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grancami

Malus Prairie Fire - what size??

grancami
10 years ago

I've just bought a Malus Prairie Fire intending to plant it in a border. The details on the label were as follows:

Malus Prairie Fire C.4L 80/100

I live in France and understood this to mean Malus Prairie Fire in a 4 litre pot with a height of 80 - 100 cms.

However, on doing a Google search I find that this Malus can reach 4 metres!

What am I to believe as I can't plant it until I find out!!

Comments (7)

  • brandon7 TN_zone7
    10 years ago

    "What am I to believe as I can't plant it until I find out!!"

    Trees don't just grow to a specific height and then stop growing. Most nursery tags describe an "average" expected height, given "average" conditions, after a certain amount of time. The figures on the tags, and on most internet guides / nursery websites, rarely are meant to represent expected ultimate size.

    Trees, and plants in general, often perform significantly different given different conditions. It isn't unusual at all for a tree to commonly grow twice as large in southern American states as that same type of tree typically would in northern states (assuming it is hardy over a wide range).

    All that said, 4 meters is small for a mature 'Prairiefire' around here.

  • Embothrium
    10 years ago

    Here in North America this highly popular variety has already become obsolete due to disease problems. Such occurrences are not peculiar to this continent, in Britain some issue recently resulted in a major scaling back of which kinds the RHS was recommending. So I am not sure this is a good time to be planting a crabapple that is not known to be cast iron, especially when spoiling difficulties have already been seen with the kind chosen. You might later wish you had planted another kind of tree.

    I have the same cultivar here and it rapidly becomes quite poor in aspect as the growing season progresses. When I get around to it specimen will be "de-accessioned".

  • ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5
    10 years ago

    the tag you are looking at is a tag the wholesaler used to ID his stock .... he supplied an 80 to 100 cm plant per the contract ...

    do not confuse that with this trees potential ...

    which you can easily find by googling it.. and flipping to images ... see link

    plus what they said above ...

    ken

    Here is a link that might be useful: link

  • gardengal48 (PNW Z8/9)
    10 years ago

    Here in North America this highly popular variety has already become obsolete due to disease problems.

    We are talking about 'Prairie Fire', are we not? If so, I have an extremely hard time accepting the above as even slightly true, as all other crabapple resources continue to list this cultivar as one of the best performers and extremely disease resistant, including our local WSU crabapple evaluation program: " 'Prairifire' stands out among the pink-blooming crabapples for its strong, vibrant color, long-lasting late bloom, and disease resistance, best of the pink varieties so far tested."

    And I'd hardly call it obsolete - it is currently being grown and offered by all manner of wholesalers, not to mention sold by most local retailers. And all that I've encountered in the landscape look just fine - no issues at all.

    Mature size under ideal conditions should be about 20'X15-18'.

  • Embothrium
    10 years ago

    Your usual harrumphing bluster notwithstanding, there is a definite basis for what I said.

  • grancami
    Original Author
    10 years ago

    Thanks for all your comments everyone, albeit from across that pond!!

    I think that Ken is correct is saying that the tag was giving present information and not future/eventual height/spread.

    It is a splendid plant covered in flowers/buds and I would like to think that it will flourish for many years, like the examples that Ken sent in his link - thanks Ken. However, the news of "spoiling difficulties" which I can only think are viruses/diseases are not welcome at this moment. I shall plant it tomorrow in an open aspect and hope to see some fruit in the Autumn.

  • gardengal48 (PNW Z8/9)
    10 years ago

    Your usual harrumphing bluster notwithstanding, there is a definite basis for what I said.

    Your usual rudeness notwithstanding, prove it! Provide some verifiable independent documentation that supports your contention. Have seen NO evidence personally, there sure is nothing that addresses it online nor do any of my suppliers indicate problems. Seems like more of your typical much ado about nothing.