Prairie Crabapple
Malus ioensis
Prairie crabapple is the wild crabapple of the tallgrass Midwest, opening showy fragrant pink blossoms a little later than its eastern cousin. Tart green fruit makes good jelly and feeds wildlife through fall.
- Family
- Rosaceae
- Type
- tree
- Lifespan
- perennial
- Height
- 15–25 ft
- Spacing
- 15–25 ft apart
- Light
- sun
- Soil moisture
- moist, dry
- Soil pH
- neutral, acidic
- Bloom
- May
- Bloom colors
- pink, white
- Wildlife value
- pollinators, songbirds, butterflies, larval host, mammals
- Caterpillar hosts
- ~308 butterfly & moth species
- Landscape uses
- specimen, hedge or screen
- Native states
- IA, IL, IN, KS, LA, MN, MO, TX, WI