Other Names:  Roseybloom, Crabapple

Description:

An old favorite flowering crab that's hard to find nowadays; delightful rosy red flowers followed by bright red fruit on a tree with a distinctively arching habit of growth, best used as a landscape accent for the spring bloom

Ornamental Features

Chilko Flowering Crab is blanketed in stunning clusters of fragrant rose flowers along the branches in mid spring, which emerge from distinctive crimson flower buds before the leaves. It has dark green deciduous foliage. The pointy leaves turn yellow in fall. The fruits are showy red pomes displayed from early to late fall. The fruit can be messy if allowed to drop on the lawn or walkways, and may require occasional clean-up.

Landscape Attributes

Chilko Flowering Crab is a deciduous tree with a shapely form and gracefully arching branches. 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 is a high maintenance tree that will require regular care 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

Chilko Flowering Crab is recommended for the following landscape applications;

• Accent
• Shade

Planting & Growing

Chilko Flowering Crab will grow to be about 20 feet tall at maturity, with a spread of 20 feet. It has a low canopy with a typical clearance of 3 feet from the ground, and is suitable for planting under power lines. It grows at a medium rate, and under ideal conditions can be expected to live for 50 years or more.

This tree 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 may require supplemental watering during periods of drought or extended heat. 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.