Flowering Crabapple
Malus
Also called sargent crabapple
Flowering Crabapple blooms from April through May.
Mature size, hardiness zones, sun and the trait tags were checked against named botanical sources for this plant. The bloom months and water need on this page were not.
Growing Flowering Crabapple
Plant it in full sun. It prefers moderate water. It is hardy in USDA zones 4–8. Expect it to reach about 20 ft tall and 20 ft wide at maturity, in roughly 10 years.
When to plant Flowering Crabapple
Plant Flowering Crabapple in early spring as soon as the soil is workable, or in early fall at least six weeks before your first frost, so roots establish in cool weather. For the middle of its hardy zones 4 to 8 range, spring means March to May and fall means August or September. Once settled, it blooms from April to May.
Month-by-month timing for your zone is on the planting calendar: for the middle of its range, start with zone 6 in March.
10 more colors in the Crabapple family
Same family, similar care - pick the one you are growing.
Good to know about Flowering Crabapple
Curated from university extensions, botanic gardens and other primary sources, with the source named on every note.
Safety
Toxic to dogs, cats and horses: the seeds, stems and wilting leaves hold cyanogenic glycosides. The ripe flesh is not the hazard; the seeds and wilting foliage are. per ASPCA
Worth knowing
One choice controls four diseases: a broadly resistant cultivar handles apple scab, cedar-apple rust, fire blight and powdery mildew together, which is why every source ranks it above spraying. per Morton and Wisconsin
Zone range varies by source
Sources give USDA 4a to 8b, 3 to 7, or 4 to 7; all overlap at 4 to 7. Match the cultivar to your zone, not the genus range. per NC State and Minnesota
Apple scab
Apple scab is the most common and serious disease: velvety olive-green to black leaf spots cause yellowing and early leaf drop, often by July on susceptible trees. per Clemson and Wisconsin
Fire blight
Fire blight, a bacterial disease, can kill a susceptible tree: shoots blacken as if scorched and curl into a shepherd's-crook. There is no cure once it reaches the trunk. per Minnesota and Morton
Cedar-apple rust
Cedar-apple rust needs two hosts: it cannot complete its cycle without a juniper or eastern red cedar nearby. Site the tree away from them, or resistance matters more. per Minnesota and Clemson
Single-flowered forms feed bees
For bees or bird fruit, choose a single-flowered cultivar. Double-flowered ornamentals give bees little accessible pollen and set less fruit, so they feed neither pollinators nor birds well. per Wisconsin and Minnesota
What pairs well with Flowering Crabapple
Good companions share its growing conditions and add something it lacks: an earlier or later bloom, a lower carpet in front, or structure through winter.
Joe Pye Weed
Shares full sun and moderate to high water; blooms in midsummer, extending the bed's season; both are strong pollinator plants, and they feed in different months; its seed heads stand through winter, for structure and the birds.
Perennial Sunflower
Shares full sun and moderate water; blooms in late summer, extending the bed's season; both are strong pollinator plants, and they feed in different months; its seed heads stand through winter, for structure and the birds.
Sneezeweed
Shares full sun and moderate water; blooms in midsummer, extending the bed's season; both are strong pollinator plants, and they feed in different months; its seed heads stand through winter, for structure and the birds.
Lavender
Shares full sun and low to moderate water; blooms in early summer as this one finishes; both are strong pollinator plants, and they feed in different months; evergreen, so the bed keeps its shape through winter.
Cleome
Shares full sun and moderate water; blooms in early summer as this one finishes; both are strong pollinator plants, and they feed in different months; shorter at 3.9 ft, an understory layer.
Zinnia
Shares full sun and moderate water; blooms in early summer as this one finishes; both are strong pollinator plants, and they feed in different months; low at 2.6 ft, to carpet the ground beneath it.
Salvia (Annual)
Shares full sun and moderate water; blooms in early summer as this one finishes; both are strong pollinator plants, and they feed in different months; red sits close to pink on the wheel.
Dill
Shares full sun and moderate water; blooms in early summer as this one finishes; both are strong pollinator plants, and they feed in different months; low at 3 ft, to carpet the ground beneath it.
Try Flowering Crabapple with its top companions in a garden →
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