The Cincinnati Enquirer

Crabapples are prized for spectacular blooms.

The modern crabapple tree is the 2003 Ohio Plant of the Year.

The designation was made by BuckeyeGardening.com, a noncommercial Web site offering free access to professional gardening advice, and the Ohio Nursery & Landscape Association (ONLA), a nonprofit trade association of Ohio's nursery and landscape industry.

The modern varieties of crabapples no longer have defoliating issues due to apple scab disease, experts say. And the messy problems in the landscape resulting from large crabapple fruit are also a thing of the past.

Gardening and landscape enthusiasts can expect the highest levels of success from five varieties of crabapple: Adirondack, Holiday Gold, Louisa, Prairi Fire and Sugar Tyme.

Each variety has excellent genetic disease resistance and produces small fruits that are highly ornamental with spectacular blooms and fabulous fall colors.

To be recognized as the Ohio Plant of the Year, the crabapple varieties had to meet the nursery and landscape industry's criteria, including: be of woody stock, have the plant designation "Recommended Highly to the Trade and Public" by the ONLA Plant Selection Committee, be considered low-maintenance with strong pest and disease resistance, require minimal routine care, be readily available in Ohio and exhibit strong survivability in the range of soil types and climates in Ohio.

BuckeyeGardening.com is a free source of lawn, garden and landscape information. The Ohio Nursery & Landscape Association, based in Westerville, is a 1,700-member, nonprofit trade association.