About the Research
Flowering crabapple trees (Malus spp. and cultivars) are widely cultivated and planted for ornamental purposes in the northeastern and mid-western regions of the United States and in southern Canada. The numerous species and cultivars display a diversity of sizes, shapes, bloom times, and colors of leaves, blossoms and fruits. Nurseries and plant breeders have tapped into this diversity and have produced and named more than 700 cultivars (Dirr, 1998; Fiala, 1994). With such a large pallet of character diversity, one could easily fit a crabapple or two into numerous different landscape scenarios.Unfortunately, there are diseases such as apple scab (Venturia inaequalis), bacterial fire blight (Erwinia amylovora), and frogeye leaf spot (Botryosphaeria obtusa) that can and do cause damage to crabapples. Damage from these diseases can range from slight aesthetic injury to death of the tree.
Apple scab is a significant aesthetic disease of crabapples. Apple scab impacts the aesthetic value of crabapples by producing olive-green to grayish to brown leaf spots, gray to brown lesions on the fruits, and when severe enough, leaf yellowing and leaf drop. Heavily infected, apple scabsusceptible crabapples are frequently defoliated by mid-summer. A major emphasis in crabapple breeding and selection is to find and propagate resistance to apple scab. National Crabapple Evaluation Project (NCEP) plots have been established in several locations in North America, one of which is located at The Ohio State University Secrest Arboretum on the Ohio Agriculture Research and Development Center in Wooster, Ohio. This collection represents the largest in the country with more than 700 crabapple trees.
Learn more about the research.
Bloom Time
The crabapples bloom annually at Secrest at about 200 Growing Degree Days (typically about the third week of April). Track the progress on the Ohio State Phenology Calendar.
Visiting the Collection
When visiting the crabapples please park in a designated parking area and not alongside the road.
2021 Crabapple Bloom
Learn more about a new rust fungus discovered at Secrest.
Read about Crablandia in Nursery Management Magazine (2022)
The crabapple collection includes the following selections:
- Malus × adstringens 'Jefgreen' Emerald Spire®
- Malus ×adstringens 'Simcoe'
- Malus ×adstringens 'Sissipuk'
- Malus ×gloriosa
- Malus ×gloriosa 'Oekonomierat Echtermeyer'
- Malus ×robusta 'Leucocarpa'
- Malus ×robusta 'Persicifolia'
- Malus ×scheideckeri
- Malus ×zumi 'Calocarpa'
- Malus ×zumi 'Wooster'
- Malus 'Adams'
- Malus 'Adirondack'
- Malus 'Amaszam' American Masterpiece™
- Malus 'Amerspirzam' American Spirit®
- Malus 'Amertrizam' American Triumph™
- Malus 'Amsalzam' American Salute™
- Malus baccata
- Malus baccata 'Jackii'
- Malus 'Bailears' Ruby Tears™
- Malus 'Ballerina'
- Malus 'Baskatong'
- Malus 'Beeson' May's Delight™
- Malus 'Beverly'
- Malus 'Bill's Red Flesh'
- Malus 'Bob White'
- Malus 'Branzam' Brandywine®
- Malus 'Burgundy'
- Malus 'Callaway'
- Malus 'Camzam' Camelot®
- Malus 'Canary'
- Malus 'Candymint Sargent'
- Malus 'Canterzam' Canterbury™
- Malus 'Cardinal'
- Malus 'Cardinal's Robe'
- Malus 'Cascole' White Cascade®
- Malus 'Centennial'
- Malus 'Centzam' Centurian®
- Malus 'Chestnut'
- Malus 'Chilko'
- Malus 'Chrishozam' Christmas Holly™
- Malus 'Cinzam' Cinderella®
- Malus 'Coralcole' Coralburst®
- Malus 'Cowichan'
- Malus 'Cranberry Lace'
- Malus 'Crimson Brilliant'
- Malus 'David'
- Malus 'Dolgo'
- Malus 'Donald Wyman'
- Malus 'Dorothea'
- Malus 'Doubloons'
- Malus 'Durleo' Gladiator™
- Malus 'Egret'
- Malus 'Ellen Gerhart'
- Malus 'Excazam' Excalibur™
- Malus floribunda
- Malus 'Fozam' Fox Fire™
- Malus 'Fridlund' Royal Gem™
- Malus 'Glen Mills' Winter Gem™
- Malus 'Golden Galaxy'
- Malus 'Guinzam' Guinevere®
- Malus halliana 'Parkmanii'
- Malus 'Hamzam' Hamlet®
- Malus 'Hargozam' Harvest Gold®
- Malus 'Henning'
- Malus 'Henry F. DuPont'
- Malus 'Hewes'
- Malus 'Hillier'
- Malus 'Hozam' Holiday Gold™
- Malus 'Hub Tures' Spring Sensation™
- Malus 'Huber' Royal Fountain®
- Malus 'Indian Magic'
- Malus 'Jarmin' Marilee®
- Malus 'Jay Darling'
- Malus 'Jeflite' Starlite™
- Malus 'Jewelberry'
- Malus 'Jewelcole' Red Jewel™
- Malus 'JFS KW139MX' Ruby Dayze™
- Malus 'JFS KW213MX' Raspberry Spear™
- Malus 'JFS KW214MX' Ivory Spear™
- Malus 'JFS KW218MX' Snow Crystal™
- Malus 'JFS-KW207' Sparkling Sprite®
- Malus 'JFS-KW5' Royal Raindrops®
- Malus 'Joy Morton' Morning Sun™
- Malus 'Kelsey'
- Malus 'Kinarzam' King Arthur®
- Malus 'Kirk'
- Malus 'Lanzam' Lancelot®
- Malus 'Leprechaun'
- Malus 'Leslie'
- Malus 'Little Troll'
- Malus 'Lollizam' Lollipop®
- Malus 'Louisa'
- Malus 'Lullaby'
- Malus 'Makamik'
- Malus 'Manbeck Weeper' Anne E™
- Malus 'Maria'
- Malus 'Mary Potter'
- Malus 'Masek'
- Malus 'Maypole' Colonnade®
- Malus 'Molazam' Molten Lava®
- Malus 'Mollie Ann'
- Malus 'Narragansett'
- Malus 'Oakes'
- Malus 'Orange Crush'
- Malus 'Ormiston Roy'
- Malus 'Park Centre'
- Malus 'Parrsi' Pink Princess™
- Malus 'Pink Beauty'
- Malus 'Pink Dawn'
- Malus 'Pink Satin'
- Malus 'Prairie Maid'
- Malus 'Prairifire'
- Malus 'Professor Sprenger'
- Malus 'Profusion'
- Malus 'Pumpkin Pie'
- Malus 'Purple Prince'
- Malus 'Purple Wave'
- Malus 'Radiant'
- Malus 'Ralph Shay'
- Malus 'Rawhide'
- Malus 'Red Barron'
- Malus 'Red Bird'
- Malus 'Red Jade'
- Malus 'Red Peacock'
- Malus 'Red Siberian'
- Malus 'Red Splendor'
- Malus 'Red Swan'
- Malus 'Ringo'
- Malus 'Robinson'
- Malus 'Rosseau'
- Malus 'Royal Beauty'
- Malus 'Royalty'
- Malus 'Royscezam' Royal Scepter™
- Malus 'Sarah'
- Malus sargentii
- Malus sargentii 'KNI B-9' Tina's Weeper™
- Malus sargentii 'Rosea'
- Malus sargentii 'Tina'
- Malus 'Scbrazam' Scarlet Brandywine®
- Malus 'Scugog'
- Malus 'Select A' Firebird®
- Malus 'Selkirk'
- Malus 'Sentinel'
- Malus 'Serenade'
- Malus 'Shotizam' Show Time™
- Malus sikkimensis
- Malus 'Silver Drift'
- Malus 'Silver Moon'
- Malus 'Sinai Fire'
- Malus 'Sirgazam' Sir Galahad® II
- Malus 'Snow Magic'
- Malus 'Snowdrift'
- Malus 'Sparkler'
- Malus spectabilis 'Riversii'
- Malus spontanea
- Malus 'Spring Snow'
- Malus 'Spring Song'
- Malus 'SproutFree' SproutFree®
- Malus 'Strawberry Parfait'
- Malus 'Sundog'
- Malus 'Sutyzam' Sugar Tyme®
- Malus 'Thunderchild'
- Malus transitoria 'Schmidtcutleaf' Golden Raindrops®
- Malus 'Uebo' April Showers™
- Malus 'Van Eseltine'
- Malus 'Velvetcole' Velvet Pillar™
- Malus 'Weepcanzam' Weeping Candied Apple®
- Malus 'White Candle'
- Malus 'Woven Gold'
- Malus 'Zumarang'