Crabapples
Bird magnets and people pleasers
One of the best ornamentals to plant in home landscapes is the crabapple tree. Although not native, all the cultivated species sold in nurseries are a nice balance between attracting wildlife and being decorative for the yard. It also performs in all seasons to benefit birds and insects as well as providing nice features for the homeowner to enjoy.
It is hard to beat the spring blossoms of a crabapple plus their profusion of flowers are a great sources of early pollen for bees.
In the summer, crabapple trees are sought out by cardinals, robins and mourning doves as host trees for their nests. The branching structure of these trees provide desirable locations for nest building. This summer two of my trees hosted three nests - two cardinal and a robin nest from June to August.
In fall and winter, the bright berries from the trees provide a decorative element and edible for birds after freezing and thawing a few times. Robins, cardinals and cedar waxwings are regular consumers as well as squirrels.
With this warm autumn, our crabapples still need more freeze/thaw before becoming palatable for the birds but that did not stop these turkeys from checking out the harvest.
When planting a crabapple, especially close to the house, having room to grow and not having to worry about stepping on the downed berries are important considerations. Larger varieties can get rather tall so anticipating the mature height of the species is important for location. For the larger trees, I happen to like the ‘Donald Wyman’ or ‘Prairifire’ varieties. Easier varieties to maintain and grow in smaller spaces near the house are the dwarf species such as ‘Coralburst’ and ’Tina’.