A very beautiful heirloom apple that stores well.
Robert's Crab Apple on B.118 (Spring 2025)
A crabapple with dramatic purple fruit that makes an excellent cider. Also known as Roberts Red.
This tree is self-fertile, precocious, and a heavy cropper. The bloom is profuse and dark pink. With its bronzed leaves and the striking fruit that holds well to the tree, Roberts is an outstanding landscaping addition.
This is a large crabapple, almost apple sized. The fruit has a purple skin with dry, red flesh yielding a juice that is considerably darker than that of other red-fleshed varieties. This fruit is not suitable for fresh eating, but it does make excellent cider, jams, and jellies. Regarding the cider, Dr. Ian Merwin of Black Diamond Cider says that the best rosé cider he has tasted was 100% Roberts Crab.
Fruit photographed at Black Diamond Farm, Trumansburg, NY
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The Fruit
Fruit Type
Category: Apple
Subcategory:
Crabapple, Red Flesh
Fruit Uses & Storage
Uses: cider, jam, jelly
Storage duration: less than one month (approximate, depending on storage conditions)
Fruit Appearance
Skin color: purple
Flesh color: red
Fruit Origins
Parentage:
Origin: United Kingdom
Introduced in:
Introduced by:
The Environment
Calendar & Geography
USDA zones: 5 - 7
Chill hours: Not yet determined
Ripening date: Sep 08 (approximate, in New York State) 7 days before McIntosh
Tree Height & Spacing
glossary
Rootstock: B.118 Rootstock
Rootstock size class: Semi-Standard (90% of Standard)
Tree spacing (natural spread of tree): 24'
Good for wildlife planting? N
Diseases & Pests
glossary
Fireblight: Very Susceptible
Pollination
Pollination Factors
glossary
Bloom group: 2
Is it self-fertile? Y
Is it fertile? Y
Ploidy: Diploid
Rootstock size class:
Semi-Standard (90% of Standard)
Pollination Partners
This table shows the first few results from a full search for pollenizers of Robert's Crab Apple on B.118. Please see our Pollenizer Search to run other queries and read how the application uses various factors. Also read more about fruit tree pollination.
See all pollination matches for Robert's Crab Apple on B.118
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