Royal Raindrops® Flowering Crabapple Tree

Royal Raindrops® Crabapple (Malus 'JFS-KW5') is a disease-resistant flowering crabapple with magenta-pink spring flowers and deeply lobed purple leaves that hold their color all summer. It grows 15 to 20 feet tall and 12 to 16 feet wide with an upright-spreading, rounded crown and thrives in zones 4 through 8.

Royal Raindrops carries color through three seasons. Single, five-petaled magenta-pink flowers open in April. The cut-leaf purple foliage keeps its color through the heat of summer, then turns orange-red in fall. Tiny maroon-red fruit, about 1/4 inch across, ripens in late summer and hangs on into early winter, when birds eat it. The tree shows good resistance to apple scab, fire blight, rusts and powdery mildew.

Plant it as a specimen or accent where the purple leaves can play off green lawn and shrubs, or set several in a small group. Its dense, rounded canopy fits a front yard without shading out the whole lot, and the flowers draw butterflies and other pollinators. It is easy to grow and needs little upkeep once settled. Allow about 15 feet of space for each tree.

• Light: full sun, at least six hours of direct light a day
• Water: consistent moisture while roots establish; once established it tolerates drought
• Soil: well-drained, slightly acidic soil; it grows in clay, loam or sand
• Care: prune in late winter, not spring, to keep fire blight out. See our guide to pruning fruit trees

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