Perhaps, no garden can do without apple trees. These trees decorate it in spring with a gentle cloud of blossoming flowers, and in summer and autumn they call to taste juicy bright fruits, under which even branches sometimes bend. So that there are a lot of apples, and they appear as soon as possible, you need to choose the right variety and not forget about leaving, and also know some features of planting and growing a tree.
About the apple trees in our garden
This fruit tree is not at all capricious and can grow everywhere: from Siberia to Central Asia. However, he prefers moderate conditions and is sad during too long summers or warm winters. But she likes and cares for the soil and is fed with nitrogen - especially if it is not acidified (otherwise lime needs to be added). They like trees, the sun, space and a breeze - but not strong winds.
So that adult trees do not interfere with young trees, either with roots or with a crown that obscures the light, it is worth growing seedlings away from them. And close to home they should not be planted either - there will be a lot of shade. An open place where strong wind gusts do not reach is the best option. As for the soil, the same as for potatoes is great.
Planted on the site, the apple tree lives up to thirty-five years, yielding delicious fruits for ten to thirty years (depending on the variety). By the way, these varieties are usually divided into winter, summer and autumn. And if you want to feast on apples all year round, then plant all three species in your garden. For example, like this: half of winter apple trees, and the second half divide between summer and autumn.
Melba variety with description and photo
Bred by Canadians in 1898, this variety with large red apples (which weigh on average one hundred, two hundred grams, but are also larger) refers to the summer. The average growth of a tree, a spherical crown, an orange-brown bark - these are signs of the species. After planting a young seedling, after four or five years you can wait for the first apples. Collect them from July 20 to the end of August - it depends on the summer.
They have a slightly conical shape on which ribs appear. On top of the skin (soft and smooth) there is a wax coating. The aroma gives them a little sweetness, and the pulp is very juicy, sweet, with a pleasant acidity. They lie for a summer variety for a very long time: if stored in the refrigerator, then until November, or even until the January holidays.
However, there are years when apples do not happen on a tree - this is a minus variety. And he is defenseless against the scab and can not endure a very harsh winter. But the high productivity, keeping quality and excellent taste smooth out the shortcomings.
Lungwort variety
A variety with such a delicious name is also summer, and it was bred in the middle of the last century in our country. Scientist Sergei Ivanovich Isaev crossed the Cinnamon Striped with Welsey and received a tree with amazingly tasty fruits, which in addition is not afraid of scab, tolerates the cold Russian winter (up to minus forty) and even calmly refers to nearby groundwater. For this, by the way, the breeder received the Stalin Prize.
These apple trees grow tall, and very quickly, and their crown has the shape of a pyramid. So we must hurry to form it. Very interesting leaves of this tree, not at all similar to other species. They are narrower and elongated, and in the middle are curved like little boats.
Like the varieties described above, trees delight with the first fruits ripening by the end of August days, in the fourth or fifth year. Round, slightly flattened, green-yellow apples (each one hundred and one hundred and fifty grams) are decorated with a speckled-striped red pattern. They are very sweet (even immature), with a dense creamy pulp and a spicy aroma.
Apple tree white filling
Everyone has definitely heard of these summer apple trees. They belong to the old variety, bred in Russia (but by whom and when, is unknown). Trees grow up to four to five meters maximum - this is considered average parameters. The crown is first closer to the pyramid, later to the ball. Very large flowers - white or slightly pink.
And round, slightly narrowed to a cup apples with a whitish coating on top appear in the sixth year. They are slightly browned where they looked south. Dots appear under a thin skin - greenish or white. Juicy sweet-sour fruits ripen in August, pick them in two doses (at the beginning and in the twenties). They are stored very little - fifteen or twenty days from the force.
White bulk loves the codling moth and often attacks it. And over the years, apples are crushed (up to sixty grams versus one hundred twenty or one hundred and fifty grams at the beginning). And you can not transport them - it hurts the skin is tender. But the extremely high productivity (in the old days, even the Pudovka variety was called) pays for the minuses.
Grade welsey
This winter variety was born in America in 1960. Scientists-breeders got it from the Siberian apple-tree type cherry. A tree of medium height in youth has a crown of the shape of a pyramid, later - a ball.
Brings apples for the fourth or fifth year. They are medium sized, round, soft red with stripes of dark red color. They are slightly flattened, with a thin dense skin, odorous, sweet and sour, juicy. Ripen after mid-September, lie until the February days. Well transported.
Apple tree Antonovka
Autumn variety of apple trees, also very famous. However, the pedigree is a mystery, it is only known that the selection is folk. The trees are very fruitful - up to five hundred kilograms of fruit can be harvested per season. The crown is oval, growth is medium, the beginning of fruiting is in the seventh or eighth year.
Gentle with yellowish, fragrant apples, slightly tapering to the cup, often have ribs. They are torn in September, and eat only a month later. After lying down, the fruits turn yellow. Their taste is sweet and sour. However, sourness in combination with aroma adds charm to both fresh apples and dishes from them.
The tree is very resistant to various diseases, and is also particularly unpretentious. However, in some years it does not produce a crop (it differs in frequency). And the fruits are not too slow.
Column-shaped apple tree: planting and tree care
Under this name lies many varieties, united by their unusual form, similar to cypress. They began to bring them out in Canada, and later Russian and English scientists joined the case. The trunk of such a tree with a minimum of lateral branches requires almost no pruning, and the wood is durable and can withstand heaviness up to twelve kilograms (when apples hang on branches).
Harvest appears record fast - a couple of apples in the first year you can try. And in the second year, normal fruiting begins. And five to six years, there is an increase in productivity. Another seven to eight years of stability continues. Trees live for seventeen years. But if you do pruning for rejuvenation (in April or March, up to 70 centimeters), then their life will last.
Often there are the following varieties of the columnar type: Malyuha, Arbat, President, Tileimon, Traigen, Taskan. The last three are brought from England and are afraid of a harsh winter - this should be taken into account.
Where to plant?
In order for the apple tree to take root well in a new place, we create suitable conditions for the young seedling. Remember the main rule - groundwater should not be closer than two meters. Otherwise, the roots will rot quickly. And too dense soil, in which solid clay, does not fit. In this case, in the autumn, autumn rainwater will remain around the roots, squeezing them with an icy vice, which will damage them.
If the earth in the garden is clayey or contains close groundwater, apple trees can also be planted - but in a special way. Artificially create in the right place a hill of compost meter diameter and a height of 0.8-0.9 meters. First, pour gravel, gravel or broken brick into its base - this will turn out to be a barrier to the roots. From above we sprinkle fertilized soil, then compost and again the earth (40 centimeters).
When the ground in the garden is solid sand, some difficulties also have to be overcome. After all, then after watering the roots will not have time to be saturated with moisture - it will quickly subside down. It doesn’t matter - a five-centimeter layer of clay at the bottom of the seedling pit will hold water. And if you also put moss-sphagnum on it, then the apple tree will be completely free.
Secrets of landing
Let's start with the deadlines - many gardeners are asking this question. So, if you have a seedling with a good lump of land, then you can not worry about the timing and safely plant at any time of the year (except winter, of course). But in the case of open roots, we act only in the fall (until the buds open) or in the fall (early October). And one more thing: in the springtime it’s good to plant “babies” who are under two years old. Older plants prefer transplanting in the fall.
Do not plant trees in which the buds are swollen or the first leaves have already grown - they take root poorly. And do not take the largest seedling - not always the size speaks of its quality. Look at the roots more, immediately removing their weak and unhealthy processes. Before planting, smear the wounds, if any, straighten the roots. And before planting it in water for a day, put it in - so the roots will store moisture.
To plant an apple tree, you must first prepare a hole for it, and do it in advance - for a week or a month. Dig to a depth of 60-70 centimeters, the width of the pit - from 80 to 90 centimeters. Having lowered the plant into the pit, we water it well (three or four buckets of water are needed). We fill the ground and see that the root neck of the centimeters is raised five to seven. Ramming On the south side we stick a peg burnt from below and tie a tree to it.
When planting trees with open roots, we are not fond of mineral fertilizers, or you can even burn delicate roots by accident. They are paid only the next year. But organics will come in handy - somewhere around a quarter of manure or humus is added to the ground, as well as ash.
We grow a tree according to all the rules
First you need good watering - especially if there was a landing in spring. The first summer at average humidity, we water weekly, and after a year and beyond - only when it is dry and when the apples ripen. We do not allow the drying of the earth under a tree, we loosen it. Weeds are removed within three to five years, so that water is not taken. And then we mulch, using cut grass for this.
As soon as the first apples appear, mulching is no longer necessary - let the wild grass under the tree grow. We will mow it from time to time. But the lawn grass under the tree does not need to be planted on purpose - this is not useful for him, as it does not allow the roots to fully breathe.
Starting from the second season, you can feed the seedlings with fertilizers diluted in water (it is better to use a complex type so that potassium, nitrogen, and phosphorus are also present). For each tree you need 15-20 grams of fertilizer.
Until the age of five, the trees should be protected by whitewashing with a solution of chalk, and before winter, they should also tie the lower part of the trunks (so that the hares do not eat bark or the rats are nibbled). In anticipation of frosts, we put peat or humus near the trunks, having previously spanned the earth.
We control the growth. An adult tree is best limited to a height of three and a half or four meters - it will be easier to collect fruits and take care of the plant. We also take care of the correct crown of the apple tree, preventing the branches in it from crossing and thickening. All this is achieved by correct pruning.
Pruning apple trees
After waiting for the next spring after planting, we shorten a slightly vertical shoot to make a magnificent crown. After a year, two or more we cut about a third of the total length of young shoots.
When trimming branches, they often achieve a multi-tiered design with a central upper shoot, the competitors of which must be cut “into the ring”. The lower tier will contain from four to five shoots, the second (higher by 60-80 centimeters) - from three to four, the third (higher by 30-40 centimeters) - from two to three.
Already the first summer you can look at four strong branches, evenly growing. We’ll leave them, the rest will be deleted. In winter, our favorite branches are slightly cut, and unevenly. Cross-shaped shoots must be removed.
And remember: if you let things go by themselves and do not trim, then the crown will turn out to be thick and confused, and the apples will be small, crooked and not very tasty. In addition, pests are easier to get in a groomed crown.
More about spring pruning in this video:
Well, the apple tree, deservedly loved by summer residents and gardeners, is not at all fussy. All that is needed is to feed on time, water, trim and perform other simple procedures. And the apple tree in response will thank you with a scattering of its fruits, tasty, fragrant and healthy. And it will last for many years.