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Hi all,

Is this crab apple? or an ornamental apple? I'm looking to use it in my hedgerow jam, but wanted to confirm first.

If you found it in a rural hedgerow I think its probably a crab,another clue,wouldn't an ornamental be grafted (and also not full-sized).Most of the crabs I've seen have been more round,but I dont want to get into another is that fruit round enough thing!

no, not hedgerow, it's on a free standing council planted tree, http://bit.ly/bxez8B for a google maps image - it's the skinny one hiding helpfully behind the lamppost. the council did plant the cherry plums I had the other day, so it is a bit possible.

I've just made jelly from a tree in my garden that had apples just like them on it it isn't one I planted so not sure what it is but it's made a sweetish jelly thats really nice and it's not killed us yet. Oh and the ducks love them.

It may not be technically a "crabapple", but it's definitely in the family, and all the other possibilities are edible. So, go ahead and make your jelly!

I think it probably is - it looks very similar to the fruit produced by my recently planted Malus sylvestris 'John Downie' (came with three fruits, two of which have now fallen off and one the last of which is being left for ornamental value... looking forward to a harvest next year).

Wulf

Thanks for your replies. The question was settled by Mrs Mal who said that if I couldn't guarantee it was an edible apple, she wasn't going to eat it or feed it to the Mal Juniors. No point making jam just for me, so I reverted to some Bramleys from next door's tree. Not quite hedgerow, but very tasty all the same.

Personally....Id say thats an ornamental crab, theres loads of varites & alot of councils plant them, (swindons one of them) wild crabs look simular but not as pretty, they usually have spots all over them & the leaf edges are serrated & end in a point, as im sure you know they grow in groups like cherries.
Trouble is theres alot of wild apple trees growing which produce smaller fruits & people think they are crab apples due to the size.....crab apples only grow in groups/clusters....like cherries ;-) & trees are usually small (compared to other apple trees)
You could have used it.....ive made jelly from ornamental crab apples, they are easier to get than wild ones sometimes !.