May 17, 1919 



HORTICULTURE 



467 



THE BEST OF THE FLOWING CRABAPPLES 



It would be difficult to decide which 

 is the finest of the flowering crab- 

 apples, so many handsome species or 

 varieties are now in cultivation, lu 

 fair competition, though, probably the 

 palm would be carried away by Malus 

 Arnoldiana, a comparatively recent 

 hybrid, probably having M. ftoribunda 

 and M. baccata for its parents. If not 

 the loveliest of all the crabapples, it 

 certainly stands in the front ranks 

 and is to be valued not only for its ex- 

 treme ftoriferousness and the beauty 

 of its blossoms, but also for its gener- 

 al habit, being shrubby with branches 

 that arch gracefully. 



Several of the different crabapples 

 have a shrubby habit o€ growth, al- 

 though they may become fairly large 

 with age. M. floribunda is never really 

 tree-like in habit, and even when it 

 gets to be twenty-five feet high, it 

 looks like a broad, round topped bush. 

 It is a very handsome garden subject, 

 and blooms profusely every year. The 

 buds are pink, but the flowers are 

 white and as all the blossoms never 



unfold at the same time, a most pleas- 

 ing pink and white combination re- 

 sults. 



All of the crabapples hybridize very 

 freely, so that botanists have difficulty 

 in keeping track of them. Some ot 

 them, too, vary in their habit. M. flori- 

 bunda, for example, often drops Its 

 fruit early in the winter and yet there 

 are specimens on which the fruit per- 

 sists until late in the spring, providing 

 a feast for the birds all the winter 

 through. The Siberian crab, M. bac- 

 cata, has been known longer, with one 

 exception, than any of the Asiatic 

 species. It was introduced into Europe 

 as long ago as 1784, and grows into a 

 tall tree. Its pure white flowers are 

 very fragrant, and are succeeded by 

 small, yellowish fruits. It is extreme- 

 ly hardy and is recommended for the 

 colder portions of this country. Mr. 

 Ernest H. Wilson has said that it 

 ought to be used in the northern reg- 

 ions as a stock for the common apple. 



The Chinese crabapple, M. specta- 

 bilis. has been known for several 



years longer than the Siberian crab. 

 It is a smaller tree, with pale pink 

 blossoms. An attractive hybrid, with 

 M. spectabilis as one of its parents, is 

 M. Scheideckeri. 



One of the best known crabapple 

 trees in gardens is the co-called Park- 

 man crab, M. Halliana, which gets its 

 common name from the fact that the 

 first man to cultivate it in this country 

 was the well known historian Francis 

 Parkman, who had a specimen in his 

 Boston gardens. Dr. George R. Hall, 

 whose name it rightfully bears, sent 

 seeds from Japan in 1861. Although 

 the family of crabapples has steadily 

 been growing, very few species equal 

 the Parkman crab for beauty. 



For a dwarf plant, M. Sargentii is 

 most desirable. It is a plant which 

 ought to be used widely on estates, as 

 well as in small gardens. It is ex- 

 tremely handsome when covered with 

 white flowers from the tip of the top- 

 most twig to the lower branches, 

 which rest on the ground. It can be 

 used advantageously for covering em- 

 bankments. As suggested by the 

 name, this little tree was introduced 

 by Professor Sargent, who discovered 

 it in Japan when it was in fruit and 

 sent seeds home. 



M.u.rs Fi.oririmi\ ra a Pleasing Sittjatioji 



