ABSTRACT
Flowering crabs constitute some of the most decorative small- to medium-sized trees for gardens combining attractive floral display with pleasing yellow, orange or red fruits in the autumn; some also have good autumn colour. Flowering crabs may be grafted to other Malus species, or to virus-free clonal rootstocks originally produced for dessert and culinary apples. Some authorities have proposed Malus should be split into 3 subgenera: Malus, Sorbomalus and Chloromeles. The ease with which Malus may be budded during summer months suggests that, in early September, similar procedures as those previously outlined for Acer, Betula, Carpinus, Fagus, could be successfully employed. Apical grafting methods are normally used, involving splice, whip and tongue, veneers or wedge. Grafting machines or tools are also sometimes favoured for large numbers of apple grafts; generally, results are less satisfactory than for manual grafting methods.
