Malus sylvestris 'European Crab Apple' [Ex. Co. Durham, England] 20+ SEEDS

Malus sylvestris 'European Crab Apple'

[Ex. Co. Durham, England]

I have managed to get my hands on a limited amount of seed from the country’s champion Crab Apple tree. The tree was last measured in 2001, when it was recorded by the Tree Register at 3.55m in girth and 6m in height. I have no idea of it age but I would guess it will be between 200 – 300 years old. Its trunk is fantastically burred and completely hollow, and truly massive for a crab apple tree. The tree is still full of live, and will hopefully have a good few years left in it. 

Rosaceae: a small tree to 10m, sometimes tall and slender if growing in woodland, or more spreading if found in a hedgerow. Bark is a deep brown colour, cracking into small oblong plates. The branches may be spiny on the twigs and branches. The flowers are up to 4cm across and are usually white, but sometimes showing a pinkish tinge. The fruits are up to 4cm in diameter and rounded, yellowish green, often flushed with red, they have a hard woody texture and a very sour taste, but can make an excellent jelly. A native tree of a wide area of Europe, including Britain and Ireland, but not found in the far north.

USES:

The fruit can be used raw or cooked, used for jellies, preserves and juices. The flavour improves considerably if the fruit is not harvested until it has been frosted. The fruit is rich in pectin and can be used in helping other fruits to set when making jam. Pectin is also said to protect the body against radiation. An edible oil can be obtained from the seed, it would only really be viable to use these seeds as an oil source if the fruit was being used for some purpose such as making cider and then the seeds could be extracted from the remaining pulp. Also a very pleasant tea can be made from the leaves.

The fruit act as an astringent and laxative. The crushed fruit pulp can be used as a poultice to heal inflammations or small flesh wounds. The fruit is eaten to obviate constipation. The bark, and especially the root bark, is anthelmintic, refrigerant and soporific. An infusion is used in the treatment of intermittent, remittent and bilious fevers. The leaves contain up to 2.4% of an antibacterial substance called 'florin', this inhibits the growth of a number of gram-positive and gram-negative bacteria.

GROWING INFORMATION:

Crab Apple seeds have a deep dormancy within them, this requires a degree of patience to overcome and it is usually quite easy to get good levels of germination if the correct procedures are followed.

To begin soak the seeds in warm water for 24 hours and then drain away the water.

Next prepare a free draining substrate into which the seeds are to be mixed, this can be a 50/50 mixture of compost and sharp sand, or perlite, vermiculite. The chosen substrate needs to be moist (but not wet), if you can squeeze water out of it with your hand it is too wet and your seeds may drown and die. Mix the seeds into the substrate, making sure that there is enough volume of material to keep the seeds separated.

Place the seed mixture into a clear plastic bag (freezer bags, especially zip-lock bags are very useful for this -provided a little gap is left in the seal for air exchange) If it is not a zip-lock type bag it needs to be loosely tied. Then write the date on the bag so that you know when the pre-treatment was started.

The mixed seeds first require a period of warm pre-treatment to allow the seed embryo to mature and need to be kept in temperatures of 20°C for a period of at least 2 weeks - it is not critical if it lasts a week or two longer than this. During this time make sure that the pre-treatment medium does not dry out at any stage or it will be ineffective!

Next the seeds require a cold period to break the final part of the dormancy, this is easily achieved by placing the bag in the fridge 4°C for around 12 weeks. It is quite possible for the seeds to germinate in the bag at these temperatures when they are ready to do so, if they do, just remove them from the bag and carefully plant them up.

Once the pre-treatment period has finished the seeds can be sown. Plant them about 5mm deep in a pot containing good quality compost. Keep them in a warm place at around room temperature and germination should begin within 1-2 weeks.

Do not expose newly sown seeds to high temperatures (above 25°C) otherwise a secondary dormancy may be induced and the seeds will not germinate until they have been pre-treated again. Keep the seedlings well-watered and weed free. Growth in the first year is usually between 30-60cm and usually trouble free. Allow them to grow for 1-2 years before planting them in a permanent position.

HARVESTED: 

 

APPROX. 20+ SEEDS