There are few temperate-climate ornamental trees that are as popular as crabapples … nor that cause their owners such a hassle. Indeed, crabapples often make you pay for their beautiful, but brief bloom and (sometimes) stunning fruits by coming down with all kinds of diseases and insects, including the extremely annoying apple scab disease, one that can, in the worst years of infestation, cause susceptible crabapples to lose almost all of their leaves in midsummer. Cedar-apple rust and powdery mildew, although less serious, can cause highly visible damage, while fire blight just doesn’t defoliate or mark leaves, but kills entire branches and even the entire tree over time.
Crabapple diseases are so common many tree owners feel obliged to spray their crabapples with fungicides several times a year just to keep them looking good.
But there is good news! There are now crabapples that are considered very disease resistant* and these are the ones laidback gardeners should be considering for their gardens.
Put the following list on your telephone next time you go shopping for an ornamental crabapple!
- M. ‘Adams’ zone 4
- M. ‘Adirondack’ zone 4
- M. American Spirit™ (‘Amerspirzam’) zone 4
- M. baccata ‘Jackii’ zone 3
- M. ‘Cardinal’ zone 4
Malus ‘David’. Source: www.cirrusimage.com - M. ‘David’ zone 4
- M. ‘Dolgo’ zone 2b
- M. ‘Donald Wyman’ zone 4
- M. Emerald Spire® (‘Jefgreen’) zone 3
- M. floribunda zone 4b
- M. Gladiator® (‘Durleo’) zone 2
- M. Golden Raindrops® (‘’Schmidtcultleaf’’) zone 3
- M. ‘Henry Kohankie’ zone 4
- M. Holiday Gold™ (‘Hozam’) zone 4
- M. ‘Indian Summer’ zone 3
- M. Ivory Spear™ (‘JFS KW214MX’) zone 4
- M. Lancelot (‘Lanzam’) zone 4
- M. ‘Liset’ zone 4
- M. Lollipop® (‘Lollizam’) zone 3
- M. ‘Louisa’ zone 4
- M. Madonna™ (‘Malzam’) zone 4
- M. Marilee® (‘Jarmin’) zone 4
- M. ‘Maybride’ zone 4
Malus ‘Molten Lava’. Source: plants.gertens.com - M. ‘Molten Lava’ zone 4
- M. ‘Ormiston Roy’ zone 4
- M. Perpetu ‘Evereste’ zone 4
- M. Pom’zai® (‘Courtabri’) zone 4b
- M. Pink Princess™ (‘Parrsi’) zone 5
- M. ‘Pink Spires’ zone 2
- M. ‘Prairifire’ zone 4
- M. ‘Professor Sprenger’ zone 4
- M. ‘Purple Prince’ zone 3b
- M. Purple Spire® (‘Jefspire’) zone 3
- M. Raspberry Spear (‘JFS KW123MX’) zone 4
- M. Rejoice™ (‘Rejzam’) zone 4
- M. ‘Robinson’ zone 4
- M. ‘Royal Beauty’ zone 2
- M. Royal Mist® (‘Jefmist’) zone 2
Malus Royal Raindrops™. Source: bettenlandscapedesign.com - M. Royal Raindrops™ (‘JFS-KW5’) zone 4
- M. ‘Royal Splendor’ zone 3
- M. Ruby Dayze™ (‘JFS KW139MX’) zone 4
- M. Ruby Tears™ (‘Bailears’) zone 4
- M. ‘Rudolph’ zone 2
- M. sargentii zone 4
- M. sargentii Firebird (‘Select A’) zone 3
- M. sargentii ‘Tina’ zone 4
- M. ‘Sentinel’ zone 4
- M. ‘Sir Lancelot’ zone 3
- M. ‘Sparkling Sprite™ (‘JFS-KW207’) zone 4
- M. ‘Strawberry Parfait’ zone 4
- M. Starlite® (‘Jefstar’) zone 2
Malus Sugar Time®. Source: plants.stonegategardens.com - M. Sugar Tyme® (‘Sutyzam’) zone 4
- M. Winter Gem™ (‘Glen Mills’) zone 3b
- M. x zumi‘Calocarpa’ zone 5
*In test sites across North America, the cultivars listed have shown good to excellent resistance to the four main apple diseases: apple scab, apple-cedar rust, powdery mildew and fire blight. That means:
Excellent disease resistance: no symptoms of the disease are normally seen and no control measures are necessary.
Good disease resistance: occasionally, minor symptoms of the disease are present, but no control measures are necessary.
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Which crabapple trees are on the “Excellent” list for disease resistant?
Thanks for the information! Last year I had to cut ours down after boring beetles pretty well killed it (and our two ash trees that grew behind it). From what I have read, there isn’t much one can do to prevent destruction by beetles. Correct me if I’m wrong!
No, there isn’t. You could possibly treat with insecticide injections, but that’s expensive (you need a specialist tree care company), needs repeating at least every two years… and you’d have to start when the boring insects were just getting started. As you’ve discovered, you don’t tend to know until the damage is severe.
As for the apple tree borer you can check base of tree for frass which looks like sawdust. If you see frass you can cut to get the borer or send a thin wire up the hole to kill it.