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Pollination Information: This apple has a very long flowering period, so belongs to all the pollination groups and therefore is ideal for using as a pollinating partner to all other apples.Remove dead, diseased and crossing branches while the tree is dormant. Garden care: When planting incorporate lots of well-rotted garden compost in the planting hole and stake firmly.Upright, becoming conical with age, its suitable for most small, urban gardens. This vigorous crab apple flowers and fruits best in full sun and the foliage turns wonderful shades of yellow and burnt orange in autumn. 'John Downie' can grow to a height of 8-10m with a canopy width of about 4-6m, but I don’t think I’ve ever seen one anything like that large in a UK garden.
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A beautiful crab apple, it tends to be relatively modest in size. John Downie is self-fertile and does not need a pollination partner, but fruiting may be improved if there is a compatible partner of a different variety nearby. The leaves are elliptic to ovate with finely serrulate margins. John Downie ( Malus ) is in flowering group 4. Like most apple trees it is the host for Mistletoe. The growth rate of John Downie is medium and it's typical lifespan is up to 100 years. Full sun or part shade lover, best grown in fertile, moist, deep, loamy soils. Malus ‘John Downie’ is a wonderful deciduous tree. It is a small sized tree growing between 8 - 12 metres. Malus Growing Tips: Crab Apples are self-fertile, and very useful as pollinators for a variety of fruit trees. Masses of cup-shaped, white flowers open from pale pink buds in May, followed by large, oval, orange and scarlet fruit, which are edible being valuable for making preserves. Holmes to honour his friend John Downie a Scottish nurseryman and partner in the Handsworth Nurseries, Whittington, England. malus 'john downie' The crab apple in our front garden in full bloom. Pollination Group: A B C and D - it is a good pollinator for all apples We planted the tree as a 5ft sapling 20 years ago :-) Explore Recent Photos.Read an article about crab apples as pollinators. It is a good pollinator for apple varieties. This is the best crab apple variety for making jelly. This plant is deciduous so it will lose all its leaves in autumn, then fresh new foliage appears again each spring. Malus John Downie is a self-fertile crab apple producing lovely pink-white blossom, and large, red-flushed yellow fruit in autumn.