Crab Apple Golden Hornet

Description

A gorgeous, upright, edible, (yes edible when ripe), crab apple with masses of cup-shaped, pink-flushed, white flowers in late spring. These are followed in autumn by profuse bunches of small, bright golden-yellow crab apples which remain for many weeks. The dark green leaves turn a dazzling butter-yellow before falling in late autumn. This compact, pollution-tolerant crab apple is a beautiful ornamental tree. Of all the yellow fruited crab apples this beauty is the most well known and prolific. Additionally, this is one of the two best available choices for pollinating apple trees and indeed for making crab apple jelly. Seedlings may produce occasional variations, but we find that they are all attractive! Few seeds produced, many fruits contain none at all!

Sowing Advice

Seeds can be sown at any time of the year onto a sandy, gritty, loamy compost (NOT one based on pure peat). Barely cover with sand or grit, but these seeds NEED light to activate the germination mechanism. NO artificial heat is needed, and may prevent germination. The seed tray is best left in a cool spot and kept moist. Seeds generally germinate very, very slowly indeed, but usually appear in the spring whenever they are sown, although odd ones may come up at any time. Grow small plants on before planting out.

Key Facts