Malus × robusta 'Red Sentinel'
crab apple ( syn. Malus 'Red Sentinel' )
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- Standard £7.95
This plant is deciduous so it will lose all its leaves in autumn, then fresh new foliage appears again each spring.
- Position: full sun or partial shade
- Soil: moderately fertile, moist but well-drained soil
- Rate of growth: average
- Flowering period: May
- Hardiness: fully hardy
Edible crab apples, with pretty, pink-tinged, white flowers in late spring, followed by masses of glossy, round, cherry-red fruit. The fruits garland the branches for much of the winter as the bright green leaves turn shades of yellow and gold before falling. This pollution-tolerant, upright crab apple is a star of the garden all year round and makes a magnificent show in a small, sunny, urban site.
When planting your flowering crab, prepare a hole up to three times the diameter of its root system. Fork over the base of the pit in readiness, incorporating plenty of organic matter into the backfill and planting hole. Avoiding frozen and waterlogged soil, trees should be planted out as they arrive. If you've ordered a bare root tree, soak the roots in a bucket of water for half an hour prior to planting, or if this is not possible, they can be heeled in temporarily, covering their roots with soil, or potted up. Choose a sheltered spot to protect emerging blossom. Remove dead, diseased and crossing branches while the tree is dormant during the winter months.