Malus Prairiefire - Crab Apple

Malus 'Prairiefire' is a superb variety of ornamental apple tree from America that combines the following qualities: its vibrant pink flowering, early and abundant in spring, surprises with its vivacity, its foliage adopts a beautiful purple shade turning green-purple in summer, while small apples form and will gradually turn a dark red colour in autumn and persist on the branches for a long time. Winter reveals the reddish bark of this small tree with its attractive pyramidal and rounded shape, which appeals throughout the year. Highly prized in the USA, this disease-resistant variety is about to make a remarkable appearance in our gardens!

Ornamental apple trees come from various botanical species of the genus Malus belonging to the rose family. Hardy, accommodating, and easy to grow, flowering apple trees thrive in ordinary soil but prefer loamy, deep, loose, and fresh soil and sunny exposures. Once established, they can withstand being forgotten while maintaining their generous nature. Numerous cultivars have emerged, both in Europe and in the United States, becoming increasingly attractive and disease-resistant. 'Prairiefire', on the other hand, was developed at the University of Illinois in 1982. This cultivar is now one of the most planted across the Atlantic.

As a large shrub or small tree, the 'Prairiefire' ornamental apple tree has an upright habit in its early years. Over time, the crown becomes rounded, resembling the silhouette of a broad pyramid. It sometimes develops more in width than in height, depending on the training size. At maturity, it reaches an average size of 6 m (19 ft 8 in) in height and 4 m (13 ft 1 in) in spread.  It maintains a harmonious shape without the need for pruning and develops a fine wood covered with a beautifully tinted red bark.

Flowering occurs as early as April, on bare branches, in the form of numerous buds of an almost red-pink. They open into simple flowers, measuring 3.5 to 4 cm (1.4 to 1.6 in) in diameter, with an intense pink-purple colour. These flowers, gathered in small clusters, are followed by young leaves of a dark purple colour that will lighten and turn green in summer. The flowering is followed by the formation of a multitude of small apples resembling cherries, measuring 1 to 1.2 cm (0.4 to 0.5 in) in diameter. When fully ripe in late summer, they turn a dark purple-red colour with brown undertones. Highly sought after by birds, these fruits remain on the shrub during half of the winter, until December. The deciduous foliage is composed of ovate, alternate, and dentate leaves. It is worth noting that this variety, slightly susceptible to scab, is quite resistant to apple tree diseases.

Malus 'Prairiefire', like many flowering apple trees, is a good pollinator for early-flowering fruit trees. Its abundant flowering, although possibly less enduring than that of a flowering cherry tree, is prolonged by the beauty of its foliage from spring to autumn and by the beauty of its fruits. Its habit and bark add to the charm of this remarkable plant with an astonishing personality. It will find its place in medium to large gardens, in a loose hedge, for example, accompanying a large shrub or climbing roses trained as bushes, evergreen Viburnums, or lilacs. When space allows, ornamental apple trees planted as a tall hedge on a slope bordering a sunken path create a rather magical scene in spring and autumn with their often sumptuous colours at the end of the season.