Other Names:  Roseybloom, Crabapple

Description:

A hardy yellow hybrid apple-crab with a tart-sweet flavor, late harvest, excellent keeper; eating apples are high maintenance and need a second pollinator; the perfect combination of accent and fruit tree, needs well-drained soil and full sun

Edible Qualities

Kerr Apple-Crab is a small tree that is commonly grown for its edible qualities. It produces small ruby-red round apples (which are botanically known as 'pomes') with hints of yellow and yellow flesh which are usually ready for picking in mid fall. The apples have a tart taste and a firm texture.

The apples are most often used in the following ways:

• Preserves

Features & Attributes

Kerr Apple-Crab features showy clusters of lightly-scented white flowers with shell pink overtones along the branches in mid spring, which emerge from distinctive pink flower buds. It has forest green deciduous foliage. The pointy leaves turn yellow in fall. The fruits are showy ruby-red apples with hints of yellow, which are carried in abundance in 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 an upright spreading habit of growth. 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 plant that will require regular care and upkeep, and is best pruned in late winter once the threat of extreme cold has passed. It is a good choice for attracting bees to your yard. Gardeners should be aware of the following characteristic(s) that may warrant special consideration;

• Messy
• Disease

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

• Accent
• Shade
• Orchard/Edible Landscaping

Planting & Growing

Kerr Apple-Crab will grow to be about 17 feet tall at maturity, with a spread of 13 feet. It has a low canopy with a typical clearance of 4 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 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.