Malus Coccinella Courtarou Crab Apple

Malus Coccinella Courtarou is an ornamental crab apple tree with attractive deep pink blossom and small vivid red fruits in autumn. It’s a good choice for ornamental borders, kitchen gardens, and wildlife friendly spaces. 

Crab apples are one of the forerunners of our eating apples and they’re native to most continents. The UK has its own common crab apples that are associated with love and fertility in British folklore. Interestingly, crab apples are named for their crabbed spiny branches rather than an association with the sea.

Crab Apple Courtarou is s fairly recent cultivar bred for its mass of five petalled pink springtime blossoms with long fluttering stamens that cover its branches from tip to stem. Its semi-spreading shape is easy to manage and it doesn’t get too large.

Bronze-green elliptic foliage also appears in spring and turns burgundy in autumn before falling to reveal its small red crab apples. These small shiny fruits remain on the tree all winter unless they’re eaten by blackbirds.

Height And Spread of Malus Coccinella Courtarou
Crab Apple Courtarou will reach a height of 3-4 metres in 10 years.

How Hardy is Malus Coccinella Courtarou
Crab apples are hardy trees capable of coping with cold UK winters if the roots are free draining. Once established, they can tolerate some drought and pollution.

How To Use Malus Coccinella Courtarou
If you’re looking for a small wildlife friendly tree Malus Courtarou is an excellent choice. It’s compact enough to fit small or front gardens and its abundant blossom is a pollinator magnet. In summer its dense foliage provides shelter from rain and hot sun, and in winter birds eat its mass of fruit.

Aesthetically the Malus Courtarou looks good in mixed countryside hedgerows and large mixed low maintenance borders. In urban settings, this modern crab apple brings height and colour without a lot of attention. We also sell pleached Malus Courtarou to heighten a fence line and create privacy.

How To Care For Malus Coccinella Courtarou
Once established Crab Apple Courtarou needs little work. For the best results plant it in full sun or partial shade in moist, well-drained soil. It’s not fussy about pH and will grow in the majority of garden soils in a sheltered or exposed position.

Mulch it well in early spring with well-rotted organic matter and water well until it’s established. There’s no need to prune crab apple Courtarou, but you can remove broken branches or trim it back in the winter months.