By Feature - Wildlife

The Malus 'Aros' crab apple tree is a distinctive variety, revered for its exceptional beauty and compact growth. It's renowned for its almost-black, dark purple leaves, a coloration that acts as a dramatic backdrop to its profuse, spring-blooming, pink-tinged white blossoms. Originating from breeding programs, 'Aros' is cultivated for its aesthetic appeal and manageable size, making it an ideal candidate for gardens with limited space or those seeking a focal point.

The blossoms of 'Aros' emit a soft, pleasing fragrance, attracting pollinators and enhancing biodiversity. Post-bloom, the tree produces small, dark red, almost purple crab apples, maintaining ornamental interest throughout the seasons. These fruits are particularly appealing to birds, contributing to the tree's ecological value in supporting local wildlife.

Beyond its visual and ecological allure, 'Aros' is appreciated for its hardiness. It adapts well to various soil types and environmental conditions, demonstrating resilience to common pests and diseases. This makes 'Aros' a low-maintenance option for both experienced and novice gardeners.

This tree's upright and compact growth habit, reaching heights of approximately 10 feet, allows it to be a versatile addition to landscapes. It can be utilized as an accent, a screening plant, or even in container gardens, offering flexibility in landscape design. The dark foliage of 'Aros' contrasts spectacularly with lighter, variegated, or green-foliaged plants, allowing gardeners to create visually striking compositions.

The Malus 'Aros' crab apple tree embodies a harmonious blend of beauty, adaptability, and ecological benefits, symbolizing a union between aesthetic magnificence and environmental consciousness in contemporary horticulture. Whether planted as a solitary specimen or incorporated into a mixed planting scheme, 'Aros' imparts an air of elegance and drama to the landscape, making it a cherished selection among gardening enthusiasts.

Malus brevipes 'Wedding Bouquet' is a small, deciduous ornamental tree, prized for its elegant display of white flowers in late spring. This variety of crab apple is particularly noted for its compact growth habit, making it an excellent choice for smaller gardens or more confined spaces. Its rounded crown and dense foliage provide structure and interest throughout the year.

In early to mid-spring, 'Wedding Bouquet' bursts into life with a profusion of pure white, cup-shaped blossoms, which are sweetly fragrant and highly attractive to pollinators like bees. These blooms are particularly eye-catching against the tree's fresh green leaves, creating a striking visual contrast. As the season progresses, the flowers give way to small, pale yellow-green crab apples that can persist into the winter months, adding another layer of seasonal interest.

The tree's foliage turns from vibrant green to warm shades of yellow in autumn, offering a beautiful display before the leaves fall. 'Wedding Bouquet' has a fairly compact size, typically reaching heights of around 3 to 4 metres (10-13 feet), with a similar spread, making it a manageable tree for urban gardens or small outdoor spaces.

In addition to its ornamental value, Malus brevipes 'Wedding Bouquet' is hardy and adaptable, thriving in a range of soil types, though it prefers well-drained, slightly acidic to neutral soil. It performs best in full sun to partial shade, and, being a crab apple, it is generally low-maintenance and resistant to most pests and diseases.

Overall, 'Wedding Bouquet' is an ideal choice for gardeners seeking a tree that offers year-round beauty, from its stunning spring blossoms to its attractive fruits and autumn foliage, all in a modest and manageable size.

The Prunus 'First Blush' is an ornamental cherry tree, admired for its stunning springtime display of delicate pink flowers. This compact deciduous tree typically reaches a height and spread of around 4 to 6 metres, making it ideal for smaller gardens and spaces. Its upright, vase-like shape adds a graceful structure to the landscape, while its elegant branches create a soft, airy canopy.

In early spring, Prunus 'First Blush' comes to life with a profusion of pale pink blossoms. These flowers, initially deep pink in bud, open to reveal soft, blush-pink petals, creating a delightful contrast against the tree’s emerging bright green foliage. The flowers are small but numerous, covering the tree in a cloud of colour, which attracts pollinators such as bees. As the blossoms fade, they give way to simple, ovate leaves that turn to warm shades of yellow and orange in autumn, offering seasonal interest beyond its spring show.

This tree is relatively low-maintenance and thrives in a variety of soil types, as long as the soil is well-drained. It prefers a sunny or partially shaded location, where it can receive adequate light to produce its best display of flowers. The Prunus 'First Blush' is also reasonably hardy and can tolerate cold weather, making it well-suited to the UK climate.

A delightful feature tree, Prunus 'First Blush' adds both beauty and structure to any garden, creating a focal point with its changing seasonal colours and delicate springtime flowers.

Prunus Kanzan is a beautiful, medium-sized, ornamental, deciduous cherry tree of vase-shaped when young, spreading and rounded habit when mature. Its ovate, toothed dark green leaves are coppery-red when young and in shades of orange and bronze in autumn. The profusion of bright pink, double flowers bloom in clusters before the leaves emerge. Flowers are sterile and are not followed by fruit. Prunus Kanzan thrives in fertile, moist, well-drained soils, sandy or clay loams. It prefers full sun, but tolerates light shade. It is necessary to prune it after flowering, but is generally low maintenance plant. Susceptible to many diseases and pests and may be short-lived. Cherry Kanzan is one of the most ornamental of flowering cherries. It’s a stunning, elegant tree, whether as a specimen plant or planted in groups, great for small informal, cottage and urban gardens. Excellent for streets and parks. Suitable for growing in containers or as a bonsai.

Sorbus thuringiaca ‘Fastigiata’, also known as the Thuringian Whitebeam or Fastigiate Whitebeam, is a deciduous tree belonging to the Rosaceae family. This attractive ornamental tree is known for its upright, columnar growth habit, making it a popular choice for gardens, parks, and urban landscapes where space is limited. It typically reaches a height of 6 to 10 metres, with a spread of 3 to 4 metres.

The foliage of Sorbus thuringiaca ‘Fastigiata’ is particularly striking. The leaves are ovate to elliptic, with deep lobes, and have a greyish-green colour on the upper side, while the underside is covered in silvery-white hairs, giving the tree a distinctive two-toned appearance. In autumn, the leaves turn a beautiful shade of yellow to orange, adding seasonal interest.

In spring, the tree produces small clusters of creamy-white flowers, which attract pollinators such as bees and butterflies. These flowers give way to small, round, red or orange berries in late summer to early autumn. The berries are a valuable food source for birds and other wildlife, making the tree beneficial for biodiversity.

Sorbus thuringiaca ‘Fastigiata’ is relatively low-maintenance and tolerant of various soil types, although it prefers well-drained, fertile soil. It can thrive in full sun to partial shade and is hardy in most parts of the UK, withstanding frost and occasional drought. Due to its upright form, it is an excellent choice for formal gardens, avenue planting, or as a focal point in smaller spaces.

This tree's combination of aesthetic appeal, wildlife benefits, and ease of care makes it a versatile and valuable addition to both private gardens and public green spaces.

Malus tschonoskii, known as the Chonosuki crabapple, is a species of deciduous tree native to Japan. It is esteemed for its ornamental value, exhibiting a breathtaking array of color throughout the seasons. In spring, it produces a profusion of delicate white or pale pink flowers that attract various pollinators. The blossoms are a visual spectacle and are highly fragrant, contributing to the sensory experience of the landscape.

The tree's leaves are also notable, starting as a fresh green color in spring and transforming into striking shades of red, orange, and purple in autumn, providing a vibrant fall display. The leaves are simple and alternate with a serrated margin. In addition to its colorful foliage and flowers, the tree bears small, red to yellowish, inedible fruit in the fall, which adds another layer of visual interest.

Malus tschonoskii is a medium-sized tree, typically reaching heights of 6 to 12 meters. It is adaptable to a range of soil types but prefers well-drained, moist soil and a sunny location. It’s known for its upright, columnar growth habit, making it an excellent choice for smaller spaces or as a specimen tree in mixed borders. The tree is resilient and relatively low-maintenance, often utilized in urban landscaping projects for its aesthetic appeal and hardiness.