Purple Prince Crabapple Trees

Features

• Purple Prince crabapple trees grow in a rounded shape up to 20 feet high, and they may reach 20 feet wide. They produce red blooms in spring. The fruits that appear from summer through late December can grow to about a half inch wide. Foliage consists of pointed leaves. Tree growth varies depending on the climate, but they enjoy full sunlight.

Pruning

• Crabapple trees don't need to be pruned constantly, but removing dead wood, offshoots, and damaged leaves and branches will help them grow. Any pruning of Purple Prince and other crabapple trees should be done before mid-June, before the flower buds form; pruning later than this will reduce the number of fruits and flower buds that develop the following season

Diseases

• Crabapple trees, including the Purple Prince variety, are mostly resistant to disease, although some are susceptible to fungi. Fungal diseases such as apple scab (dark spots on new leaves), frog-eye leaf spot (small, dark-brown spots with purple circles) and fireblight (bacteria that damages new shoots) may appear on some trees. The Purple Prince cultivar is resistant to apple scab, fireblight and cedar apple rust (another fungus).

Insects and Pests

• Flowering crabapple trees attract insects, but the bugs generally don't harm them. Japanese beetles, caterpillars, leaf-miners, leaf-rollers and leaf-hoppers are frequent visitors to Purple Prince and other crabapple trees. Various insecticides are effective in controlling bugs; contact your local garden store or county extension service for recommendations.