Autumn 2024Order now for delivery from week commencing 4th November for pot grown trees or December for bare-root or mixed tree orders.
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Red Sentinel

Malus x robusta
Red Sentinel has received the RHS Award of Garden Merit

Red Sentinel is one of our most popular crab-apples, and has year-round appeal. Firstly, it is a shapely tree and has a pleasing presence in a larger garden or open space.

In spring it is covered with a mass of delicate white blossom, wihlst in autumn there are dense clusters of small persistent red fruits.

In fact Red Sentinel has some of the most persistent fruits of all crab-apples. You can be fairly sure they will cling on until Christmas or even beyond, regardless of the weather, making it an attractive focal point for the garden as well as providing a useful food resource for birds.

Red Sentinel crab-apple trees for sale

  • 12-year pot-grown tree £61.00
    In a 11.5L pot
    Very small size (< 1.5m after 10 years)
    (patio)
  • 21-year bare-root tree £36.75
    Large size (3m-5m after 10 years)
  • 32-year pot-grown tree £61.00
    In a 12L pot
    Large size (3m-5m after 10 years)
Next deliveries

Order now for delivery from week commencing 4th November for pot grown trees or December for bare-root or mixed tree orders.

How to grow

Red Sentinel is one of the most disease-resistant of crab-apples. It is also a good pollinator for mainstream apple varieties in flowering groups 2 and 3.

Red Sentinel characteristics

  • Gardening skillBeginner
  • AwardsRHS AGM (current) - 1993RHS AM - 1959
  • Attractive featuresAttractive flowersAttractive fruitAttractive tree / plant
  • Growth habitUpright-spreading / Vase
  • Height after 10 years3m-5m / 10ft-16ft
  • Growth rateAverage
  • WildlifeAttractive to birds
  • Flower colourWhite
  • Leaf colourGreen
  • Fruit colourRed
  • Fruit persistencePersistent - Fruits can persist to Christmas and beyond.
  • Food usesJam / Jelly
  • Annual cycleDeciduous

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 Gorgeous 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.

This variety description was researched and written by Orange Pippin staff. Last checked: 2023.