Malus purpurea Eleyi - Purple Crabapple

Malus x purpurea Eleyi is an old variety of ornamental apple tree still sought after for its ornamental qualities. Its entire vegetation, from flowering to fruiting through its young leaves, offers a range of purple tones. Of medium stature, this particularly decorative variety deserves to be rediscovered despite its susceptibility to scab and, to a lesser extent, gall.

The ornamental apple trees (Malus) come from various botanical species of the genus Malus belonging to the Rosaceae family. Hardy, accommodating, and easy to grow, these Flowering Crabapples thrive in ordinary soil but prefer loamy, deep, loose, and moist soil, as well as sunny exposures. Once established, they tolerate neglect while maintaining their generous character. 'Eleyi' was selected before 1920 by Charles Eley of East Bergholt, Suffolk, United Kingdom.

'Eleyi' is supposed to descend from Malus x purpurea, the purple berry-bearing apple tree. Some specialists believe it is instead the result of a cross between M. sieversii f. niedzwetzskyana and M. toringo. This 'Eleyi' hybrid forms a small tree with a short trunk, supporting a rounded and wide, dense, more or less regular crown. Its growth is moderately fast, and its dimensions will not exceed 6 m in height and 4.50 m in spread. Flowering begins in mid-May, earlier or later depending on the region. It takes the form of numerous single, 3 to 3.5 cm diameter flowers, from wine-red to purple. These flowers, gathered in small clusters, bloom before the young leaves. The flowering is followed by the formation of numerous small ovoid to spherical apples, measuring 2 to 2.5 cm in length, hanging from a long peduncle. At maturity, in October, their colour changes from intense red to purplish violet. These fruits are loved by birds and remain attached to the bush until October. The deciduous foliage is beautifully coloured: the young leaves are purple, then become bronze, remain green bronze until summer, and turn yellow-orange before falling quite late.

Malus 'Eleyi', like many flowering apple trees, is a good pollinator for fruit-bearing apple trees. This moderately growing tree is attractive from spring to autumn. It will find a place in medium-sized gardens, as a solitary specimen or in an informal hedge with hawthorns, lilacs, or saskatoon juneberries. When space is available, ornamental apple trees, planted in alignment on a slope bordering a sunken alley, create a rather magical scene in spring and autumn, due to their often sumptuous colours at the end of the season.