Crab Apple Tree Gift
£21.99 inc. VAT
Our Crab Apple tree gift is the perfect present to celebrate love and marriage. They have a long association love and also fertility. Crab apples are referenced in Shakespeare too.
It’s also a great gift for a 5th (wood) wedding anniversary.
Crab Apple (Malus sylvestris) is a lovely deciduous tree with lots of white flowers in spring. In autumn it has green / red fruits which are great for wildlife.
It can reach a height of 3 – 4 metres (10 – 15 feet). Read more …
What’s in the box?
- A tree (approx. 25 – 75cm tall) packaged in a jute drawstring bag
- A gift card with your personal message
- A tree label with the tree species info
- A tree planting guide to show you how to give your tree a healthy start to its life.
In stock
Description
Crab Apple (Malus sylvestris) is a lovely tree with lots of white flowers in spring. In autumn it has green / red fruits which are great for wildlife.
Crab apple is often seen in hedgerows. It makes a nice specimen tree for a garden though and is a good pollinator for other apples.
Useful info about Crab Apple trees
| Latin Name | Malus sylvestris |
| Type | Deciduous (loses its leaves in winter) |
| Height | Can grow up to 3 - 4 metres (10 - 15 feet) |
| Spread | The branches can spread out to 2 - 3 metres (7 - 10 feet) |
| Soil Types Preferred | Chalk, Clay, Loam, Sand |
| Locations Suitable | Balconies, Gardens, Hedgerows, Patios |
| Flowers | White blossom in Spring |
| Fruit | Small, bitter fruit in late summer |
Characteristics
Crab Apple can live to up to 100 years. Mature trees grow to around 10m in height. They grow throughout Europe.
The leaves are rounded, glossy and with toothed edges.
Their bark is grey / purplish brown with flecks and the trees can become quite twisted.
The sweetly scented blossom is pollinated by bees and other insects.
The fruit is eaten by birds such as blackbirds, thrushes and crows. Mice, foxes and badgers also eat the fruit.
Further Information
Crab Apple is native to Europe from as far south as Spain, Italy and Greece to as far north as Scandinavia and Russia. Its scientific name (Malus sylvestris) means "forest apple".
Crab Apple trees were thought to be an important ancestor of the cultivated apples (Malus domestica) but these have now been shown to be primarily derived from the central Asian species Malus sieversii.
However, another recent DNA analysis showed that Malus sylvestris has contributed to the ancestry of Malus domestica.
The flowers are hermaphrodite and are pollinated by insects. Its leaves are food of the caterpillars of the Twin-spotted Sphinx and possibly the Hawthorn Moth.
It is not recommended to plant Crab Apple near other species of apple trees as it will cross-polinate, causing problems for any exiting apple crops.
Uses
Crab apples are too sour to eat raw, but they can be made into jams or even wine.
The Crab Apple is valued as a sweet-scented fuel.
DISCLAMER : Any uses for trees or tree extracts. whether edible or medicinal, have not been tried or tested by EFORESTS.CO.UK so please take caution and seek proper advice before attempting any recipes or medicinal extracts from any of the trees listed on our site.
Culture and Symbolism
Crab apples have had a long association with love and marriage.
Apparently, if you throw the apple pips into a fire while saying the name of your love, the love is true if the pips explode.
Apple wood was burned by the Celts during fertility rites and festivals.
Shakespeare makes reference to crab apples in A Midsummer Night's Dream and Love's Labour Lost.
Want to dedicate a tree instead, and have it planted in a woodland in England, Scotland or Wales?
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