ORIGINAL: Indiana Dude
How much sunlight do crabapple trees need?
ORIGINAL:Treehelp.com
Full sun exposure, 8 to 12 hours of direct sun, is required for optimal development of fruits and flowers. Most flowering crabapples are hardy and can endure the colder temperature extremes of zone 4 on the USDA Plant Hardiness Zone maps.
I've seen old overgrown orchards that had crabapple trees growing in partial shade to no apparent ill effect . Theystill set what looked like a good amount of fruit , even when compared to crabapple trees growing in suburban yards under constant full sun .Neither had been fertilized .