Hi I'm new to the forum and have a tree in my backyard that I have no idea what it is. I've included some pics. It flowers in the spring and has red berries in the fall. I wouldn't be that worried about it, except my dog has decided to start munching on the berries on the lower branches. Thnaks in advance for your help.
In the 4th pic are two of the berries left on it from last fall. I opened them up and it seemed that the inside was like an apple with little seeds, instead of a pit. Of course these were completely dried up so it's kinda hard to tell for sure what the inside of a ripe berry looks like.
I thought crabapples got bigger. The berries are only 1/3 of an inch diameter, circumference of 1 1/4 of an inch. Sorry should have said that earlier.
Yes, some are small. Some on the tree may have been a little larger, the birds like them fermented here. Fly around with one wing up in the air, going in circles.
It's not going to hurt the dogs if they eat some of the crabapples is it? I have one dog who loves to eat the berries off the lower limbs. I've managed to catch her at it and tell her no, and I have hubby out there trimming it up today, but I'm sure she'll scrounge some up that have fallen off.
Perfectly safe for dogs to eat. People can, too, though they're a bit sharp for average human tastes. Crabapples can be made into a delicious jelly, though.
Flavor varies with kind also, as does size. Some are mild, approach the size of orchard apples - in fact the rather arbitrary cutoff between crabapples and orchard apples is how big the fruits are.
