Choosing the Best Crab Apple Tree for Pollinating Your Apple Orchard

Crab apple trees can be a huge boost to pollination and fruit production in an apple orchard. Their blooms provide pollen that is compatible with most apple varieties, making cross-pollination more successful. But not all crab apples are created equal when it comes to maximizing your yield. Selecting the right crab apple tree is key to reaping the pollination benefits for your apple harvest.

Why Crab Apples Help Apple Pollination

Crab apples and regular apple trees are closely related, meaning their pollen is generally compatible The profuse flowering of crab apples coincides with the bloom period of apple trees This makes crab apples excellent pollinators.

Cross-pollination between different apple varieties produces better quality, higher yielding fruit than self-pollination. Crab apples facilitate this cross-pollination by providing pollen from an outside source to fertilize the apple blossoms.

The flowers of crab apples also attract pollinating insects like bees and butterflies into your orchard These pollinators traveling from crab apple to apple tree blossoms ensure thorough pollen transfer for productive pollination

Key Factors in Selecting the Best Crab Apple

Several considerations go into choosing the ideal crab apple tree for your orchard:

Flowering Time

Select a crab apple variety that blooms at the same time as your apple tree blossoms. Crab apples that flower too early or late will miss the pollination window.

Flower Color

Crab apples with white, pink or rosy red blooms work best. Bees forage within similar flower colors. Darker red crab apples may be bypassed for lighter apple blossoms.

Pollen Abundance

Varieties like ‘Mt. Blanc’ and ‘Spring Snow’ produce copious pollen to maximize chances of pollination.

Disease Resistance

Disease-prone crab apples won’t thrive. Pick resistant varieties for robust health to support ongoing pollination.

Tree Size

Compact or dwarf crab apples are easier to situate within orchard rows without overcrowding.

Recommended Crab Apple Varieties

Here are some top crab apple trees for cross-pollinating popular apple cultivars:

For Early Blooming Apples

‘Manchurian’ – White flowers with pink tinges make it attractive to pollinators. Blooms early on, coinciding with early apple varieties.

‘Profusion’ – Bright rosy red blossoms. Its long flowering period intersects with early bloomers.

For Midseason Apples

‘Golden Hornet’ – Prolific white flowers with deep pink buds. Peak bloom matches midseason apples.

‘Whitney’ – Abundant light pink blooms. A midseason bloomer. Provides good pollen for ‘Gala’ and ‘Fuji’.

For Late Blooming Apples

‘Indian Summer’ – Red buds open to pinkish-white flowers. Aligns with late apple bloom times.

‘Snodrift’ – White flowers with a pink blush. Blooms late into crab apple season, overlapping late apple varieties.

All-purpose Pollinators

‘Mt. Blanc’ – White flowers with excellent pollen production. Blooms early to late season.

‘Wickson’ – Small tree with white blossoms over an extended period. Works for early and late bloomers.

‘Harvest Gold’ – Buttery yellow blooms. Provides pollen across most of the crab apple season. Great general purpose pollinator.

Best Practices for Crab Apple Pollinators

Follow these tips to make the most of your crab apples for apple orchard pollination:

• Plant crab apples every 50-100 feet within rows to enable thorough cross-pollination.

• Situate crab apples so their blossoms intermingle with apple tree flowers to encourage direct pollen transfer.

• Include multiple crab apple varieties to support pollination across the whole apple bloom period.

• Provide sunny, well-drained locations for vigorous crab apple growth.

• Attract pollinators by planting nectar-rich flowers around the orchard perimeter.

• Prune crab apples after flowering to encourage abundant blooms yearly.

The Fruits of Effective Pollination

Choosing compatible, flowering-heavy crab apple trees to pollinate your apple orchard can significantly boost fruit production. The right crab apple variety livens up your landscape with spring blossoms and delivers ample pollen when your apple trees need it most. With crab apples on pollination patrol, you can look forward to harvesting a bumper crop of quality apples!