Whitney Crab
Whitney Crab is a heritage crabapple celebrated for its cold-hardiness, vibrant color, and bright, subacid flavor—perfect for kitchen use and ornamental spring interest.
- Taste: Subacid with a slightly aromatic bite and a touch of astringency for those who enjoy a brisk-tart note
- Skin & Flesh Color: Yellow to greenish-yellow base streaked and flushed with carmine-red; creamy yellow, juicy flesh that browns readily when cut
- Harvest Season: Mid to late season (late September)
- Disease Resistance: Excellent resistance to apple scab, fire blight, and cedar-apple rust; moderate tolerance to powdery mildew
- Best Uses: Sauces, jellies, cider blends, chutneys, and fresh eating for fans of tart, astringent apples
- Storage Life: Fair—holds 2–4 weeks under cool, humid storage; processed preserves retain bright color and flavor for months
- Pollination: Largely self-fertile (Pollination Group A) but sets heavier crops when cross-pollinated with mid-season apples or other crabapples,
- Prefered as a pollinator for other varieties due to it’s long bloom time.
- Chill Hours: Approximately 600–800 hours; reliably hardy to USDA Zone 3
- Tree Habit & Size: Moderately vigorous with an upright to spreading form and gracefully drooping branch tips; on standard rootstock matures to 15–20 ft, or 10–12 ft on semi-dwarfing rootstocks
- Blossom & Ornamental Appeal: Abundant clusters of pink-tinged white spring blossoms followed by masses of small red fruit that persist into winter
- Origin & Heritage: Raised by A.R. Whitney in Franklin Grove, Illinois, around 1865 and first documented in 1869; long prized on homesteads for its toughness, prolific blooms, and versatile fruit
