Crabapple as a squirrel and bird feeder

Crabapple blossoms from the Hale's back yard
Photo by Patricia Hale

After the article about squirrels and birds in Patty Hale's back yard going to great lengths to eat the crabapples left on the tree, a reader asked about the variety of the tree.

Patty says that the tree was well-established when she and her husband bought the house 30 years ago, and she has never needed to identify it beyond "crabapple."

Fruit and leaves of crabapple
in the Hale's back yard
Can anyone identify the variety?
Photo by Patricia Hale

"I can tell you that the flowers are wonderfully fragrant and the bees love them.  The fruit smells like apples - but is super tart.  In the fall the squirrels take one bite and spit it out.  So, the birds and squirrels usually wait until the first good frost to eat them.  I am guessing that a good freeze breaks down the sugar content and makes them sweeter - or there is not much else in the way of fruit available to eat."