Malus trilobata

Trilobata crabapple is a rare and unusual plant that is not difficult to grow butyet quite difficult to source. Its most specific feature is the leaf shape – it looks like a merge between maple and hawthorn. The leaves are not large but their prominent lobes are a good giveaway. They are deciduous, mid to deep green in summer, turning fantastic shades of fiery orange, salmon pink, and burgundy red in autumn. This colouration remains on the tree for quite some time before the leaves fall down.

It flowers much later than other crabapples, usually in June. Flowers a little smaller but nevertheless very charming, pure white with 5 petals and conspicuous yellow stamens in the centre. They are borne on long stalks in bundles of 3-7. They are followed by small, light green crabapples with somewhat smooth skin. Some say that they taste a bit like pears but they are not considered edible fruit.

Trilobata crabapple grows medium fast, strictly upright, into a narrowly conical tree. Pruning is possible in frost-free periods from January till early March. It can take almost any soil included compacted, heavy clay. Still, it thrives in neutral to slightly acidic, evenly moist soil with enough nutrients for profuse flowering and good habit. Grow it in full sun or partial shade as if grown at the woodland edge. Hardy to about -25°C (USDA zone 5b to 6).

Last update 15-01-2012