Red Jewel Crabapple

Red Jewel™ is the standout choice for Puget Sound landscapes when extended winter-into-spring fruit display is the primary design goal. The cultivar's defining feature — brilliant bright red 1/2-inch fruit that holds on the tree until spring in mild winter areas — is maximally expressed in maritime PNW where winters are mild enough to preserve fruit color and structure through December, January, and into February. The dramatic moment when previous-season red fruit overlaps with the cultivar's pure white spring bloom is unique among common crabapples and gives Red Jewel substantial mid-winter ornamental value that most crabapples cannot match. The upright pyramidal 15 × 12 ft form distinguishes from rounded crabapple silhouettes and fits narrower spaces. Fire blight susceptibility (rated Fair by JFS) is the primary regional caveat — warm humid May bloom periods that produce blight pressure in maritime PNW will eventually affect this cultivar, so avoid spring pruning entirely and prune in late winter (February in Puget Sound). Cross-reference: ‘Indian Magic’ offers similar exceptionally persistent fruit (also holds into spring) but with deep rose-pink flowers rather than pure white; 'Sugar Tyme®' offers similar persistent fruit habit with white flowers but in a smaller fruit size; ‘Donald Wyman’ offers persistent fruit and white flowers but in a much wider 24 ft spread. Red Jewel is the upright narrow-form choice in this category. Robins, waxwings, and finches eventually clear the fruit in late February through April — providing important late-winter forage when most alternate food sources are depleted.

— Chris Welch, ISA Certified Arborist