Do Crabapple Trees Have Thorns?
Crabapple trees belong to the genus Malus, a member of the thorny rose family of plants (Rosaceae), hence the numerous thorns on wild species. Hybrid flowering crabapple cultivars either do not have thorns or only develop thorns on mature trees. Crabapples can be grown in U.S. Department of Agriculture plant hardiness zones 4 through 8.
Thorny Wild Crabapple Species
The European crabapple (Malus sylvestris), native to the Ireland and the United Kingdom, is dense and thorny, growing from 15 to 18 feet high. Most of the crabapple trees seen in the U.K. and Ireland are hybrids between wild crabapple trees and domestic trees. True wild European crabapple trees are rare. The American crabapple (M. coronaria), native to the Midwest and Eastern United States, known for its pink and white blossoms, is a dense snarl of thorny branches growing up to 25 feet tall.
Native Habitat and Thorny Growth
European and American crabapples often have multiple trunks, and their interiors are often dead from the lack of sun penetrating the thorny snarl of their crowns. The European crabapple is found in areas of native scrub in older woodlands. American crabapple trees like moist, well-drained soils and typically grow at the edges of woodlands and fields. Their tangle of crisscrossing, thorny branches make them useful for growing as hedgerows.
Other Major Thorny Species
Three other crabapple species, all with some thorns, are the source for hundreds of hybrid flowering cultivars that do not have thorns. Japanese flowering crabapple (M. floribunda), introduced to the U.S. from Japan in 1862, yields showy white blossoms and grows from 15 to 25 feet tall. The elegant tea crabapple (M. hupenhensis) has red buds that produce white flowers; it grows from 20 to 25 feet tall. The densely branched, thorny Sargent crabapple (M. sargentii) also has red buds and white flowers; it grows from 6 to 10 feet tall in a mounded form.
Thornless Hybrid Cultivars
Clemson University horticulturalists report that there are more than 800 known cultivars of flowering crabapple trees with more varieties being reported each year. These cultivars typically do not have thorns. These cultivars yield blossoms of varying colors and range from 8 to 25 feet tall. The shorter cultivars share the mounded, shrub-like form while the taller cultivars are more tree-like.
- Royal Forestry Society: Crab Apple Malus sylvestris
- Tree Council of Ireland: Crab Apple
- Ohio Department of Natural Resources: American Crabapple (Malus coronaria)
- Clemson University Extension: Crabapple
- Missouri Botanical Garden: Malus Indian Summer
- Missouri Botanical Garden: Malus “Sutyzam” Sugar Tyme
- Arbor Day Foundation: Crabapple, Sargent Malus sargentii
- Missouri Botanical Garden: Malus Floribunda
- British Museum of Natural History: Crab-apple