Iowa's Crabapple
With visions of bluebirds perched among pink blossoms, I planted seeds of a small native tree...
One drizzly spring morning I found three wild crabapple trees blooming on my land. They were covered in pink, fragrant blossoms that made me a little dizzy with pleasure.
I was excited to find crabapples growing wild, especially when I learned that Prairie Crabapple is native to Iowa. Suddenly I wanted more of them in my life. The small trees were deep in a thorny thicket. Michael and I cleared some breathing space around them.
The apples
By fall, the trees had small, dark-green apples, about half an inch wide. I tasted one. It was hard, sour, and bitter.
Well, we would not be eating those apples, but wildlife would, including birds, foxes, opossums, squirrels, groundhogs, and deer. Furthermore, crabapples produce pollen early in spring, which is vital to emerging bees. Butterflies, moths, and many other insects feed on the flowers’ nectar.
As for myself, I’m in love with those blossoms.
Dream of bluebirds
I have a vision of wild crabapples blooming someday by the woodshed, with bluebirds visiting them for insects to feed their babies. So I collected a few apples, in order to get some seeds.
Step 1
I immediately tried to get seeds out. These were not apples from the supermarket! The crabapples were horribly hard to cut. Of those I managed to open, I couldn’t separate out the seeds.
Step 2
I abandoned Step 1 and soaked whole crabapples in water for a few weeks. When I looked at them again, they were rotten and mushy — soft enough to open and retrieve the seeds.
Step 3
The seeds need 90 days in damp and cold to break dormancy. I’m providing these conditions in an outdoor growing box that lets in rain, snow, and freezing temperatures but keeps animals out.
In the event that spring should arrive before the seeds fulfill their cold requirement, I took out insurance by putting more seeds in damp vermiculite in the refrigerator. I’ll plant that batch on May 2, which will give them fully 90 days of cold treatment. It will be interesting to compare the germination from the two batches.
Step 4
When the seedlings have a few leaves, I'll move them into pots until they're ready to plant out. I hope that in a few years, crabapples will bloom beside the woodshed.
What’s in a name?
Prairie Crabapple bears the scientific name Malus ioensis. When I first sounded out the words, to my surprise I heard the name of my home state! I don’t know of any other native plant named for Iowa.
Why is ioensis spelled without a W? My guess is that the discoverer/botanist wanted to coin a Latin scientific name. There is no W in the ancient Roman alphabet, and maybe that’s why ioensis didn't get one. If anyone knows the history, I hope you’ll enlighten me. (Space for comments is at the bottom of the story.)
Why plant native?
In the past, Prairie Crabapple grew abundantly in the Midwest, but it’s become uncommon. Ornamental cultivars are more popular, with double flowers and deeper colors. Furthermore, the native tree is short lived. And bugs like it.
But to me, the pale pink flowers of Prairie Crabapple are unsurpassed for loveliness. The relatively brief lifespan means this native tree needs our help in order to get through the biological narrows that our planet is now navigating. I regard even the bug issue as a plus, because native insects on native plants are exactly what birds need in order to breed.
So wish me luck, and please wish luck also to the wild birds and to a small native tree that supports them.
Oh, that would be wonderful, but only if you have extras!
Was the original planted in the open or as an understory tree?
Now, dear fellow Gaia-admirers, and you, too, Diane, I ask: Who cannot feel hopeful when viewing such sweet pink natural beauty such as this Iowa Crabapple? It does the trick for moi! Thx, Diane,
and, You, Too, Mom-Nature!!