Growing crabapple

pome fruit

Pollination

Needs another apple or crabapple to fruit - but a crabapple is also the universal pollinizer for full-size apple trees.

Growing it

Zones 3-8. Small, tart fruit for jelly, and a hard-working ornamental and pollinizer. Choose scab-resistant varieties in humid regions.

Will you get enough chill?

Crabapple needs roughly 500–1000 hours between 32 and 45 °F over winter to break dormancy evenly. Check your area with the chill hours calculator. Low-chill breeding has pushed many varieties well below the figure here, so read the plant tag.

Chill and pollination are given at the fruit-type level; specific cultivars can differ. Values are typical ranges for home-garden planning.