Klehm's Improved Bechtel Flowering Crab
Malus ioensis 'Klehm's Improved Bechtel'
Height: 25 feet
Spread: 20 feet
Sunlight:
Hardiness Zone: 4
Other Names: Roseybloom, Crabapple
Description:
A highly ornamental tree for home landscape use, absolutely smothered in double clear pink flowers in spring, followed by negligible small green fruit, vigorous grower; needs well-drained soil and full sun, low maintenance
Ornamental Features
Klehm's Improved Bechtel Flowering Crab is bathed in stunning clusters of fragrant pink flowers with shell pink overtones along the branches in mid spring, which emerge from distinctive rose flower buds before the leaves. It has dark green deciduous foliage. The pointy leaves turn yellow in fall.
Landscape Attributes
Klehm's Improved Bechtel Flowering Crab is a deciduous tree with a more or less rounded form. Its average texture blends into the landscape, but can be balanced by one or two finer or coarser trees or shrubs for an effective composition.
This is a relatively low maintenance tree, and is best pruned in late winter once the threat of extreme cold has passed. It has no significant negative characteristics.
Klehm's Improved Bechtel Flowering Crab is recommended for the following landscape applications;
- Accent
- Shade
Planting & Growing
Klehm's Improved Bechtel Flowering Crab will grow to be about 25 feet tall at maturity, with a spread of 20 feet. It has a low canopy with a typical clearance of 4 feet from the ground, and is suitable for planting under power lines. It grows at a fast rate, and under ideal conditions can be expected to live for 50 years or more.
This tree should only be grown in full sunlight. It prefers to grow in average to moist conditions, and shouldn't be allowed to dry out. It may require supplemental watering during periods of drought or extended heat. It is not particular as to soil type or pH. It is highly tolerant of urban pollution and will even thrive in inner city environments. This is a selection of a native North American species.