Malus, Flowering Crabapple 'Raspberry Spear™' (Large)

Raspberry Spear® Flowering Crab | Malus 'JFS KW213MX'

Height:  20 feet

Spread:  8 feet

Sunlight: Full Sun

Hardiness Zone:  4a

Other Names:  Roseybloom, Crabapple

Group/Class:  Spear® Collection

Brand:  J. Frank Schmidt & Son Co.

Description:

A stunning selection with a tightly columnar habit and excellent disease resistance; bright magenta flowers in spring; small, bright red fruit persists into fall and winter; foliage holds its dark purple color, with bronze-orange tints in fall

Ornamental Features

Raspberry Spear® Flowering Crab is clothed in stunning clusters of fragrant hot pink flowers along the branches in mid spring, which emerge from distinctive rose flower buds before the leaves. The fruits are showy ruby-red pomes carried in abundance from early fall to early winter. It has dark green-variegated purple foliage with hints of black which emerges burgundy in spring. The pointy leaves turn outstanding shades of coppery-bronze and in the fall.

Landscape Attributes

Raspberry Spear® Flowering Crab is a dense deciduous tree with a narrowly upright and columnar growth habit. Its average texture blends into the landscape, but can be balanced by one or two finer or coarser trees or shrubs for an effective composition.

This tree will require occasional maintenance and upkeep, and is best pruned in late winter once the threat of extreme cold has passed. It is a good choice for attracting birds to your yard. It has no significant negative characteristics.

Raspberry Spear® Flowering Crab is recommended for the following landscape applications;

• Accent
• Shade
• General Garden Use

Planting & Growing

Raspberry Spear® Flowering Crab will grow to be about 20 feet tall at maturity, with a spread of 8 feet. It has a low canopy with a typical clearance of 3 feet from the ground, and is suitable for planting under power lines. It grows at a medium rate, and under ideal conditions can be expected to live for 50 years or more.

This tree should only be grown in full sunlight. It prefers to grow in average to moist conditions, and shouldn't be allowed to dry out. It is not particular as to soil type or pH. It is highly tolerant of urban pollution and will even thrive in inner city environments. This particular variety is an interspecific hybrid.