This burgundy crabapple with its purple leaves and dark purple fruit is a variant of the Hewes that happens when it crosses with other crabapples on our farm. Because of its massive crops as well as its clean purple foliage, this would be a good seed strain to develop even more dark red to black high anthocyanin crabapples for human consumption. We found this as a chance seedling in a population of Hewes crabapples. Not sure yet what the percentage of purple foliage is possible with this seed strain. The parent tree is next to some of the other high producing crabapples that we are currently growing for jelly and syrup production.
To germinate the seed: Like apples -add moist media to the seeds and store in a zip lock bag for 90-120 day in the refrigerator. Some sprouting may be seen after 60 days. You can plant them in pots by lightly covering the seeds with 1/8 inch soil. Use a light soil media which will aid in prevention of rot. After 90-120 days take out the seeds and plant them either in pots or plant them outside in a good garden soil. Lightly cover the seeds. Water periodically if the soil dries out.
Plant Specs |
Genus & Species |
Malus virginiana x purpurea x hybrid |
Hardiness |
-25F or more |
Soil |
Sandy loam, loam-any soil apples will grow. |
Climate |
zone 3-8 |
Ease of Cultivation |
Crabapples are easy to grow from seed and one year seedlings can reach 2-3 ft. tall. The density and clean leaves of this strain help predict the size of the crop of this hybrid cross. Worth growing even if you are letting the birds eat the fruit. This selection is highly consumed by migratory birds at our farm once it freezes a few times. |