Virginia Crab, aka Hewe's, is a vigorous, productive, healthy tree. Extremely cold hardy, it was once commonly used as a rootstock as far north as Maine. While this tree is more often grown for cider than as an ornamental, the midseason bloom is long lasting and makes this tree an excellent pollenizer. It is susceptible to fireblight and it will need to be thinned to maintain annual bearing.

Virginia Crab is one of the oldest and best American cider crabapples. The fruit is small, light green blushed with a pinkish red and it hangs on a long, slender stem. It yields a juice that is remarkably clear, fermenting to a full-bodied, biscuity cider that carries notes of cinammon. The apple has won high praise from cider makers since 1817, when William Coxe first described the "sweet and highly flavored" juice. Today, Albemarle Cider Works writes: "Our first reserve cider, Virginia Hewes Crab has a complexity rarely found in single varietals. Very balanced, with a bold body, this cider is floral and intense. It pairs well with sausage as well as nutty and mushroom flavors.  10% ABV."

This apple was a favorite of both George Washington and Thomas Jefferson, who liked his Hewe's blended with Golden Wilding. It remained one of America's favorite cider apples until Prohibition destroyed the cider industry in 1919. Unsuitable for fresh eating, Virginia Crab became a very rare tree until the modern cider revival, which has renewed interest in traditional varieties and methods. Fortunately, enough trees remained to provide material for new orchards. Virginia Crab has been added to the Slow Food Foundation's Ark of Taste, where a more detailed history of the apple can be read.