Mature growing size, form, and flowering color are probably the main characteristics when choosing a flowering crab for your landscape. And like apple trees, they prefer a sunny location. Some of the flowering crabs have fruit that persists- that means the fruit stays on the trees well into the winter months. This gives the birds a chance to devour the fruit throughout a longer period of time. With fruit color from yellow, orange blush to red, they stand out in the winter months after losing their leaves in the Fall. At this time Spring Snow is the only variety that I know of that flowers (white) and does not produce fruit.
We find the best varieties are those that are resistant to apple scab disease. Apple scab causes the leaves of the tree to prematurely turn brown and causes varied leaf drop- usually beginning in July. This makes the trees appearance less desirable in the late summer and throughout the fall months.
Some of the varieties that we find are the most resistant to leaf scab are Sargent Flowering Crab (white flower) varieties, Sargentina (grafted Sargent with white flowers), Red Jewel Flowering Crab (white flower), Red Jade Flowering Crab (white flower), Prairie Fire Flowering Crab (bright pink), Coral Burst (red flower), and Thunderchild (rose red flowers with purple leaves).
Dorian