Red Peacock Crabapple – Malus ‘Red Peacock’


Red Peacock Crabapple

color photo red peacock crabapple in bloom

Red Peacock at Crabapple Lake is 19 years old

Red Peacock crabapple was discovered in 1969 and patented in 1989, being a controlled cross of seed parent Malus ‘Molten Lava’ with pollen parent Malus ‘Luwick’ x ‘Zumi’. The cultivar was tested at the famous Klehm Nursery at Barrington, Illinois, and found to have:

Abundant annual large coral-pink buds open to soft pink, 1 to 1.25″ ruffled blossoms
Well-textured mint-green, disease resistant foliage is light & airy in appearance
Bears abundant, winter-persistent shiny orange-red apples (no fruit drop)
Upright habit when young becoming somewhat semi-weeping at maturity
Red Peacock Crabapple trees“A fully mature tree at 30 years will reach 20 to 25 feet tall and a spread of 20 feet.” The specimen pictured here is 19 years old.

‘Red Peacock’ is resistant to the five most common crabapple diseases; apple scab, cedar-apple rust, fire blight, frog-eye leaf spot and powdery mildew.  “Due to its form and prolific flowering/fruiting habit, (red peacock) is readily distinguishable from other flowering crabapple varieties” (boilerplate patent claim).

Reference: Red Peacock Crabapples, Morton Arboretum accs. 73-90-1,2 & 3, photos: Bruce Marlin

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