Native Plants
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Ask Mr. Smarty Plants
Ask Mr. Smarty Plants is a free service provided by the staff and volunteers at the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center.
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Sunday - January 07, 2007
From: Austin, TX
Region: Southwest
Topic: Trees
Title: Fruit-bearing crabapple for Austin, TX
Answered by: Joe Marcus
QUESTION:
Is there a fruitbearing crabapple that will live in Austin. If so, what soil type is required?ANSWER:
Two botanical varieties of crabapple are native to the Austin, Texas area: both Prairie Crabapple, Malus ioensis var. ioensis and Blanco Crabapple, Malus ioensis var. texana. Another species, Southern Crabapple, Malus angustifolia grows throughout the southeastern US, its range extending into East Texas. While all of these crabapples bear fruit, none produce particularly large fruit. Southern Crabapple often produces large numbers of apples which are an important wildlife food in its native range.Given the right soil, moisture and light conditions most crabapples can be grown in Austin. However, other than those locally native most species require soils that are more acidic than most soils found in your area, especially the caliche soils.
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