Plant Type

Tree

 

Height Range

12-25'

 

Flower Color

Purple, Red

 

Flower Season

Spring

 

Leaf Color

Purple

 

Bark Color

Brown, Grey

 

Fruit Color

Red

 

Fruit Season

Summer, Fall

Sun

Full

 

Water

High

 

Growth Rate

Moderate

 

Soil Type

Clay, Loam

 

Soil Condition

Average, Rich, Well-drained

 

Soil pH

Acid, Neutral

 

Adverse Factors

Attracts Bees, Messy

Design Styles

English Cottage, Japanese, Ranch

 

Accenting Features

Espalier, Showy Flowers, Specimen, Unusual Foliage, Unusual Shape

 

Seasonal Interest

Spring, Summer, Fall

 

Location Uses

Background, Perennial Border, Shrub Border, Walls / Fences

 

Special Uses

Screen, Mass Planting, Small Spaces

 

Attracts Wildlife

Birds

Royalty crabapple is an upright crab growing to about 15 to 20 feet tall and 12 to 15 feet wide. It has crimson, almost purple flowers followed by dark, red-purple fruit. Leaves are glossy purple in the spring, purple-green in summer, and brilliant purple in the fall. The fruit of Royalty is not persistent, so this cultivar is best planted where the falling fruit won't make a mess, for instance, in a shrub border or surrounded by a tallish groundcover.

Crabapples are well adapted to many soil types but appear to do best in clay loams and sandy clay loams. Soil pH should be slightly acidic to neutral to slightly alkaline (6.0 to 8.0). Plant in full sun, where nearby trees will not shade them excessively. Water regularly and deeply. See Resources for more information.