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The Camelot Crabapple Tree

By Author Renee Dugan

Posted on  - Last updated:

Crabapple trees are beautiful landscaping ornamentals and are often enjoyed as edible fruits. But why should large landscapers have all the fun?

The Camelot Crabapple tree is a smaller crabapple variety that fills in the gap, making it possible for folks in all kinds of living spaces to enjoy the beauty of a crabapple tree in their landscaping and garden decor.

Read on to learn about the small Camelot Crabapple tree…including how to grow, consume, and more.

These crabapple trees can be notoriously difficult to find. Be sure to check places like Nature Hills and Amazon for availability.

Crabapple trees similar to the camelot crabapple with red blossoms in spring

Characteristics of Camelot Crabapple Trees

The Camelot Crabapple tree is a dwarf cultivar crabapple variety. This makes it the ideal crabapple tree for growing in smaller landscaping environments, in city gardens, or even as a specimen plant. At its full maturity, the Camelot Crabapple tree peaks at just ten feet tall, with a mature spread of about 8 feet.

Despite its comparatively diminutive stature, the Camelot Crabapple tree certainly does not lack beauty! This round-shaped cultivar boasts deep, dark emerald leaves with a leathery texture and a tinge of red.

Each spring, the tree peeps through with soft, red buds which open into stunning white flowers tinted in a bright Fuschia pink. These colorful traits alone make it quite a popular landscaping variety!

The fruit of the Camelot Crabapple tree is about a half inch in size and burgundy in color. They tend to fall into what might be considered the more classically tart crabapple showcase. These fruits ripen over the summertime and can be harvested to make preserves and jams.

However, due to that inherently tart flavor profile, most people prefer to leave their Camelot Crabapple fruits for the birds! When left over in the wintertime, these crabapples serve as a primary food source for a lot of nonmigratory birds.

Fast Facts About Camelot Crabapple Trees

crabapple similar to the velvet pillar crabapple

Eating The Fruit

Because the Camelot Crabapple is such a tart crabapple, it does best when made into a preserve, jam, or jelly. It’s not recommended for raw snacking.

It’s important to be aware that while the tree is a great food source for birds, the fruit is toxic to dogs, cats, and horses. This is due to trace amounts of cyanide contained in the fruit, similar to what can be found in many dark berries.

Be sure that your pets and free-roaming animals in your area do not consume any crabapples that fall from your Camelot Crabapple trees. This can require some harvesting or maintenance to ensure no dropped fruits are left on the ground.

Health Benefits

Should you choose to consume some of your Camelot Crabapples, you certainly won’t find these tiny fruits lacking in health benefits! They boast a high ratio of nutritional qualities such as magnesium, manganese, antioxidants, amino acids, calcium, iron, pectin, and omega-3 and 6 fatty acids.

Those last two, in particular, can be a bit more difficult to come by for folks who don’t consume animal products like eggs or fish. So adding Camelot Crabapples in some form to your diet can help give you a great boost in those nutrients.

The Camelot Crabapple is also high in vitamins C, B, and A, working in tandem with the other nutrients in the fruit’s makeup. These boost the immune system, improve energy and focus, reduce inflammation, and much more.

Like all crabapple varieties, the Camelot Crabapple is also known to aid in healthy digestion. For those who can look past its tart taste profile, this crabapple helps reduce stomach discomfort, regulate bowel movements and regularity, and more.

Unripe crabapples, meanwhile, have historically been consumed to treat diarrhea and piles. The pulp of crabapple is known to help settle upset stomachs in kiddos.

Growing Camelot Crabapple Trees At Home

Flowering white crabapple tree in front of a pink crabapple tree, both in full bloom in residential setting.

Preparing and Planting

The Camelot Crabapple Tree is one of the easiest varieties of crabapples to grow. It’s low maintenance, drought tolerant once established, and resistant to several pests and tree diseases commonly occuring in crabapple trees.

To establish a healthy, happy Camelot Crabapple tree, you will need to select the right location. Ideally, this means a spot with full sunlight. While the crabapple tree can do well in partial shade, it will flower far less and produce fewer fruits. Full sun is always best!

You also want the soil you plant your Camelot Crabapple tree in to be well draining and moderately fertile. But don’t stress about this too much…Camelot Crabapple trees are adaptable to lots of different kinds of soil.

Make sure the spot you choose is free of rocks and weeds. You will also need to consider the closeness of walkways and pathways to your planting spot, as crabapple trees often drop their fruit and can create quite a mess over time.

Once you have chosen the perfect spot for your Camelot Crabapple tree, it’s time to get planting! Start by digging a hole that is as deep as the tree’s root ball and twice as wide. You will need to gently loosen the root ball and then place the tree in the hole to where the root ball’s soil line is even with the sides of the hole.

Then, fill in the hole and water the soil richly. This will help remove air pockets and fuse the root ball’s soil and the surrounding soil together.

Caring and Maintaining

Once it’s in the soil, you will find the Camelot Crabapple to be quite a low-maintenance variety. Be sure to keep your Camelot Crabapple tree well-watered. Some deep watering a couple of times a week should do the trick.

You will not need to fertilize your Camelot Crabapple tree in its first growing season. You can begin fertilizing the next spring after planting. You should, however, mulch regularly around the tree (but not touching the trunk) to help with moisture retention.

In terms of pruning, this crabapple tree variety also requires minimal pruning. You can focus your efforts on pruning your Camelot Crabapple tree after it has flowered but before summer sets in. Be sure to remove dead branches, any signs of disease, and any broken limbs to keep your tree healthy and happy.

Also, be mindful of dropped crabapples throughout the maturing season, typically later in the summer through the fall. Be sure to clean up and remove any fallen fruit to avoid the risk of local animals consuming them.

Where To Buy Camelot Crabapple Trees

Sargent crabapple (Malus sargentii) with fruits

Camelot Crabapple trees can sometimes be hard to source. Be sure to check your local nurseries and lawn and garden centers to see if they carry this variety in stock. You can also search online at Nature Hills or search for crabapple trees on Amazon.

Wrapping up Camelot Crabapple Trees

Excited to grow the dwarf Camelot Crabapple tree wherever you do your gardening or landscaping? Before you get started, be sure to check out our Crabapple Trees Page! This hub of all things crabapple trees will get you started on the right foot with caring for your crabapple tree.