Also known as Princeton Cardinal, a bronze-leaved crab-apple with pink-red spring blossom and red fruitlets in the autumn.
Cardinal crab-apple identification images
All images copyright Orange Pippin unless otherwise stated.
USDA identification images for Cardinal
The identification paintings in the USDA Pomological Watercolor Collection span the years 1886 to 1942.
Citation: U.S. Department of Agriculture Pomological Watercolor Collection. Rare and Special Collections, National Agricultural Library, Beltsville, MD 20705.
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Tree register
We don't have any registered trees for this variety yet. If you have a Cardinal tree you can register it here.
Origins
- Species: Malus species - Crab-apple
Identification
- Awards: RHS AGM (current)
- Country of origin: United States
- Period of origin: 1950 - 1999
- Fruit colour: Red - dark
- Flower colour: Pink - dark
- Leaf colour: Bronze
- Flowering month: April
- Annual cycle: Deciduous
- Flowering duration: Long
- Flower form: Single flower (5-8 petals)
- Leaf colour - young: Dark bronze
- Leaf colour - autumn: Orange / Red
- Flower size: Large
- Fruit size: Small
Using
- Picking season: Late
- Cropping: Good
- Fruit persistence: Ripens over a period
- Wildlife: Attractive to birds
- Wildlife: RHS Plants for Pollinators
Growing
- Gardening skill: Beginner
- Flowering group: 4
- Pollinating others: Poor
- Ploidy: Triploid
- Ploidy: Tetraploid
- Vigour: Average vigour
- Growth habit: Spreading / Flat-topped
- Attractive features: Attractive flowers
- Attractive features: Attractive tree / plant
- Self-fertility: Partially self-fertile
- Height after 10 years: 3m-5m / 10ft-16ft
- Growth rate: Average
- Attractive features: Autumn foliage colour
- Attractive features: Scented flowers
- Soil type: Clay
- Useful for: Open spaces
Climate
- Cold hardiness (USDA): Zone 4 (-34C)
- Climate suitability: Temperate climates
- Climate suitability: Mild damp climates
- Cold-hardiness: Cold-hardy
- Summer average maximum temperatures: Cool ( 20-24C / 68-75F)
- Summer average maximum temperatures: Warm (25-30C / 76-85F)
- Cold hardiness (RHS): H6 (to -20C)
- Summer average maximum temperatures: Cold (< 20C / 67F)
Other qualities
- Disease resistance: Good
- Scab (Apple and Pear): Very resistant
- Powdery mildew: Some resistance
- Fire blight: Some resistance
- Cedar apple rust: Some resistance
Where to buy trees
The following tree nurseries offer Cardinal crab-apple trees for sale:
- Orange Pippin Fruit Trees (UK) United Kingdom
Cardinal crab-apple trees - Pippin Trees United Kingdom
Cardinal crab-apple trees
Where to buy fresh fruit
No orchards have registered as growing this variety. If you grow this and want to register please go to our Orchard Registration form.