Sargent Crabapple Tree for Sale - Buying & Growing Guide

Planting and Care

by John Haryasz | Horticulture Writer and Landscape Designer – last update on October 7, 2022

Planting instructions

While consistent moisture and good drainage are the ideal soil conditions for a Sargent Crabapple Tree, this species shows an impressive ability to adapt to many soil types including soils of nearly any pH. As long as the growing location has plenty of sunlight, your Sargent Crabapple should put forth healthy new growth each season. To plant this tree, start by digging a hole that is as deep as the root ball is tall and about twice as wide. Loosen the root ball before planting to encourage the roots to spread laterally.

Watering and nutrients

After planting a Sargent Crabapple, you should water it often enough to maintain consistent soil moisture throughout the first growing season. Once this plant has established itself in its new growing location, it will have a significant reduction in water needs. Typically, you’ll only need to water this tree during the hottest parts of the year or during long droughts. A Sargent Crabapple Tree will survive just fine without fertilizer, but if you want yours to perform at its very best, you should feed it with a balanced fertilizer during either spring or fall.

Pollination

The Sargent Crabapple is a self-pollinating tree, which means that an individual plant is capable of pollinating itself. During the spring, when this plant displays numerous open white blooms, several types of pollinator insects, including honeybees, will arrive to feed on the nectar and transfer pollen from one flower to another. When this takes place, your Sargent Crabapple will develop fruits that begin as small, round and green. As the summer progresses, those crabapples will grow and darken to red, making for the tree’s second colorful display of the growing season.

Pruning

Prune your Sargent Crabapple Tree in late winter or early spring just before the new growth arrives. Your first goal when pruning is to remove any branch that is dead, broken or diseased. Then, you can focus on thinning this tree’s canopy to allow for better air circulation, which lessens the odds of moisture-related infections. Lastly, you can use your pruning cuts to alter the overall shape and appearance of your Sargent Crabapple Tree to your liking.

Pests, diseases and animals

A well-established Sargent Crabapple Tree will have decent disease resistance but is not entirely immune to such issues. Complications, including cedar apple rust, frogeye leaf spot and apple scab, can all affect this tree and many of the plant species related to it. Along with those disease threats, pests may also threaten your Sargent Crabapple Tree. Common garden pests, including leafminers, aphids, mites and Japanese beetles, can all harm a Sargent Crabapple. Other insects, including moths, can destroy the fruits of this tree.

Harvesting

It is most common for gardeners to grow the Sargent Crabapple Tree strictly for its ornamental value. However, while the fruits of these trees do supply an impressive color display, their flesh is also edible. In their raw form, these fruits have a sour taste, which is why those who eat them typically incorporate them into a jam or something similar. If you’re interested in trying crabapples, it’s best to allow them to hang on the tree for as long as possible, which makes for the sweetest flavor. At times, this can mean harvesting in winter.

Achieving maximum results

Along with having many other advantages, the Sargent Crabapple Tree is also relatively easy to transplant due to its shallow spreading root system. This means that if, for whatever reason, your initial growing location was not suitable for your Sargent Crabapple Tree, you should have no problem transplanting it to a better growing area. Also, if you plant this tree with the goal of harvesting, then you should be wary of the many birds that may arrive to eat the crabapples before you have a chance to pick them.

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