Crab Apple, Pyrus Malus - 0.5 kg Seeds

Malus baccata, the Siberian or Himalayan Crab Apple (often listed under the old name Pyrus malus), is a small to medium deciduous tree of the rose family with a spreading crown, a spring flush of fragrant white blossom and clusters of small, tart, cherry-sized red or yellow crab apples.

Its greatest economic use is as a hardy, vigorous rootstock onto which commercial apple varieties are grafted; it is also a fine ornamental for its spring flowers and colourful autumn fruit, and the little apples are made into jellies and preserves. It is native to the temperate Himalaya and grows in the cool hill regions of Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand and Jammu and Kashmir, needing a temperate climate with adequate winter chilling and well-drained soils.

• Family: Rosaceae
• Native region: Himalaya and temperate Asia
• Mature height: 5-10 m
• Growth rate: Moderate

The seeds require cold to break dormancy. Clean them from the fruit and cold-stratify them in moist sand in a refrigerator for about 6-8 weeks, then sow about 1 cm deep in a well-drained tray kept cool. Germination follows over roughly 30 or more days as the weather warms; grow the seedlings on for a season under part shade and transplant once well rooted and sturdy, after which they can later be used as grafting stock.