Golden Acre Home & Garden Centre's Plant Library

Other Names:  Roseybloom, Crabapple

Description:

The perfect combination of accent and fruit tree, ideal for home landscapes, needs well-drained soil and full sun; very hardy red crabapple, ideal for jams, heavy bearing and ornamental; eating apples are high maintenance, and need a second pollinator

Edible Qualities

Dolgo Apple is a medium-sized tree that is commonly grown for its edible qualities. It produces small clusters of red round apples (which are botanically known as 'pomes') with creamy white flesh which are usually ready for picking from late summer to early fall. The apples have a tart taste and a firm texture.

The apples are most often used in the following ways:

• Preserves

Features & Attributes

Dolgo Apple is smothered in stunning clusters of fragrant white flowers along the branches in mid spring, which emerge from distinctive shell pink flower buds before the leaves. It has dark green deciduous foliage. The pointy leaves turn yellow in fall. The fruits are showy red apples carried in abundance from late summer to mid fall. The fruit can be messy if allowed to drop on the lawn or walkways, and may require occasional clean-up.

This is a deciduous tree with a more or less rounded form. Its average texture blends into the landscape, but can be balanced by one or two finer or coarser trees or shrubs for an effective composition. This plant will require occasional maintenance and upkeep, and is best pruned in late winter once the threat of extreme cold has passed. Gardeners should be aware of the following characteristic(s) that may warrant special consideration;

• Messy

Aside from its primary use as an edible, Dolgo Apple is sutiable for the following landscape applications;

• Accent
• Shade
• Orchard/Edible Landscaping

Planting & Growing

Dolgo Apple will grow to be about 26 feet tall at maturity, with a spread of 20 feet. It has a low canopy with a typical clearance of 5 feet from the ground, and should not be planted underneath power lines. It grows at a medium rate, and under ideal conditions can be expected to live for 50 years or more. This variety requires a different selection of the same species growing nearby in order to set fruit.

This tree is typically grown in a designated area of the yard because of its mature size and spread. It should only be grown in full sunlight. It prefers to grow in average to moist conditions, and shouldn't be allowed to dry out. It is not particular as to soil type or pH. It is highly tolerant of urban pollution and will even thrive in inner city environments. This particular variety is an interspecific hybrid.