Crabapple - Harvest Gold
Crabapple - Harvest Gold is a striking ornamental tree that features fragrant white spring blossoms, vibrant golden-yellow fruit lasting into winter, and rich fall foliage. With exceptional disease resistance and an elegant upright form, it’s a low-maintenance choice for year-round beauty in any landscape.
15'-20'
15'-20'
Full to Partial Sun
up to 4 ft.
4
Rounded
When you think of a crabapple, you likely picture pink flowers and red fruit. But what if a tree could offer you a beautiful spring bloom and then surprise you with a spectacular, unique display of golden-yellow fruit that lasts all winter long? If that sounds like a delightful twist on a classic, then it’s time you met the Harvest Gold® Crabapple.
The Harvest Gold® Crabapple, or Malus 'Hargozam', is a variety celebrated for its fantastic four-season interest. It starts with a lovely spring flower show, offers clean green foliage all summer, and then puts on its main event. In the fall, it becomes covered in cheerful, golden-yellow fruit that clings to the branches, providing a brilliant pop of color against the gray skies and white snow of winter. It’s a tough, disease-resistant, and beautiful tree for any sunny garden.
When you think of a crabapple, you likely picture pink flowers and red fruit. But what if a tree could offer you a beautiful spring bloom and then surprise you with a spectacular, unique display of golden-yellow fruit that lasts all winter long? If that sounds like a delightful twist on a classic, then it’s time you met the Harvest Gold® Crabapple.
The Harvest Gold® Crabapple, or Malus 'Hargozam', is a variety celebrated for its fantastic four-season interest. It starts with a lovely spring flower show, offers clean green foliage all summer, and then puts on its main event. In the fall, it becomes covered in cheerful, golden-yellow fruit that clings to the branches, providing a brilliant pop of color against the gray skies and white snow of winter. It’s a tough, disease-resistant, and beautiful tree for any sunny garden.
Why You'll Love the Harvest Gold® Crabapple
This tree is a smart and beautiful choice that brings something special to the landscape.
- A Unique Golden Harvest: This is its most outstanding feature. In autumn, the tree is laden with clusters of bright, golden-yellow crabapples. Unlike many varieties whose fruit drops and makes a mess, the fruit of Harvest Gold® is very persistent. It hangs on the branches well into winter, providing a stunning visual and a welcome feast for visiting birds.
- A Lovely Spring Bloom: Before the golden fruit comes a classic spring display. The tree produces lovely pink buds that open into a profusion of single, fragrant, crisp white flowers, creating a beautiful cloud of blossoms.
- Excellent Disease Resistance: This is a modern, improved variety with excellent resistance to the most common crabapple diseases, particularly apple scab. This means the foliage stays clean and attractive all season long with minimal fuss from you.
- An Attractive, Upright Shape: The Harvest Gold® grows in a pleasant, upright, oval shape that is dense and nicely symmetrical. It’s a tidy form that fits well into many landscape designs.
Finding the Perfect Spot
The Harvest Gold® Crabapple is easy to please. Give it a sunny home, and it will reward you with years of beauty.
- Hardiness Zones: This very hardy tree is a reliable performer in a wide range of climates, thriving in USDA Zones 3-8.
- Sunlight: To get the best flowers and the most abundant golden fruit, you absolutely must plant your Harvest Gold® Crabapple in full sun. A spot that receives six or more hours of direct sunlight is essential.
- Soil: It is adaptable to a variety of soil types but will perform best in a moist, well-drained, slightly acidic loam. As long as it has good drainage, it is not overly picky.
- Can it grow in a container? No. This is a medium-sized tree that needs to be planted in the ground to develop the strong root system necessary to support its structure and heavy fruit load.
Simple Care for a Golden Tree
Thanks to its great disease resistance, the Harvest Gold® is wonderfully low-maintenance.
- Watering: Water your new tree regularly and deeply for its first year or two in the ground. This helps it establish a strong root system. Once mature, it has good drought tolerance.
- Pruning: This tree has a great natural shape and requires very little pruning. The best time to prune is in late winter or very early spring while the tree is dormant. You should only need to remove any dead, damaged, or crossing branches.
- Feeding: In most average garden soils, your crabapple will not need much fertilizer. If your soil is poor, a light feeding in the spring with a balanced, all-purpose tree fertilizer is sufficient.
- Pollination: The Harvest Gold® Crabapple is self-fertile, so you only need one tree to get its beautiful golden fruit.
A Closer Look: Flowers and Fruit
In mid-spring, delicate pink buds open to reveal pristine white, fragrant blossoms about an inch across. The main attraction follows in the fall. The tree becomes covered in small, 3/8-inch crabapples that ripen to a brilliant, cheerful, golden yellow. The fruit is very firm and not meant for human consumption, but it is a perfect, long-lasting decorative feature and a favorite winter food source for birds like cedar waxwings and robins.
Your Tree’s Journey: From Sapling to Sunshine
The Harvest Gold® grows at a moderate pace, becoming a beautiful feature in a reasonable amount of time.
- Years 1-3: The young tree will focus on establishing its roots, with steady growth. It may produce its first flowers and a few golden fruits in its third year.
- Years 4-6: Growth will continue at a moderate pace. Flowering will become much more profuse, and the tree will begin to reliably produce a full crop of its beautiful, persistent golden fruit.
At Maturity: The Harvest Gold® Crabapple will typically reach a mature size of about 20 feet tall with a spread of about 15 feet wide.
Staying Healthy and Pest-Free
As mentioned, the Harvest Gold® has excellent built-in disease resistance. Planting it in a sunny location with good air circulation is the best way to ensure it stays healthy and vibrant. It's one of the most trouble-free and reliable crabapples you can plant.
The Perfect Choice for Four-Season Interest
For the gardener who wants more than just a fleeting spring display, the Harvest Gold® Crabapple is a perfect choice. It’s a tree that offers something beautiful in every season. It provides spring flowers, summer shade, and most uniquely, a brilliant golden display that brightens the landscape through the darkest days of winter. It’s a cheerful, tough, and easy-care tree that brings a unique touch of sunshine to any garden.
