Malus hupehensis crab apple trees

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• Self-fertility: Partially self-fertile
• Blossom colour: White
• Fruit colour: Green / Red
• Awards: RHS AGM (current) 1993

A traditional garden crab-apple from China, with white blossom and small red-tinged fruitlets, a good choice as a specimen tree.

Malus hupehensis crab apple trees for sale

The Hupeh Crab is a traditional spreading crab-apple, with masses of small white flowers, followed by small red-tinged fruitlets.

It grows in a pleasing spreading fashion, looking attractive even in winter, making it a good choice as a specimen tree in a large lawn.

How to grow

Malus hupehensis is versatile and hardy, and tolerant of most situations, very disease-resistant, and should reach a height of 4m-5m eventually.

It is best to keep pruning to a minimum if you want to retain the attractive spreading habit.

Whilst most crab-apples make good pollinators for mainstream apple trees, Malus hupehensis is an exception - its pollen is not viable.

Advice on fruit tree pollination.

History

Malus hupehensis is native to China. It was brought to the attention of western gardeners by collectors from the Arnold Arboretum in Massachusetts, USA, in the early 20th century. It is sometimes known as the Tea crab-apple, because the leaves could be used like tea-leaves.

Malus hupehensis characteristics