Misc	RHS AGM, Edible Fruit / Nuts, Pollinator, Wildlife Value
Shade	Partial Shade
Area	Coastal Areas, Frost Pockets, Scotland & The North
Soil	Acidic, Poor/Dry
Colour	White/Cream, Yellow/Gold
Fruiting	Mid Season Fruiting
Also Good	Autumn Colour, Berries
Flowering	Apr, May

Malus Butterball (Standard)

See full product description Bareroot Plant

	Buy 3 or more bareroot trees and save

SIZES	1-2	3-9	10+
Half Standard. Bareroot	Plenty of Stock£27.49	Plenty of Stock£25.49	Plenty of Stock£24.49
	Prices include VAT

See our plant size guide

Please select the quantity of Bareroot trees you would like

£32.12

£27.49

Crab Apple, Butterball - Standard needs...

Tree Guard - Heavy Duty
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Tree Planting Pack
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Stakes - Tree Planting
Tree Stake - 150cm x 5cm Rounded & treated. Necessary for all standard ornamental trees. Also fo

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Rootgrow
For healthy plants and trees, if you only do one thing, use Rootgrow when you plant them. Mycorrhi

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Tree Planting Pack

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All the accessories you need to plant a large tree, i.e. any Ornamental Standard or Bush or Half-Sta

Butterball Crabapple Standard Trees

It's hard to pin down the best thing about Malus Butterball. It is a great wildlife attractant. Bees and other pollinators adore the clouds of spring blossom, which is a delicate pink in bud, opening to pure white, and the crabs which are a rich yellow - blushing red in a sunny spot - usually ripen in October are a great food source for all kinds of birds. Butterball is also self-fertile, producing up to 10 times the amount of pollen of an ordinary apple tree. Of course the same applies to most of the rest of our range of crab apple trees for sale. The fruit makes a wonderful, zingy bright jelly too, just the ticket with a Sunday roast. Or try your hand at crab apple liqueur with vodka and sugar.

As a tree, Butterball is spreading and slightly drooping, especially under the weight of its fruit in autumn. As a standard, it will grow to 6 metres or so in height while half standards can be kept to 3.5-4 metres making them ideal if your garden is on the small side.

Planting and design

Give Butterball a little space as it makes a good focal point. Give it pride of place, so it can be seen and admired, whether covered in flowers in spring or with the branches dripping with fruit in autumn. So don't hide it away. Crab apples aren't too fussy about soil or sunlight really, as long as it's fairly free draining, although the sunnier the spot the redder the fruit. Butterball will fit right in with a cottage garden scheme, with its pretty blossom, hanging branches and relaxed habit. Underplant with a few spring bulbs if you feel inclined, something cottagey like crocuses, daffodils or bluebells for a relaxed, naturalistic feel.

Features

Final height/spread: 3-5m x 3-5m (depending on form)
Foliage: deciduous
Use: specimen
Features: white spring blossom, yellow-orange crabs in autumn
Soil: well-drained, in sun or light shade
RHS Award of Garden Merit

Not just for jelly

In some south-east Asian countries crab apples are used as a sour condiment, with shrimp paste, chilli and salt. Butterball also makes fantastic jelly.

Notes on planting Malus Butterball:
Crabapples are tough trees that thrive in any moderately fertile soil. They tolerate light shade well, although we recommend planting them in full sun to get the best display of flowers and fruit. Although a moist, well-drained site is ideal, crabapples like heavy clay and don't mind a bit of waterlogging in winter.
They won't grow in deep shade and may struggle in very poor dry soil.

Prepare your site before planting:
It is good to dig over the site where you plant a tree several months in advance. Kill the weeds first: for tough weeds like nettles, brambles and ground elder, you will usually need a glyphosate based weed-killer to get rid of them. When you dig the soil over, remove stones and other rubbish and mix in well-rotted compost or manure down to the depth of about 2 spades.

Watch our video on how to plant a tree for full instructions.
Remember to water establishing trees during dry weather for at least a year after planting.

Tree Planting accessories:
Prepare your site for planting by killing the weeds and grass with Roundup weed killer.
You can buy a tree planting pack with a wooden stake & rubber tie to support the tree and a mulch mat with pegs to protect the soil around the base of your tree from weeds and drying out.
We suggest that you use mycorrhizal "friendly fungi" on the roots of all newly planted large trees: if your soil quality is poor, we strongly recommend it.

After you plant a tree, the most important thing to do is water it in dry weather. You will also need to weed around the plants. Watering should be thorough, so the ground is soaked. Let the soil almost dry out before watering again. Watering & weeding will be necessary for at least a year after planting.

If your trees do need pruning, it is ideal to do this in winter. Always hire a tree surgeon to remove large branches.

Special notes on caring for your trees:
Malus Butterball is an ornamental tree that will perform best when it receives a yearly mulch of well-rotted manure or compost to help keep the soil around it fertile.
Remember to check the stake and tie supporting your trees a few times a year. Tighten the tie if it becomes loose but loosen it as the tree grows. Make sure that the tree's trunk isn't rubbing against the stake.

Hygiene & Diseases:
Dead, damaged or diseased wood can be pruned off as soon as it appears.
Disinfect your pruning tools between every cut if there is any sign of disease.
Burn or dispose of any diseased material, do not compost it.

Read our full terms and conditions here.

Delivery: Our standard delivery charges are:

Small box (Orders containing only seedlings or rooted cuttings) £7.20 including VAT per order (FREE For ORDERS Over £60 inc VAT)
Standard box (Bareroots up to 1.2m) £11.40 including VAT per order (FREE For ORDERS Over £60 inc VAT)
Large box (Pots up to and incl. 7.5L) £15.00 including VAT per order (FREE For ORDERS Over £100 inc VAT)
Trees & Hedging (Bareroots & trees 1.2m+) £18.00 including VAT per order (FREE For ORDERS Over £120 inc VAT)
Pallets (Root balls, large pots, trees etc) £60.00 including VAT per order (FREE For ORDERS Over £240 inc VAT)

Because couriers sometimes experience delays, we schedule delivery by week, not by day. Therefore, please plan your planting day for the weekend at the end of the delivery week or for the week following delivery, at the earliest.
We will email you the day before your plants are due to arrive.

*Surcharges to the Highlands and Islands still apply.

Payment: We do not charge your card until we begin to prepare your order for packing.

Guarantee: If any plants die within a year, we will replace them. We only ask that you follow our planting & growing instructions and sent us clear photographs of the dead plants in situ, so we can help to make sure that the replacement plants succeed. You only pay for the delivery of the replacements.

Please note that our guarantee is void if there is a hosepipe ban in your area: your newly planted hedging must be watered in dry weather while it is establishing. The best way to water is very thoroughly every few days: at least once a week if there is no heavy rain.

Our nursery has been supplying container grown and bareroot hedging plants to gardeners, farmers and town planners since 1949. Our website started in 2003, so we do understand the concerns that you may have about buying hedging plants online. If any of your plants are damaged when they arrive or if you are otherwise not satisfied with your order after you inspect it, please repackage it and contact us. We will give you a refund or send replacements and send a courier to come and collect the unwanted plants.

Ashridge Nurseries is working as normal and the despatching of bareroot plants is underway.

You can see Current Delivery Information Here. We are now taking orders for delivery in January 2021.

Butterball Crab Apple, Large Trees

Malus Butterball (Standard)

Tree Guard - Heavy Duty

From £4.02

Tree Planting Pack

From £10.19

Stakes - Tree Planting

From £5.76

Rootgrow

From £6.00

Tree Planting Pack

From £10.19

Rowan, Sheerwater Seedling - Standard

From £32.99

Guelder Rose

From £2.28

Willow, Grey

From £2.34

Butterball Crabapple Standard Trees

Not just for jelly

Bareroot planting is best done between October and April
Bareroot and potted - what's the difference?

Ashridge Nurseries is working as normal and the despatching of bareroot plants is underway.

You can see Current Delivery Information Here. We are now taking orders for delivery in January 2021.

Butterball Crab Apple, Large Trees

Malus Butterball (Standard)

From £4.02

From £10.19

From £5.76

From £6.00

From £10.19

From £32.99

From £2.28

From £2.34

Butterball Crabapple Standard Trees

Not just for jelly

Bareroot planting is best done between October and April Bareroot and potted - what's the difference?

Bareroot planting is best done between October and April
Bareroot and potted - what's the difference?