Prairie Fire® crab apple trees

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• Blossom colour: Pink - dark
• Fruit colour: Red

Malus 'Prairie Fire' is an outstanding small American crab-apple. The main attraction is the abundant stunning dark pink blossom - helped by flowers which are quite large by crab-apple standards.

Seen from a distance on a spring day, particularly in the early morning or late afternoon, the tree really does look like a fire.

In autumn the red cherry-like fruitlets are also quite large, and useful for wildlife. In areas with warm autumn days and cool nights the leaves take on golden hues.

Prairie Fire crab apple trees for sale

Pot-grown

All our pot-grown trees are grown for us to our specification by the Frank P Matthews nursery.

All pot-grown trees are suitable for planting out in the garden, some are suitable for growing in containers.

• PG12-year 12L pot-grown tree Semi-vigorous rootstock£71.50
  Grown for us by Frank P Matthews nursery
  Medium tree (2m-3m after 10 years)
  

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Need help? Ask our fruit tree experts

Call us on 01759 392007 or fill in our contact form.

Tree specification

Photos of trees as supplied | Tree sizes and forms

Pre-ordering

Pre-order now for delivery in September 2025

Delivery charges

Delivery for a single tree starts at £9.95, it is calculated based on your postcode.

Growing and Training

Malus 'PrairieFire' is easy to grow and not usually troubled by diseases. It has a distinctly spreading habit.

History

Malus 'Prairie Fire', more correctly known as Malus 'Prairiefire', was developed by Daniel Dayton at the University of Illinois in the 1980s. The university was part of the highly-regarded disease-resistant apple program of the "PRI" co-operative of Purdue, Rutgers, and Illinois universities . Many of the PRI varieties have the letters "pri" in their names, and Prairiefire maintains this tradition.

Like many of the newer crab-apple varieties it is far more disease-resistant than the old traditional ones.

Prairie Fire characteristics

British-grown trees

Unlike many garden centres and online retailers, the vast majority of our fruit trees are grown in the UK. Find out more.

In addition, all our trees are certified under the Plant Healthy scheme, supervised by the Plant Health Alliance. Other stakeholders include Defra and the RHS. The scheme aims to improve UK biosecurity by setting standards for all growers and retailers involved in selling plants in the UK. Find out more

Guaranteed fruit trees

When you buy your fruit tree from Orange Pippin Fruit Trees we guarantee it for the first season in your garden whilst it gets established. If it doesn't grow successfully, we'll either replace it the following season or offer a refund - subject to some conditions. Find out more.

More about crab apple trees

We have a huge range of crab-apple trees, with blossom colours from white to dark crimson, and fruitlet colours from red to orange to yellow, and lots of different sizes and forms.

It is well-known that many crab-apples (especially the ones with white blossom and green leaves) are excellent pollinators for mainstream apple varieties. This is because they produce huge quantities of pollen, usually over a long period, and with good compatiblity. Evereste, Golden Gem, Golden Hornet, John Downie and Red Sentinel are popular for this purpose.

While crab-apples are primarily used for their ornamental value, many are also useful for crab-apple jelly, and providing natural pectin for cooking with.  Have a look at Laura, Jelly King, Pink Glow, and Harry Baker.