Malus Red Obelisk - Crab Apple

Malus RED OBELISK (‘D.V.P. Obel’), or ornamental crab apple, is a narrow small tree, interesting when you want to enjoy the beauty of a flowering crab apple in a modest-sized garden. In spring, it is covered in pink buds that open into large pale pink to white flowers, then produce bright red crab apples in autumn. Compact and easy to grow, it can be planted at the edge of a path, in a shrub border, or as a specimen in a small city garden.

This cultivar belongs to the Rosaceae family. The genus Malus includes wild apple trees, cultivated apple trees and ornamental crab apples, all deciduous in winter. Its natural range covers the temperate regions of the Northern Hemisphere as far as northern Indochina. Red Obelisk is a Belgian selection from the work of the Department of Plant Genetics and Breeding in Melle; its cultivar name is ‘D.V.P. Obel’, while RED OBELISK is the trade name under which it is distributed. Compared to many ornamental crab apples with rounded crowns, it grows more narrowly; its branches are upright and its crown is conical in shape. It reaches about 4 m in height after ten years, with a spread of 1.50 to 2 m. With age and in fertile soil, it can reach 5 to 6 m while maintaining a relatively compact spread. The young shoots are purplish-brown; the older bark becomes greyish-brown and remains fairly smooth. The leaves are oval, finely toothed, glossy, bronze to purplish when emerging, then dark green in summer. They turn yellow, sometimes yellow-orange, before falling in autumn. Flowering occurs in April to May. The single flowers, gathered in bunches, measure 6 to 7 cm in diameter. They attract bees and contribute to the pollination of neighbouring fruit apple trees when the flowering periods overlap. The fruits appear in summer and colour up in autumn. These are elongated, pear-shaped crab apples, bright red, larger than those of many ornamental crab apples. They remain attached to the branches until late autumn, sometimes part of winter. They interest birds and can also be used to make jellies. 
This cultivar is also known for its good resistance to scab.

In the garden, this ornamental crab apple can be planted as a specimen near a terrace, at the corner of a border, or in a row along a path. In an informal hedge, its spring flowering is useful to insects and its fruits feed birds in autumn and winter. In an informal hedge or a large shrub border, it can be accompanied by another spring-flowering tree, such as Malus PERPETU ‘Evereste’ or Prunus incisa ‘Kojo-no-mai’. At its base, groundcovers limit the appearance of weeds without hindering its growth. Consider Geranium macrorrhizum ‘Spessart’, Waldsteinia ternata or Epimedium x perralchicum ‘Frohnleiten’.