John Downie Crab Apple Trees

• Variety: John Downie, the jelly Crab Apple
• Latin name: Malus 'John Downie'
• Sold as: Bareroot half-standard and standards of 6/8cm and 8/10cm girth. Pot-grown standard in a 12 litre pot
• Mature size: 6 to 8m by our measure. The RHS gives 8 to 12m tall and 4 to 8m wide
• Flowers: White, from pink buds, and profuse
• Fruit: Egg-shaped, 3cm long, bright red and orange-yellow. For jelly
• Shape: Vigorous, with an egg-shaped crown
• Pollination: Self-fertile, and a pollinator for eating Apples
• Best soil and site: Moderately fertile soil, chalk and clay included. Sun or partial shade
• Wildlife: RHS Plants for Pollinators
• Hardiness: H6, hardy through the British winter
• Delivered: Bareroot, November to April. Pot-grown, all year when in stock. Collection from Castle Cary also available

John Downie is the Crab Apple for jelly: profuse white blossom from pink buds, then heavy crops of egg-shaped fruit, 3cm long, in bright red and orange-yellow. It is self-fertile, pollinates eating Apples, tolerates partial shade and is on the RHS Plants for Pollinators list.

John Downie Crab Apple Trees

John Downie crab apple trees are attractive and make heavy crops of some of the best crab apples for use in the kitchen. They're commonly planted in orchards and their narrow canopy makes them a great specimen tree for a small garden. It has abundant white blossom in mid-late spring and good red-gold autumn colour. The long, conical, bright red-orange fruit are some of the prettiest of any crab apple. They don't remain for long on the branches when ripe, which is fine because they make great crab apple jelly or apple sauce, and can be blended into a cider brew.

Vigorous yet naturally tidy, it can reach a height of about 6-8 metres. Half standards will reach approximately 4 metres.

Browse our variety of crab apple trees, or our range of ornamental garden trees.

Delivery season: Crab apple trees are delivered bareroot from late autumn to early spring, November to April.
Choosing a size: Small trees are cheaper, easier to handle and more forgiving of less than ideal aftercare, so they're best for a big planting project. If instant impact is your priority, or if you are only buying a few plants for use in a place where it's convenient to water them well in their first year, then you may as well use bigger ones. Our standard trees are measured by the girth of the trunk in centimetres, one metre above the ground, not by their height.

Growing John Downie Crab Apples

Any well drained soil. Suitable for large containers designed for trees. Full sun or partial shade. Tolerant of pollution.

Moderately susceptible to scab.

It's one of the best pollinators for apple orchards, along with Golden Hornet.

Tip for harvesting: The ripe fruit drop easily from the tree, so as soon as you see one fall, put a tarp on the ground and shake the tree.

History & Trivia

This tree was bred in 1875 by Edward Holmes in Lichfield and named after his friend, a Scottish nurseryman who worked at Handsworth Nurseries in Sheffield.

Standard trees are measured by their girth in centimetres 1 metre above ground level: their trunk's waist measurement. Unlike sapling trees and hedge plants, standards aren't measured by their height, which will vary quite a bit both between and within species.
So, a 6/8cm standard tree has a trunk with a circumference of 6-8cm and an 8/10 standard has a trunk 8-10cm around. This measurement makes no difference to the tree's final height.
On average, standard trees are 2-3.5 metres tall when they arrive, but we cannot tell you precisely how tall your trees will be before we deliver them.

Planting Companions

Butterball is another jelly Crab, with yellow-orange fruit, and Evereste is the white-flowered, red-fruited Crab that keeps its fruit into winter. In an orchard, plant it among our Apple trees as a pollinator, and see our trees for wildlife. Dust bareroot roots with Rootgrow as you plant.

Why Ashridge?

Ashridge has sold trees since 1949 and is a Which? Best Plant Supplier 2025. Your Crab Apple comes bareroot, lifted while dormant, or pot-grown for planting in any month. Bareroot trees are guaranteed for 12 months, and so is a potted tree delivered leafless between November and March.

Frequently Asked Questions

What can you do with John Downie Crab Apples?

Make jelly first of all: it has been the jelly Crab since 1875. The fruit also makes a good apple sauce and can go into a cider blend.

Will it pollinate your Apple trees?

Yes. Every Crab Apple we sell is self-fertile and a pollinator for eating Apples, and we rate John Downie among the best for an orchard.

How big does it grow?

We give it 6 to 8 metres, and about 4 metres for a half-standard. The RHS gives 8 to 12 metres tall and 4 to 8 wide, over 20 to 50 years.

When do you pick the fruit?

As soon as the first ripe ones fall. They do not hang long, so put a sheet on the ground and shake the tree.

Evereste or John Downie?

Both are white-flowered Crabs that make jelly. Evereste holds its fruit into winter for show. John Downie drops its fruit when ripe, which suits you if the crop is for the kitchen.

Will it grow in partial shade?

Yes. The RHS says it will tolerate partial shade, in moderately fertile soil, and lists chalk, clay, loam and sand in exposed or sheltered places.

When are the trees delivered?

Bareroot trees are delivered from November to April, while they are dormant. Pot-grown trees can be delivered and planted in any month when you find them in stock.