Dolgo Crabapple Tree
Malus 'Dolgo'
Plant Sentry™
Plant Sentry™
Plant Sentry™ Protected
Your order is protected by our compliance system that:
- Prevents restricted plants from shipping to your state
- Ensures plants meet your state's agricultural requirements
- Protects gardens from invasive pests and diseases
Delivery and Shipping
Delivery and Shipping
Delivery and Shipping
Fast, Safe Plant Delivery
Ships in 3-4 business days • Tracking provided • Weather protected
| Under $50 | $9.99 |
| $50 - $99.99 | $14.99 |
| $100 - $149.99 | $16.99 |
| $150 - $198.99 | $24.99 |
| $199+ | FREE |
✓ Zone-specific timing • ✓ Professional packaging • ✓ Health guarantee
Understanding Plant Options
Nature Hills offers plants in two main formats:
- Container Plants: Grown in pots with soil, sized by container volume and plant age
- Bare Root Plants: Dormant plants without soil, sized by height measurements
Container Plant Sizes
Container sizes indicate plant age and growing capacity rather than liquid volume equivalents. Our containers follow industry-standard nursery "trade gallon" specifications, which differ from standard liquid gallon measurements.
Young Plants (6 months to 18 months old)
| Container Size | Actual Volume | Metric Equivalent |
|---|---|---|
| 2" x 2" x 3" | 0.18 - 0.21 dry quarts | 0.20 - 0.23 dry liters |
| 4" Container | 0.31 - 0.87 dry quarts | 0.35 - 0.96 dry liters |
| 4.5" Container | 0.65 dry quarts | 0.72 dry liters |
| 6" Container | 1.4 dry quarts | 1.59 dry liters |
| 1 Quart | 1 dry quart | 1.1 dry liters |
| 5.5" Container | 1.89 dry quarts | 2.08 dry liters |
Established Plants (18 months to 2.5 years old)
| Container Size | Actual Volume | Metric Equivalent |
|---|---|---|
| 2 Quart | 2 dry quarts | 2.2 dry liters |
| #1 Container | 2.26 - 3.73 dry quarts | 2.49 - 4.11 dry liters |
| 5" x 5" x 12" | 3.5 - 4.3 dry quarts | 3.85 - 4.74 dry liters |
Mature Plants (2-4 years old)
| Container Size | Actual Volume | Metric Equivalent |
|---|---|---|
| #2 Container | 1.19 - 1.76 dry gallons | 5.24 - 7.75 dry liters |
| #3 Container | 2.15 - 2.76 dry gallons | 8.14 - 12.16 dry liters |
Large Plants (3-5 years old)
| Container Size | Actual Volume | Metric Equivalent |
|---|---|---|
| #5 Container | 2.92 - 4.62 dry gallons | 12.86 - 20.35 dry liters |
| #6 Container | 5.25 - 6.01 dry gallons | 23.12 - 26.42 dry liters |
| #7 Container | 5.98 - 6.53 dry gallons | 26.34 - 28.76 dry liters |
Bare Root Plants
Bare root plants are sold by height from the root system to the top of the plant. Plants may exceed minimum height requirements.
Common Sizes:
- Trees: 1 foot, 2 feet, 3 feet, 4 feet, 5 feet, 6 feet
- Shrubs & Perennials: 1 foot, 18 inches, 2 feet
Important Notes
Container Volume Specifications
- Trade Gallon Standard: Our containers follow industry-standard "trade gallon" specifications established by the American National Standards Institute (ANSI Z60.1) for nursery stock
- Volume Variations: Actual soil volume may vary due to plant root systems and growing medium settlement
- Age Indicators: Container size primarily indicates plant age and maturity rather than liquid volume equivalents
Growing Conditions
- Plant size can vary based on variety and growing conditions
- Container size helps indicate plant maturity and establishment level
- Larger containers generally mean more established root systems and faster landscape establishment
Seasonal Availability
- Bare root plants are available seasonally when dormant
- Container plants are available throughout the growing season
- Specific varieties may have limited availability in certain sizes
Questions?
For questions about specific plant sizes or availability, please contact our plant experts who can help you choose the right size for your landscape needs.
Plant Sentry™ Protected
Your order is protected by our compliance system that:
- Prevents restricted plants from shipping to your state
- Ensures plants meet your state's agricultural requirements
- Protects gardens from invasive pests and diseases
Plant Profile & Growing Essentials
Cold hardy, Disease resistant, Flowering, Edible, Ornamental Berries/Fruit, and Attracts pollinators
Specifications
Specifications
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Botanical Name
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Height
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Width
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Growing Zones
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Sunlight
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Growth RateModerate
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Flower Color
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Leaf Color
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Fall Color
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Pollinator FriendlyYes
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Pollinator Required
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Bloom PeriodLate Spring
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FragrantYes
Planting & Care Instructions
Planting & Care Instructions
Growing Zones 3-9
Beautiful Pollinator, Edible Fruit Dolgo Crabapple Tree
- Extended Season of White Blooms
- Universal Apple Pollinator
- Early Ripening
- Cold Hardy, Widely Adaptable Small Tree
- High In Pectin, Add Fruit to Jellies and Jams
The Dolgo Crabapple Tree (Malus 'Dolgo') has been impressing growers since it was first brought from Russia in 1897. One of a group of Malus baccata seedlings brought to South Dakota by Professor N E Hansen, the Dolgo was selected as the best of the lot and introduced to the market in 1917.
Dolgo was an instant hit because it's an early and heavy bearing variety. It also quickly won favor from home growers for its resistance to fire blight and apple scab. By 1940, the Dolgo Crabapple was listed as the leading commercial variety grown in Minnesota. It was proclaimed across the country for its high juice content and excellent flavor for everything from jelly to cider.
Since its introduction, this tree has been beloved by generations of gardeners and may bring back wonderful childhood memories for many. The show begins in early April when the Dolgo Crabapple sprouts apricot-pink buds that open into an explosion of fragrant, self-pollinating, white flowers.
The bloom lasts for weeks! This long bloom period overlaps many other varieties, which is why it is included in many apple orchards. The Dolgo crab is an excellent pollinator for other apple trees.
In fall, the shiny, deep-green foliage turns a stunning bright yellow that is certain to brighten your landscape. Use them along your property line, or as a special accent tree where you'll see it from your window.
In wintertime, you'll delight in the persistent ornamental fruit that hangs like Christmas ornaments on a tree. This provides a food source for local songbirds through the winter. Use it to naturalize a larger landscape and provide a source of food for wildlife.
The Dolgo Crabapple is a large and lovely Crabapple variety that produces large, edible fruit. It works beautifully as a small ornamental tree in your yard and acts as a universal pollinator for other Apple varieties.
This tree is a wonderful choice. Order today!
Grow Healthy Edible Dolgo Crabapples
As attractive as this well-known tree is, it's just as valued for its juicy, brilliant crimson red fruit which ripens in August, early in the Apple season. Sweeter and larger than other Crabapples, the name Dolgo is Russian for the word "long". These fruits grow two-inches long and have excellent fresh eating quality.
The Dolgo is also great for making pies, chutneys, butter, jams, jellies, beer, ciders and sauces. Plan to make healthy fruit leather or pickle the fruit from your tree, as well.
You can even use them to make your own pectin, a beneficial soluble fiber used as a gelling agent to set any kind of fruit jelly or jam. Dolgo's are naturally blessed with an abundance of pectin. You may have seen this as a supplement at the health food store to help maintain normal blood sugar levels.
A cold hardy tree, it is well adapted to Zones 3- 9 and has been grown successfully as far north as Zone 2, so it grows well just about anywhere! You can easily prune this to keep it to any height you desire.
A decorative tree in spring and fall that produces healthy edible fruit. It's hardy and disease resistant...a perfect addition to the landscape as a background tree or accent tree. What else could a homeowner wish for in a landscape tree?
Order your Dolgo today!
Wonderful Cold-Hardy Dolgo Crabapple
The Dolgo Crabapple, considered by many to be the finest, most versatile of all Crabapples, has its origin from a most unlikely place, by a USDA breeder who was almost a one-man show.
The South Dakota Agricultural Experiment station at Brookings was founded in 1887. This is where Niels Hansen began his work after graduating from Iowa State College in 1895. With a focus on South Dakota and the Northern Plains, Hansen set out to discover all fruits, vegetables, grains and ornamental plants suited to the higher latitudes of this northern climate.
He would span the reaches of Northern Europe and Asia in search of plants that would be candidates to work with at the Brookings Station. Between the years 1895 and 1937, Hansen, working with a low budget and limited resources, brought back many of what would become the base for hybridizing or establishing today's most popular cold-hardy varieties.
With the aid of funding from the USDA, Niels Hansen was amongst the most noted plant explorers of his day. Other famous plantsmen, such as David Fairchild, Frank Meyers and Wilson Popence, traveled the world in search of plants to improve the varieties being grown in the United States. Hansen, though showing restraint on spending while at home, was often accused of lavish spending when traveling on the USDA's dollar. But he is also credited with bringing back the most significant finds of the time. Among them are the Malus baccata, or the Red Fleshed Siberian Crabapple, which proved to be useful as a rootstock with many other applications as well.
The Dolgo Crabapple came from seed that he brought back from Russia in 1897. Very quickly recognized for its beautiful form, the tree's overall usefulness would come with Hansen's clever way of research with limited funds. Growing as many as 100,000 seedlings in a year, he would select what appeared to be the most promising. He would then name them and offer them for sale.
Farmers would order trees and Hansen would stay in close contact, assessing the development of all the selections. He would often change the catalog to reflect new information about a variety. His huge network became the testing ground for 363 plant cultivars developed from Hansen's introductions. The selections spanned the fruit, nut, and berry offerings, which included Dolgo Crabapple, remaining as popular today as it did 100 years ago.
