Malus Sparkling Sprite - Crab Apple

Malus ‘JFS Sparkling Sprite’ (‘JFS-KW207’) is an ornamental apple tree with a compact habit, ideal for small gardens or avenue planting. Its abundant spring flowering, decorative fruits lasting into winter, and luminous foliage make this small tree a highly decorative subject all year round. Disease-resistant, very hardy, and accommodating, it appeals equally to amateur gardeners and landscape professionals. It is particularly suited to urban gardens concerned with biodiversity and can also be grown in a container.

Malus ‘JFS Sparkling Sprite’ belongs to the Rosaceae family. This cultivar is also marketed under the name Sparkling Sprite®. It was raised by Keith Warren of J. Frank Schmidt & Son Co. (Oregon, USA) from an open-pollinated seedling of ‘KW‑8MX’ and was introduced in 2017. It belongs to a series of ornamental apple trees selected for their compact habit, slow growth and excellent disease resistance. This cultivar is distinguished by its small size (under 4m), dense crown and increased tolerance to pathogens such as scab, fire blight, rust and mildew.
It is a tree usually top-grafted onto a short trunk, reaching 3 to 4m in height and spread, with moderate, balanced growth. Its habit is dense, rounded to globular, naturally neat without pruning. The foliage is deciduous, composed of simple, elliptical to oblong leaves, measuring 4 to 6cm long. They are bright green in season, then turn yellow in autumn before falling. The twigs are slender and flexible, and the grey-brown bark is smooth. The root system is typical of grafted apple trees: shallow, with a secondary taproot and moderate lateral roots, suitable for container growing or urban planting. 
Flowering occurs in April-May: reddish-pink flower buds open into single, white flowers, with just a blush of pink, 2.5 to 3cm in diameter, with five petals, lightly scented, pollinated by insects.
Fruits appear in late summer, around September: the small, round, 6 to 10mm diameter fruits, change from golden yellow to orange in autumn and persist on the tree into winter. They are not edible to humans, but they are very decorative and feed the birds.
This cultivar offers many advantages: it is very hardy (USDA zone 4, about –34 °C), tolerates harsh winters and moderately dry summers, and adapts to different types of well-drained soils.