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Sweet crabapple
Habit (mature) · Cbaile19 / Wikimedia Commons · CC0 1.0 (Public Domain Dedication)
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Sweet crabapple
Malus coronaria
A small, often crooked-trunked native crabapple of eastern North America, grown for fragrant May blossoms — cymes of 2-6 flowers that open pink and fade to white. The yellow-green, sour pomes that follow are too tart to eat fresh but make good preserves and cider, and they feed birds and mammals into fall. Thorny crabapple thickets give cover and nesting sites; the species is highly susceptible to cedar-apple rust and should be kept well away from eastern red cedar.
Native: 7 US states
Review: Source-backed
Climate fit: moderate (58/100)
Focal point
Structure
Pollinator
Light
Full sun / Part shade
Water
Moderate water
Mature size
180-360" tall · 300" apart
Hardy in zones
4a-8b
very cold to frosty winters
Summer heat range
Cool-Hot
cool to hot summers Interim Plotwright tier until the plant AHS range is authored.
Native in Illinois
No
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Native across 7 US states and Canadian provinces — a wide-ranging part of North America's plant communities.
Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center
Cold hardiness
Now
Zone 6b
USDA
Chicago, IL · 1991-2020 average annual coldest day
Source: USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map 2023 (1991-2020 climatology) via ArcGIS FeatureServer
Well-suited
2050
Zone 7b
Plotwright
Your zone + climate-model shift · SSP3-7.0 (regional rivalry)
Well-suited
In plain terms: cold winters — coldest nights typically around -3°F.
Well-suited today and still thriving in 2050.
Heat tolerance
Loading current AHS heat-zone and plant heat-fit data at your coordinates…
Sources & citations
Cite this page
For lesson plans, articles, or research that uses this page. To cite a single upstream fact instead, use its specific source listed below.
Plotwright. (2026, May 17). Sweet crabapple (Malus coronaria). Retrieved 2026, June 5, from https://plotwright.garden/plants/sweet-crabapple
Sources for every fact
Every fact on this page traces to a source. 18 fields cited18 source-backed.
NC State Extension Gardener Plant Toolbox
University extension service
Backs 17 fields
Identity
Summary
Plant type
Light
Moisture
Hardiness
Heat zone
Size
Spacing
Habit
Design roles
Seasonal interest
Growth stages
Lifecycle
Regional guidance
Success tips
Designer notes
Wikimedia Commons
Photo · CC0 1.0 Public Domain Dedication
Backs 1 field
Image
Community photos
The photos above are our reviewed reference set, curated for accuracy.
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