Malus x purpurea Ola - Purple Crabapple

The Malus 'Ola' is a rare Polish variety of ornamental apple tree that is interesting for its small size and beautiful colours. This small tree offers a wonderful spring flowering, massive, fragrant, and a pretty purple-pink colour, reminiscent of Japanese cherry blossoms. Its foliage changes from spring purple to dark green in summer, and finally turns purplish-brown in autumn. Its autumn fruiting, red to purple, is as abundant as it is long-lasting on the branches. Superb, it is a variety that thrives in full sun, in a garden soil that is not too dry in summer.

Ornamental apple trees come from various botanical species of the Malus genus belonging to the Rosaceae family. Hardy and often accommodating, Flowering Apples are satisfied with ordinary soil, but prefer loamy, deep, loose, and fresh soil, as well as sunny exposures. Once established, they can be completely forgotten while maintaining their generous character. Many cultivars have been developed in Europe, as well as in the United States, becoming increasingly attractive and disease-resistant. 'Ola', on the other hand, was selected by Jan Grąbczewski in Dąbrówka near Warsaw in the early 1980s from Malus purpurea plants. It is very frost-resistant (zone 4a). Its resistance to fungal diseases is moderate.

The 'Ola' ornamental apple tree is a small tree that grows more or less quickly, depending on the rootstock. It grows quite slowly on its own roots. Over time, the crown widens and rounds out, and its branches bend slightly. It can form multiple small trunks, depending on whether it is grafted or not, which gives it a charming appearance. Its average dimensions at maturity are about 3.50 m in height and 3 m in spread. It maintains a harmonious shape without the need for pruning and develops smooth bark of a dark reddish-brown colour. The flowering occurs in May, sometimes at the end of April depending on the climate, lasting for 2 weeks, on bare branches or barely covered with very young leaves. It takes the form of numerous single flowers, 5 cm in diameter, of a mix of purple-pink and lighter pink. The young leaves are purple, become coppery, then lighten and turn dark green in summer. The fragrant flowering, visited by bees, is followed by the formation of an abundance of small round apples, 2 to 3 cm in diameter, hanging along the 2-year-old branches. When ripe in September, they are very dark red, even purple. These small apples are eagerly sought after by birds. They are edible and can be used to make compotes or jams. The deciduous foliage turns red, purple, and brown in autumn before falling. It consists of ovate, alternate, and dentate leaves.

The Malus 'Ola', like many flowering apple trees, is a good pollinator for early-flowering fruiting apple trees. Its abundant flowering, although less long-lasting than that of an ornamental cherry tree, is prolonged by the beauty of its fruits until winter. The habit adds to the charm of this variety with an endearing personality. This 'Ola' apple tree finds its place in a medium-sized garden, as a specimen or in a free hedge. It can be associated with climbing roses, lilacs, or even large weigelas and hawthorns. When space allows, ornamental apple trees, planted in a large hedge on a slope bordering a sunken alley, create a rather magical scene in spring, as well as in autumn, as their colours are often sumptuous at the end of the season.