Columnar Purple Crabapples

I don't know anything about them. I just googled columnar purple crabapple.

Dax

If the site has decent soil and irrigation, you could consider Red Fox Katsura.

Good suggestions gents. I thought about columnar crabapples after the fact but all seem to bronze and turn greenish. I came across Malus x Dreamweaver which may warrant some additional reserach.

I considered Red Forx Katsura off the bat but it looks like that one turns bluish green as the summer progresses.

I like 'Crimson Frost' birch myself. Just be aware-with its Betula pendula parentage (partial), it will be very prone to bronze birch borer. Not necessarily a deal-breaker, just something that will have to be watched.

Then too, as mentioned above, purple/red-foliaged crabs have proven especially attractive to Japanese beetles. So there's that.

+oM

I never considered those birch trees as they've always looked scraggly. I then noticed you guys mentioned two different cultivars which I thought there one in the same.

Looks like Crimson Frost has better color but Royal Frost (a hybrid of Crimson Frost and Whitespire) makes for a denser more borer resistant cultivar.

Color is similar although by mid-summer Royal Frost in a shiny deep bronze green (still very attractive). Royal Frost has better vigor/density, good borer resistance, and better fall color. Also, the branches don't appear as weeping as they do with Crimson Frost.

Most growers stopped producing Crimson Frost 5-10 years ago in place of Royal Frost. Crimson Frost is very susceptible to BBB.

In my experience if you are out in the middle of the country with incessant winds and general exposure Royal Frost can be difficult to keep straight or have the density needed to maintain an attractive look. In a more protected area the leaves are larger and the plant keeps a more upright, dense form. To create a dense look I try to use at least 3 either grown as single stem specimens and planted fairly closely together or to get a multi-stem specimen where 3-4 strong leaders have been selected.

Be aware that Japanese Beetles can nibble on either variety. In areas where there is plenty for them to eat it doesn't seem to be an issue and they tend to avoid Royal Frost. If you are out somewhere where they lack any food they can completely eat the foliage within a couple of days. This is not the norm, but I have had it happen twice in recent years.

What about Gladiator crabapple -athough may not be purple enough for you?

The Crimson Pointe is really pretty. I might get one

Royal Frost birch is susceptible to bronze birch borer. I believe Evergreen Nursery (WI) introduced it, and their own description says it is not borer resistant (see link).Royal Frost Birch

Agreed it is not completely resistant (though I've yet to see one die from ANY cause). But in Iowa State trials and for growers across the country it has proven much more resistant than many white barked birches or any other purple leaved birch. Growers (even here in the Midwest) can produce fields of them without losing a tree. The previous purple leaved selection, Crimson Frost, was obliterated by BBB. It is a similar story with Dakota Pinnacle Birch. It is not completely resistant and yet when planted among other white barked birches infested with BBB the borers do not tend to decimate the trees and landscape survival is very high.

The key with any white barked birch is keeping the roots cool and providing a nice wide mulch ring around the tree to reduce stress. I've yet to witness a Royal Frost succumb to any borer damage, with dozens of them in my local area making it through the incredible drought here in Iowa in 2012 without missing a beat or becoming borer infested. Every tree has a potential downside, but for me the beauty of Royal Frost in all four seasons is worth possibly losing it one day to BBB.

I really liked the 'Crimson Frost' I had planted out front-in a good location with a wide mulch ring and careful attention to water. It however did eventually get hammered by BBB. I did not take any chemical preventative steps, but culturally, yes.

So if the newer 'Royal Frost' has greater BBB resistance conferred on it, could be a great plant.

+oM

I always admire a 'Crimson Frost' I pass on my way to town at a farmhouse. I always tell myself that I'm going to get a few cuttings someday... while that hasn't happened in years approaching a decade, I still look at that tree nearly each time I pass it.

Dax

Dax, somebody up above mentioned the idea to plant maybe three of them in a little grouping. Even though that's not what I had done back when, I think it a good idea from a design standpoint. The crowns are really narrow. So unless you specifically need that growth form, you might consider a threesome.

Whaas, we planted quite a bunch of 'Crimson Sentry' NM's back when that was anew cultivar. I initially liked the idea-for the purpose of under-wires, streetside or constricted space usage. I like them less now, having had some time to watch. Not a lot of growth-maybe a benefit in some situations-but to me, not even that great of a color. More of a dull brownish-red, IMO.

+oM

Dirr (Manual of Woody Landscape Plants) also notes that Royal Frost is susceptible to BBB. Too many nurseries are calling this variety borer resistant when in fact it is not. How quickly Royal Frost and other susceptible white birches succumb to borers is not only a function of keeping roots cool/watering/mulching, but also correlated to the BBB pressure in the area. Where BBB is abundant, you're better off planting varieties with proven borer resistance.

I agree, arbordave. If anything, it all always circles back around to, what birch is going to have the best resistance to this native pest-BBB? The answer is, of course, native birches! Not that you will get red/purple foliage on any of those. And as useful a plant as river birch is, it pains me to see it-and not B. papyrifera-on list after list of "native" plants. Native where? Even within Wisconsin, river birch only occupies areas along and to the west of the Wisconsin River. Everywhere else-wherever any birches are native, it's papyrifera and of course B. allegheniensis where that one occurs, mostly to the north. But one will never ever ever see Betula papyrifera on these lists. Come on plant list compilers, it was all those ill-suited European cultivars and species that were so hammered by BBB.

You don't think I get a little riled up about this, do you!?!

+oM

All, appreciate the dialog! Defintely some new points/cultivars that was able to dig into further.

Select landscapes,

What point where you making on Dakota Pinnacle? Its actually the only Birch in my yard and curious as to your obersvations on this cultiar.

Tom,

I always thought the best white barked brich for borer reistance was 'Whitespire' but over the years that has not held true. The native B. papyrifera seem to fair ok around here as they are moderatley suseptible to BBB. I came across the cultivar 'Avalanche' which is reported to have better than average BBB resistance. Wonder if that has held true. Your comment on Crimson Sentry...is that growth rate or foilage density? My plant has vibrant purple color as the leaves emerge but does mature to a dull brownish purple red. Still better than the bronze green you get from other plants.

Shilanorth,
Do you have Gladiator crabapple? The pics seem to show the foilage maturing to that bronze green color. Looks to have solid disease resistance compared to other purple leaf crabapples.

The Crimson Pointe Plum looks interesting but I just can't get myself to plant one even though Forest Farm has 1 gallon plants for $19.

Hi whaas,

The point I was trying to make with the Dakota Pinnacle is that even though it is a Betula platyphylla cultivar, which is extremely susceptible to BBB, it has shown good resistance to the insect when planted out over a wide variety of sites (from North Dakota to Georgia). The same has been the case across many Midwest sites for Royal Frost Birch. Even though they both have lineage which suggests they could be very susceptible to BBB we haven't seen it here. Just as we are selecting native elms that have proven resistant to DED there are certain non-native birches which have also proven to have above average resistance to BBB. And maybe it does depend on the part of the country they're growing in, I don't know for sure.

Resistant and susceptible are both terms that have some vagueness in them. For example, if a plant is resistant, how resistant is it? If it is susceptible, how susceptible is it? Resistant does not mean immune and susceptible does not mean certain death. For us in Iowa both Royal Frost and Dakota Pinnacle have above average resistance to BBB.

In fact, they're two of the only birches that can be used in high pH soils with great success. They are also incredibly heat tolerant. For general landscape use paper birch does not do well here, and river birch does not do well in the higher pH or drought stricken soils (though we use it fairly regularly for sites with medium to low pH). I would love to see the Yellow Birch or Sweet Birch become more widely available in the trade or a selection made from them that does well in a variety of Midwest sites.

Worse come to worse, I would apply Imidacloprid annually if I thought my birches were going to end up with BBB. Time will tell with both cultivars. Until then I'll enjoy them for their four season appeal and the 2-2.5' of growth they put out every year!

Bruce

What was I thinking ? The picture I posted was Thunderchild. This is Gladiator.

Hi +oM, I'm not enough of a fan of purple to plant another. On my
six acres I have one tree with purple foliage and that's all I'm gonna
do. I take that back, I would consider a fastigiate crabapple. Seems
they're all over in Europe, however. I did see that Sooner Plant Farm is going
to be selling Gladiator. The one I really like is that Dreamweaver.Dax

Whaas, 'Whitespire' is another birch that gets my dander up, lol! It's a dog in all respects, misnamed (It's a gray birch cultivar, not platyphilla or whatever the claim always is), is not very white-barked, and in all respects just spins things drastically wrong, IMO. I think it was even promoted or developed by UW-W. Anyway, yeah, not one of my favorites, not even one which I would consider worthy of living, again lol'ing here. As to 'Avalanche', I have no idea. I am absolutely, strongly biased here though and I'll freely admit it. In my woods up north, which I sometimes consider a kind of racist place, the predominant species are white cedar, white (or paper) birch and white pine, lol! I like just the species-run plants as they grow....and this is huge with me...where they occur naturally. So in a sense, my input here is of limited usefulness. In my paradigm, I'd probably question the need for any birch to be planted in places where they did not occur naturally, there being-again, to my view-so many better choices. But guys like Select Landscapes, etc. don't always have the luxury of adopting this point of view...I get that...and so, the hunt for a more widely-adapted birch will continue.

Up in my woods, the paper birch are happy, healthy, and in some cases, truly enormous. Somehow down in the swamp, there are numerous replications of where a white cedar and a white birch have grown up together, their trunks in direct contact at the base, with the one seeming to embrace the other. To bad I'm so lame at posting pics. I bet a lot of people would really get a kick out of that. The "cedar" dates from forest fires in the 1930s, I am led to believe, and the birch, not being very shade-tolerant, probably got its start right around then too. So the birch grow much faster than the cedar and tower over them. Plus, there are yellow birch in that woods. My yellow birch may be intergrades with the paper birch though. I've heard they can do that and the yellows are not quite as attractive as those in hilly, more northern hardwood stands all over northern Wisconsin and Upper Michigan. But all in all, quite the place. Springs like crazy too. The only really good time to walk back in there is winter.

'Crimson Sentry' maples are very dense, pretty much on a par with most healthy Norway maples. But like you describe, a muddy color. Oh and Select landscapes....I concur with you....those terms leave a lot of room for slop. They're the best we've got, but it takes experience within one area, plus book knowledge, both of which you've obviously got, to make good predictions as to what plant might do what. Oh, and my Iowa comments pertained to all but that little area around McGregor which is so fascinating and looks so much like areas much farther north. I'm sure one or more birch species are native in that little pocket.

+oM

Select Landscapes (Bruce) - I appreciate your comments on Royal Frost (and other birches). It's good to get a perspective from a different part of the country. Tree varieties certainly do vary in their performance depending on local conditions. Perhaps in your area there are fewer birches in general and therefore BBB pressure is relatively low. And as you pointed out, Royal Frost appears less susceptible than most other non-native birches. But I think it's wise to caution against planting ANY susceptible birch varieties in areas where BBB is prevalent. When the introducer of the variety AND a leading authority both say the tree is "not resistant", it's probably safe to assume that the tree has a real problem with borers. Unfortunately many references still make the unqualified claim that the tree is "resistant".

But back to the OP's original question ... 'Te Terra Red' Filbert might be another option (although like Red Fox Katsura its color probably fades through the summer) - has anyone seen this variety available in the US?

Thanks. I agree- maybe the non-native birches here in Iowa are simply not as prevalent as other states and therefore pest populations are low. Actually you can go into most small towns and there are quite a few of the Betula pendula types as mature specimens, even on very windy farmsteads. All I've learned of Royal Frost is from personal experience and nurseries growing them in WI, MN, and IA.

I haven't seen the red filberts locally but I do know both the Morton Arboretum and Rutgers University have been crossing filberts with hopes of a red leaved tree or other types.

What would be great would be a cross of Corylus fargesii with the red-leaved types that has hybrid vigor!

Bruce

Select, I agree with Dakota. Although its young yet it shows quite a bit of promise with its catkins, compact habit, nice central leader, white bark and golden fall color (which it hung unto late in the year, unphased by freezes).

Tom, I hear ya on the landscape vs species arguments. I'm certainly tuning in as I'll someday have a larger property that I'll certainly expand on with natives and species plants. Its one of the reasons I love arboretums as they have a nice balance of cultivars and species.

Whaas,

We have a row of Dakota Pinnacles we planted at an assisted living facility around 6 years ago. Starting out at around 7' tall they have grown to over 22' tall and around 8' wide.

For us they are one of the last trees to turn color in the fall. If it is a long, warm fall the color can be a glowing yellow-orange and is simply spectacular. I've had a hard time finding them from wholesalers any more so have gone to using the newer columnar oaks instead.

At the same place I have some Royal Frost Birches that are near enough for cross-pollination. Have been wanting to collect the seed in hopes of a dense, pyramidal purple-leaved birch.

Bruce

For my part, thanks for putting up with my various rants and veerings off-topic! I get carried away, the only saving grace perhaps is that I know it!

It's all about perspective-like every other darn aspect of life-what layer of the onion are you viewing reality from, so what matters to me up at my wild menagerie is not exactly pertinent to someone who just wants a narrow-ish, purplish landscape tree. Not that I think I'm wrong in what I've said, but it's not always necessarily a part of the main thread topic. I do that a lot.

+om