Hall crabapple

Synonyms: Hall crabapple, chui si hai tang, Parkman crabapple, Pyrus halliana (Koehne) Voss., M. floribunda Siebold ex Van Houtte var. parkmanni Koehne, Malus domestica Borkhausen var. halliana (Koehne) Likhonos, Malus halliana cv. Parkmanii.

Hall crabapple (lat. Malus halliana Koehne) — a species of deciduous trees in the genus Malus (apple) of the Rosaceae family. Native to China, where it grows at 1200 m above sea level in the provinces Anhui, Guizhou, Hubei, Jiangsu, Shaanxi, Sichuan, Yunnan, Zhejiang. Introduced to Europe in the 1890s.

It is a medium-sized tree, less often a shrub, reaching 5 m in height, 5-8 m in width, with a loose rounded or tent-shaped crown. Young shoots are purple or purple-brown, slightly pubescent, mature shoots glabrous, grayish-brown.

Buds purple-brown, glabrous, ovoid. Stipules deciduous, lanceolate, small, 4-6 mm long, with an acute apex.

Petiole 0.5-2.5 cm long, glabrous, rarely pubescent. Leaf blade dark green above, with a purplish tint beneath, ovate, elliptic or narrowly elliptic, 3.5-8 × 2.5-4.5 cm, glabrous. Leaves rounded or cuneate, with an acute apex, margins finely serrate. In autumn they change color to yellow, red and brown.

Blooms abundantly in March-April. Flowers small, 3-3.5 cm in diameter, fragrant, pink, dark pink when opening, arranged in corymb-like inflorescences 4-6 cm in diameter, with 4-6 flowers. Pedicel pendulous, slender, purple, 2-4 cm long, straight, rarely pubescent. Hypanthium glabrous. Sepals triangular-ovate, with a blunt apex. Petals 5 or more, pink, obovate, 1.5 cm long, with a rounded apex. Stamens 20-25.

Fruits – small apples pear-shaped or obovoid, 6-8 mm in diameter, purple, ripening in September-October. Fruit stalk medium, 2-4 cm long, almost glabrous.

Chromosome number 2n = 34

Hardiness zone: 4-8

Location: prefers sunny sites and places sheltered from strong and cold winds. Prefers fertile, moderately moist, well-drained soil.

Planting, pruning and care: same as for the domestic apple.

Diseases and pests: resistance to fire blight and rust is moderate. Resistance to scab is high.

Propagation: by cuttings

Uses: used as an ornamental tree due to its reddish shoots, leaves, flowers and fruits. Looks excellent in single and group plantings, as well as as a specimen on the lawn.