The fruits are tiny. However, the flowers are malodorous.

the birds eat the crab apples ... often waiting until spring when they are well fermented ...

perhaps it depends where you are.. and what kind of birds you have around ....

i have about 6 crabs.. come to think of it.. i dont ever recall fruit on the ground.. i suspect other non-winged vermin take care of fruit that falls ..

ken

Thanks, both of you. Embothrium, that's very interesting about the smell! I'm so surprised!

Crabapples that smell good in flower are the exception rather than the rule. With generally cute* Sargent crabapple being particularly noticeable for fulminating a surprisingly assertive funk in bloom, in the manner of a pear. *Although still on the short side one in Seattle was otherwise found to be amazingly broad some years ago, so even this species isn't always entirely small growing

Scent is extremely subjective. What some describe as an "assertive funk" most sources describe as "pleasingly fragrant". I would not take a single individual's word but rather test for myself. Personally, most crabs have a very soft sweet fragrance to my nose, sargentii included..

I would not take a single individual's word

Except when it is your own apparently:

most crabs have a very soft sweet fragrance to my nose

If that is the case then cotoneasters, hawthorns and photinias must smell good to you also

Assertive funk? Is that a botanical description or the name of a Seattle grunge band? Personally, I find malus to be passively pleasant. I’ve got a couple of unidentified crabs that grow on the woodland edge, both of which have a pleasant fragrance.

Regarding the fruit, is this a public walkway you’re concerned with? If not, I wouldn’t be too concerned about it.

As usual Embo, that was unnecessarily personal. I never implied that anyone take MY word for it!! If you bother to do the research, most published sources remark on the pleasant fragrance of sargentii and other crabs. I merely suggested any interested parties test them out for themselves. As fragrance and aroma are so subjective to individuals, perhaps it is your olfactory detection that is off??

It was so peaceful here during your hiatus without the constant negativity and contradictory opinions........ it would be a shame to be subject to all that again.

Maackia, and back to the fruit— it would be near the sidewalk from our parking area to our house.

Like most crabapples, Malus sargentii has persistent fruit, meaning it does not drop when ripe but remains attached to the tree until consumed by wildlife or rots away over winter. Any litter under the canopy is pretty much restricted to leaves in fall.

Hawthorns stink to high heaven, but I don't find crabs to have much scent at all

I once had a Malus hupehensis that had a good, agreeable scent It was most noticable early in the evening.

Never noticed that the flowers of Malus sargentii are malodorous. I grow a couple that I raised from seed that I got from the Mustila Arboretum in Finland. Fruits are small (pea-like) and when they show colour the birds take them in 1 or 2 weeks.

One disadvantage of Malus sargentii is that it can sucker (if grown on its own roots / non-grafted). This is especially true if the roots are damaged. Arboretum Wespelaar in Belgium has a specimen that suckers extentively and is several meters wide (picture below).

was very startled to see a young deer in town.. eating fallen crab apples off the ground ..

surprised i didnt see momma or sibs around .. it wasnt a baby ..

ken