Featured Plant – Gladiator Flowering Crabapple
This month’s featured plant is a beautiful, flowering tree with stunning, glossy purple leaves and a compact shape that makes it perfect for smaller spaces.
Malus x adstringens ‘Durleo’ – or the Gladiator Rosybloom Crabapple – grows to about 20’ high, with a spread of about 6-9’. In the spring it’s covered with a profusion of gorgeous pink, fragrant blossoms, followed by small, purple ornamental fruits.
Gladiators are prairie-hardy, and resistant to apple scab, so they’re perfect for Calgary gardens. They prefer full sun, and moist, but well drained soil; and they definitely benefit from some regular pruning.
Garden design tip …
Here are some different ideas to help you create drama and impact around this beautiful, showy tree:
- - Shrubs with lime green foliage, such as junipers, spirea or ninebark provide a stunning contrast to Gladiator’s deep purple leaves.
- - Because Gladiator typically has a low crown, a grouping of low growing perennials around it will add colour without detracting from the tree’s natural display.
- - Plant a row of Gladiator crabapples to create a stunning hedge or barrier.
Here at Calgaryplants.com we have a full range of trees, shrubs, perennials, vines and grasses to help you create the perfect display in your yard. The full colour photographs and detailed descriptions, for each plant, will give you all the information and inspiration you need to create the garden of your dreams.