Malus ioensis (Prairie Crab Apple)

Prairifire Crabapple is a stunning pink-flowered Crabapple tree with exceptional aesthetic qualities. When fresh, erect branches infuse your Spring Garden with vigour. Prairifire Crabapple tree has a lovely rounded form with an appealing, symmetrical appeal as it ages. The equally distributed branches with gorgeous, glossy, dark-red bark look great buried in vivid, clear, pink blooms to welcome the start of the growth season. Flowers of the Prairifire Crabapple emerge on bare branches. The five-petaled blooms open to a brilliant, deep pink colour and are borne in bunches on bare branches. Close behind, bold new foliage develops.

* Exfoliating bark reveals silvery-gray inner bark. The large, white or pink, flowers grow in clusters that cover the tree.

* The fruit can be eaten raw or cooked. Up to 4cm in diameter. Harsh and astringent, it is best baked or made into preserves. It makes excellent jellies and cider.