'Coralcole' not very inspiring out of bloom, with some leaf disease problems in addition to the foliage being dull-looking. Am seeing spots on opening leaves of 'Lollizam' at outlets here also - scab (if that's what it is) is prevalent in my area, if a cultivar is not resistant it is liable to be a bust. The "zam" in 'Lollizam' (Lollipop is a selling name) is from Zampini of Lake County [wholesale only] Nursery, Perry, OH. They have a whole series of dwarf flowering crabapple trees. Although 'Lollizam' is all I am noticing at outlets here, maybe another one of their introductions is on the retail market back there - or will be next year.

I don't think so......see no spines and most in the trade here stay shrub height and aren't trained to tree form. I have an atrosanguinea crab.........similar flower. Not typical to see a few fall blooms, but not really rare either. We had bizarre weather last winter over large swaths of the U.S. I have lyonia shrub in full bloom now, it is NOT a fall bloomer.

I pruned my Kouza dogwood over the course of its first 4 years (or so) to open up the interior and remove any crossing branches. This pruning created a well shaped tree, now 20 years later. Yes, remove the lower branches so it is not bushy, if you do not want bushy. Also, envision what it will look like as it matures with the branches you have and want to keep. Remember not to remove more than 20% or the branches in any given year so as not to stress the tree. There are good resources on "young tree training/pruning" which illustrate where to make pruning cuts, shaping a tree properly. Also, prune your tree for the location (such as removing branches which may grow to touch the house).

Thanks for everyone's comments and information. I'm OK with not knowing what I'll get from these trees, because after all, I didn't even purchase or plant them myself. The element of surprise will add to the enjoyment of growing the trees, especially after all of my efforts thus far. I've removed the winter chicken wire barrier and trimmed the bundle of spring suckers back to 5 shoots per tree. They're only about 12" tall thus far. I will water them deeply with trickling hose, as needed, throughout the summer in hopes of getting some sturdy shoots by the fall. In the past, the pencil-thin shoots have only had leaves running up the length of the stalks, but if they have branches or "off-shoots" by the time they are 4' tall, then I'll prune them back by half. Happy growing!