??

  • Kelly Terzo Jul 18, 2020 @ 9:17

    We just moved in to a house in Central WI with a tree with good size green crab apples on it. Some outsides are turning slightly red, its mid July and lots are falling off. The seeds inside are still white. They taste pretty sweet. Everything I’m reading says they ripen in fall. Can I use the ones that are falling off the tree or is it too early?

    • Kris Bordessa Jul 18, 2020 @ 14:15

      I’d try tasting them. It won’t hurt to sample them even if they’re a bit green. If they taste good, use them!

  • Amanda Jul 6, 2020 @ 15:13

    We have a mature tree that the bears have come and eaten from in years past. Last summer the apples grew but did not fall from the tree, only a few fell. The year before we had tent caterpillars in the area and they ate all the leaves and we got no fruit. Any ideas as to why the fruit didn’t fall last year, we have some flowers this year but like normal.

    • Kris Bordessa Jul 11, 2020 @ 9:01

      How interesting. I don’t know, though!

      • Cindy Anderton Aug 25, 2023 @ 7:29

        Should fruit be removed when branches are drooping?

        • AttainableSustainable Sep 14, 2023 @ 10:12

          Many crabapple trees have “persistent” fruit, meaning that even when they’re ripe they’ll remain hanging on the tree for a month or more. So I’d say yes you should!

  • neville Sep 14, 2019 @ 8:55

    is there any crabapple trees that will grow in Larose zone 9

    • Kris Bordessa Sep 20, 2019 @ 12:49

      Try checking with your local cooperative extension office.

    • Kim Dec 10, 2019 @ 20:05

      Neville, I also live in zone 9. I found this site that says the Dolgo grows in zones 3-9.
      https://www.naturehills.com/dolgo

  • Sharon Aug 25, 2019 @ 11:57

    How long do crabapples keep in the fridge?

    • Kris Bordessa Aug 25, 2019 @ 12:26

      It can depend on the variety, but you should be able to keep them for 2-3 months, refrigerated. They’ll get softer the longer you store them, but still good for cooking.

  • Diane Whitehead Jul 13, 2019 @ 8:45

    I have a crab apple tree in my front yard. Just moved here a year ago. The first spring the tree was covered with blooms and there were soooo many apples. But winter arrived and many apples stayed on the tree. it was great for the birds. Now this spring….. nothing not one bloom! What’s wrong with my tree?

    • Kris Bordessa Jul 16, 2019 @ 17:00

      Probably nothing. Fruit trees tend to crop heavily one year, then lightly the next. One thing you can do is give it a good pruning, if you haven’t already.

  • Anna B. Merchant May 21, 2019 @ 10:17

    I have a crab apple tree with two types of blooms, it bloomed early this spring with beautiful blooms on the lower half of the trees. It is now blooming on the upper half of the tree, with completely different type of a bloom in cluster like blooms. What’s going on with this tree.

    • Kris Bordessa May 23, 2019 @ 15:47

      It’s possible that someone grafted a different variety onto the root stock.

  • Dayton (OH) Dave Apr 7, 2019 @ 3:36

    What is the best time of year to prune these trees? The tree at the house we recently moved into is out of hand (18-20 ft tall and a 30 ft spread). I don’t want/need to top it, but would like to bring the spread down to 20-ish feet and let the more or less barren middle fill back in.

    • Kris Bordessa Apr 7, 2019 @ 14:46

      You usually prune apple trees of all kinds in the late winter when the trees are still dormant. That’s not to say you can’t prune later, though. (I’ve done it both ways.)

  • David Bowman Sep 11, 2018 @ 10:03

    Dear Kris:

    Around 1975 my mother gave me a crab apple tree. It produce tart red fruit (both skin and flesh). The apples were approximately 1 1/ 2 inch in diameter. They made great tart crab apple jelly. I moved and the tree died. I regret not taking a cutting.

    Can you tell me what variety of crab apple I had?

    Sincerely,
    David Bowman
    [email protected]

    • Kris Bordessa Sep 16, 2018 @ 9:44

      Oh, it’s so hard to guess. I recommend trying to find someone who’s growing crabapples to find one that seems like it. Sorry I can’t help more!

  • Loretta Aug 15, 2018 @ 7:52

    I just picked 2 small buckets of beautiful crabapples. I like the tart sweet taste of these particular fruits. I was also planning on making a bonsai of the cuttings that I took. Thank you for the article, now I am also going to plant the seeds in my lot for the pollinators. Hopefully I will be around to cultivate the larger trees for fruit & fauna.

    • Kris Bordessa Aug 16, 2018 @ 20:28

      A bonsai crabapple — that’s great!

  • Rita Sep 19, 2017 @ 13:06

    There use to a crabapple tree near where I walked my dog. The fruit would fall in the vacant parking lot and get squished but plenty still to pick up…noticed all the nice ones were in the person’s yard. I could have reached in and got them but to me it would be stealing. So one day, I went up to their door and asked if I could gather the ones on the ground. They didn’t even know what they were. I explained and told them I would make jelly out of them and bring them some jelly as payment for allowing me to gather the fruit. True to my word a week later my dog and I went for the walk and stopped by the house and gave them 2 half pint jars of the jelly. Sadly the house went up for sale and the new owners took the tree out. But I got to educate and give a gift of food and I enjoy doing it.

  • Ben Hardy Sep 7, 2017 @ 21:35

    Thank you for the link to my blog! I moved house a couple of years ago, leaving my beloved crab apple tree behind for the next guardian. However, I have planted a baby crab apple tree at the new place, and will be harvesting the first tiny batch in about a month’s time. Not enough to make wine this year – but probably enough for a few jars of jelly.

  • Kas Breslin Jul 1, 2017 @ 5:05

    Thank you, very interesting and informative. Can’t wait to try the recipes.

  • Elizabeth Jan 16, 2017 @ 11:50

    Hi do sell the plants I live in orlando FL thank you for your reply

  • Lisa from Iroquois Oct 8, 2016 @ 13:17

    Is your Dolgo a graft or grown true from seed? I love Dolgo and would like to add one to our tree collection. I forage them on the nearby university campus but no luck yet growing from seed.

  • Lois Mark Sep 18, 2016 @ 3:00

    So, did I miss this…….? Do I need/have to plant duos for pollination or does one tree self pollinate? Obviously, I know nothing about fruit trees but am actively learning. Wanted to get my first few trees in the ground this Fall. I still haven’t several more weeks to figure it out. This year I’ll just be planting 4 FIGS in different places on the property and I’d like to plant at least 3 grapples but do I need to double that number so they will pollinate themselves?

  • Mirjam Sep 1, 2016 @ 16:01

    great info how does a crabapple tree work in an area where we have late and early frost about 2800 feet up in washington state also with llamas and milking goats as well as horses and a donkey and chickens and ducks oh did i mention the guinnes and lets not forget the cats and dogs so basicly a zoo and i like to be as self suficiant as i can

  • Cynthia Mar 25, 2016 @ 0:06

    Could you tell me if ornamental flowering crabs are the same as crab apple trees used for pollinating your apple orchard.

    • Chris Mar 25, 2016 @ 8:41

      Most crab apples can be used for pollination if they flower at the same time. There are a few ornamental crab apple varieties with sterile pollen. These are triploid varieties that produce little or no pollen. So a person buying new trees should check to see whether the trees they are purchasing have viable pollen if they want them for xpollination.

  • Tamara Nov 24, 2015 @ 7:34

    How do you make pectin from the apples?

    • K. Papenfuss Oct 29, 2021 @ 12:57

      I would also like to know how to make pectin. Do you use crabapples for this

      • AttainableSustainable Nov 4, 2021 @ 5:16

        Yes, you can use crabapples to make pectin.

  • Meredith Oct 20, 2015 @ 15:47

    Love this – I had a crabapple tree in my front yard growing up and loved eating from it. You have inspired me to plant a crabapple tree in our yard. I think our bees will love it!

    • Kris Bordessa Nov 4, 2015 @ 11:12

      I expect that you’re right about the bees.

  • Kate Sep 29, 2015 @ 14:55

    one more reason: for homemade pectin! Crab apples like all apples have lots of pectin so I boiled some and use the juice in making jelly from other low pectin fruit such as grapes and peaches rather than store bought pectin. You could use regular eating apples but I only have two small trees and treasure those for pies, crisps, Apple sauce, etc.

    • Kris Bordessa Oct 5, 2015 @ 8:16

      Oh, I’ve heard this but had completely forgotten. Thanks for the reminder.

  • Tara Sep 12, 2015 @ 4:26

    Hi, I just read your article about crab apples and I loved my old tree at my old house with true crab apples for jelly. But now in my new home I have an ornamental and I have always wondered if the fruits can be used. Can I make jelly with them or anything else?

  • Elisa Sep 6, 2015 @ 2:27

    Thank you for this article! We are moving into our first home at the end of September. It has a crabapple tree in the front yard which I was going to cut down. Having read this information, I’ve decided that this tree is a definite keeper! Thanks 🙂

    • Kris Bordessa Sep 6, 2015 @ 7:34

      Excellent! Plus, it will help keep your air clean!

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