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Laura

Malus
Laura has received the RHS Award of Garden Merit

Laura is one of the best of the columnar crab-apple trees, with a striking upright form, superb dusky pink blossom, dark red fruits - and also easy to grow.

Laura has a compact upright columnar or "fastigiate" habit. It is also naturally dwarfing and slow-growing, so it makes a good choice if you are looking for a crab-apple that will not take up much space in the garden.

The young leaves are bronze when they emerge, turning to a light bronze-green over the summer.

The two-tone blossom appears at about the same time as the leaves. It is very attractive, featuring dark pink flowers with lighter centres. The blossom stays on the tree for several weeks, noticeably longer than for regular apple trees.

The maroon-coloured fruits are large and persistent. Their size makes Laura an excellent choice for crab-apple jelly - and the red flesh lends a pretty red tint. Although it always remains a small tree, once established you should achieve a yield of 2kg of crab apples or more in good conditions, which will produce about 800ml after cooking, suitable for further processing into deep red jelly or sauce.

Laura crab-apple trees for sale

  • 11-year bare-root tree £36.75
    Small size (1.5m-2.5m after 10 years)
    (80cm)
  • 22-year bare-root tree £47.50
    Small size (1.5m-2.5m after 10 years)
  • 32-year pot-grown tree £62.00
    In a 12L pot
    Small size (1.5m-2.5m after 10 years)
Next deliveries

Order now for delivery from week commencing 6th January.

How to grow

Laura is a naturally dwarf slow-growing crab apple variety and the mature height will usually be around 2m-3m - although it will take 8-10 years to reach that height.

It is easy to grow, and has good disease resistance.

It has a strongly columnar form. Side shoots may develop, but they grow vertically close to the main stem.

If planting several together you can achieve a nice effect by spacing them about 1.5m - 2m apart.

We recommend that you do not prune this variety.

History

Laura was developed in the late 20th century by UK fruit tree enthusiast Hugh Ermen, who also raised a number of successful garden apple varieties.

Laura characteristics

  • Gardening skillBeginner
  • AwardsRHS AGM (current) - 2012
  • Attractive featuresAttractive flowersAttractive fruit
  • Growth habitColumnar / Fastigiate
  • Height after 10 years1.5m-2.5m / 5ft-8ft
  • SunlightPrefers full sun
  • PruningDo not prune
  • Growth rateAverage
  • Flower colourCrimson
  • Flowering monthMay
  • Leaf colourBronze
  • Leaf colour - autumnGreen
  • Food usesJam / Jelly
  • Country of originUnited Kingdom
  • Annual cycleDeciduous

Similar varieties

  • See also Admiration
    Malus halliana
    Admiration
    Admiration has a similar upright form to Laura, but features classic white blossom and much smaller fruitlets.
  • See also Aros
    Malus toringo
    Aros

What will it look like?

Illustrative example of a pot-grown tree of this variety as supplied. Approximate girth: 6/8cm. We try to keep all pot-grown trees down to about 1.5m as supplied, but some may be larger. Trees should reach their mature height after about 10 or more years. We may also have 1-year bare-root trees of this variety - they are not shown here.

Malus Laura crab apple tree

How to choose a crab-apple tree

We list more than 40 different crab-apple trees. Choosing can be difficult! See our article explaining the different characteristics of crab-apple trees which will help you narrow down the selection.