it looks like you give yours haircuts .. when do you do that.. ??? somewhere between flowering in spring.. and berries in fall ... look at the pics at the link ... you can tell.. which have been properly pruned... and which have been given haircuts.. google: rejuvenation pruning of flowering shrubs ... and you should be all set .. and no.. fertilizer is not the answer ... and if you have been giving it haircuts.. because it is growing aggressively.. that is a good sign it doesnt need fert... and in my world.. it will NEVER need fert .. i will step off my fert soapbox now.. and wish you luck ken Here is a link that might be useful: EDIT: God i hate when i forget the link This post was edited by ken_adrian on Sun, Feb 23, 14 at 17:50

I was thinking that but the crab apples I am familiar with have larger fruits (the largest of these were under 1/2 inch). The seeds are definitely apple seed-like, but the fruits more like berries than even the smallest of apples and they are basically rotting on the trees, accounting for the change in color. I seem to recall the crab apple tree in my backyard as a child would shed the apples to the ground. I also don't recall the leaves being serrated, but smooth edged. Obviously I know nothing of tree families and similarities or cultivars to make any kind of judgement. :) I am learning though!

Thank you for posting that, and thanks to the second poster for the link. Now I know why my 20 year old spicebush plant has never had berries -- they are either male or female. I don't know which mine is, but I have only one, so even if female, no berries. I'll have to get several more plants to ensure I have fruit someday. Hey, I do have another fun, native spice bearing plant, Prickly Ash, Xanthoxylum americanum. The Chinese version of this plant is the source of the spice Szechuan Peppercorns. The dry-ish berries of our native species are a bit smaller than those of the Chinese one, but taste exactly the same. I gathered about a cup of them last year from my six foot tall tree, dried them for a few days, then ground and bottled. Taste is like lemon-pepper, and, true to another common name, "Toothache Plant," it does leave you mouth and lips temporarily and superficially numb for a few minutes after eating (not at all unpleasant, sort of the same way hot pepper stays on the lips and palate for a bit). Very good in Asian dishes -- I found a recipe for a Chinese chicken salad called "Bang Bang Chicken" last year online that is very good, this is the predominant spice in the recipe.

I ordered a bundle of 25 three years ago and only kept a few because I thought they wouldn't be able to handle drought. Now I wish I had planted more. They're tougher than I thought they'd be. This summer was a good test. We were very short on rain and even the ones I didn't water pulled through. They're planted in full shade, with some mean root competition. They're growing slowly of course but I'm thrilled that they're alive and even if the ones in shade don't get a lot of berries, they still provide food for spicebush caterpillars.