The columnar apple tree is a natural clone of the apple tree that lacks side branches. In British Columbia, in the village of Kelowna (located in Canada), on an old Macintosh apple tree, which was 50 years old, they found an unusual branch, or rather, it had an unusually large amount of foliage and fruits and completely lacked side branches. This happened in 1964. This spontaneous mutation did not remain without the attention of breeders and was multiplied. Over time, with the help of it, experts created columnar apple trees. At the same time, both English breeders of Kent County and specialists from other countries worked on this plant. In 1976, the first samples of this kind of apple were obtained.
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Features of the columnar apple tree
Scientists have found that such unusual characteristics of the columnar apple tree directly depend on the special Co gene. In these plants, branches depart from the trunk at an acute angle, and they grow almost along the conductor. In this regard, such apple trees are outwardly similar to pyramidal poplars. Such an apple tree has a thickened trunk, on which many small branches grow, and flower buds are located on their tops. Skeletal branches of simple apple trees are much more powerful than the lateral branches of columnar apple trees. Often they are replaced by spears, fruits or ringlets. The shoots of such a plant are quite thick, while shortened internodes are located on them. Dwarf varieties are less prone to branching compared to medium-sized (1.5-3 times) and tall (3-4 times). After the tree is 3-4 years old, its side branches stop growing. In the event that the apical bud is injured, the growth of the plant will stop, but the side branches will begin to actively grow.In this regard, those gardeners who want to grow a columnar apple tree must do everything to ensure that the growth point of the plant is preserved at least for the first 2 or 3 years. Such an apple tree will bloom and bear fruit at 2 or 3 years of age. The harvest in the first 5–6 years is becoming more and more plentiful every year, but already from 7–8 years of plant life, it is observed consistently high, but this is only when the apple tree is properly cared for. The columnar apple tree bears fruit no more than 15–20 years; after this period, most of the annelids die off. But if you grow strong or medium-sized varieties or a tree that has been grafted on seed stocks, then in these cases, anti-aging pruning can be used, which can significantly extend the life of the apple tree.
Apple trees such as columnar trees are ideal for small orchard owners. So, instead of one ordinary apple tree, you can plant several dozen columnar ones. There are 2 different types of columnar apple trees:
- varieties that have the Co gene;
- simple varieties that have been grafted onto super-dwarf clonal rootstocks (they are formed like columns).
Planting columnar apple trees
What time to plant
Experts advise planting this kind of apple tree in spring, but you need to have time to do this before the buds begin to open. If you wish, you can plant a seedling in open ground in the fall in the last days of September or the first in October, the main thing is that the weather is warm. For planting, it is recommended to purchase annual seedlings, not biennial ones. The fact is that such plants are relatively easy to take root and begin to grow and bear fruit much faster. When choosing a seedling, special attention should be paid to its roots, so there should be no rot on them. Trees with overdried roots are also not worth purchasing. It is best to buy a seedling in a container, it can be planted even in the summer. A suitable site should be open and sunny, but remember that such an apple tree needs protection from strong gusts of wind. The soil needs a nutrient-rich and water-permeable soil. The groundwater at the site must lie at a depth of at least 200 centimeters.
Planting a columnar apple tree in autumn
In the event that you decide to plant a large number of columnar apple trees at once, then they should be arranged in rows. So, the distance between seedlings in a row should be at least 50 centimeters, while the row spacing is 100 centimeters. Planting pits, which must have a size of at least 90x90x90 centimeters, must be prepared half a month before planting. If this is not done, then after planting and sedimentation of the soil, the root collar will be located underground, and this can lead to the death of the seedling.
In the process of digging a hole, it is necessary to discard the upper layer of soil, in which there is a greater amount of nutrients, separately from the lower layer, without allowing them to mix. In the event that the soil is heavy, then a layer of rubble mixed with sand for drainage must be placed at the bottom of the hole. After that, 3 to 4 buckets of humus (compost), 100 grams of superphosphate and 50 to 100 grams of potassium fertilizer should be poured into the fertile soil and mixed. It is also recommended to add from 100 to 200 grams of dolomite flour to acidic soil. This soil must be poured into the landing hole and its surface must be leveled. After half a month, the soil will settle and compact.
After 2 weeks, you need to pour the remaining soil mixture into the planting hole with a slide. After that, it is necessary to install the root system of the apple tree directly on this "hill" so that the root collar of the seedling rises slightly above the surface of the site.After the roots are straightened, you need to pour infertile soil (from the lower layer) into the hole and tamp it well. Step back 30 centimeters from the trunk and form a roller around it, the height of which should be from 10 to 15 centimeters. The planted tree should be watered using 10–20 liters of water. After the liquid has been absorbed into the soil, sprinkle its surface with a layer of mulch (sawdust, peat or crushed grass). If desired, you can install a support next to the seedling and tie it up.
How to plant a columnar apple tree in spring
In the event that the planting of columnar apple trees is planned for the spring, then it is recommended to prepare the planting holes in the autumn. During the winter, the soil will settle, compact, and the applied fertilizers will dissolve. Apple trees planted in such holes take root much faster, and in the same year they can even bloom. You need to plant a seedling in the spring in the same way as in the fall.
Caring for columnar apple trees
Springtime care
In the springtime, it is necessary to prune the apple trees and process them in order to prevent a variety of harmful insects and diseases. It is necessary to have time to carry out these procedures before the kidneys open. At the same time, fertilizers containing nitrogen must be added to the soil.
For apple trees planted this year, you need to pick off all the buds that form. In plants of the second year of life, only 10 buds are left. Starting from the third year of life, the load on the tree should not be increased immediately, but gradually, so that 2 times more buds are left on the plant than the fruits should ripen. So, on each fruit link, 2 inflorescences should remain, while thinning is done again in the summer.
Also, columnar apple trees must be watered in a timely manner and the top layer of soil in the near-trunk circle must be loosened. However, in the case when the tree is grown on a columnar rootstock, the roots of the plant can be injured in the process of loosening the soil. In this case, it is recommended to tin the trunk circle, and not sprinkle it with a layer of mulch. To do this, it is necessary to retreat a quarter of a meter from the trunk and sow siderat grasses in a circle, which will need systematic mowing.
Summer care
Until mid-June, you need to make a complex top dressing, for which mineral fertilizers are used. After the ovaries are formed, it will be necessary to thin them out a second time. As a result, ½ part of the ovaries should remain on the tree. After the fruits are similar in size to a cherry, it is necessary to make sure that there are only 2 ovaries in each inflorescence. When the apples are the size of a walnut, one of the two remaining ovaries must be removed. As a result, only 1 fruit should grow on 1 fruiting link.
In summer, do not forget to carry out preventive examinations of apple trees. If any harmful insects are found or the plant gets sick, then you just need to take timely measures to treat it or get rid of pests, otherwise you may be left without a crop. 4 weeks before the intended date of collection of fruits, all processing of the plant from harmful insects and diseases should be stopped.
With the onset of August, organic fertilizers cease to be applied to the soil, as well as those that contain nitrogen. At this time, it is recommended to apply only potash fertilizers to the soil, because they contribute to the faster ripening of young shoots. In order for the upper parts of the shoots not to suffer from frost in winter, it is necessary to shorten them by 2/3 of 4 leaves at the very top.
Autumn care
In the autumn, when the fruits are harvested, fertilizers must be applied to the soil and treated against harmful insects and fungi that have taken refuge in the bark, as well as inside the soil of the trunk circle.If necessary, pruning should be done for sanitary purposes, and then the trees should be prepared for wintering.
Columnar apple processing
At the beginning of the spring period (before the sap flow begins) and in the autumn (when the leaves fall off), it is necessary to process these apple trees in order to prevent diseases and harmful insects. The surface of the trunk circle should also be treated. Most often, gardeners in this case use a solution of Nitrafen or Bordeaux liquid (1%). This treatment will help get rid of harmful insects and pathogens of various diseases that are in the soil of the trunk circle and in the bark of the apple tree. There are those gardeners who use a urea solution (7%) for treatment in spring, which acts as a fungicidal and insecticidal agent, as well as nitrogen fertilizer.
Watering
Due to the fact that this kind of apple trees do not have a taproot that goes deep into the soil, and the root system is surfaces and is located within a quarter of a meter from the stem, then it is necessary to water young plants in summer in normal weather 1 time in 3 days ... In dry and hot weather, columnar apple trees should be watered every day or once every 2 days. Watering mature plants should be carried out 1 or 2 times in 7 days. From the second half of June, watering is slightly reduced, and from the beginning of August, these plants stop watering altogether, the fact is that they must have time to finish the formation of flower buds, as well as growth, and also prepare for wintering.
So that the soil does not dry out too quickly and there is no dense crust on its surface, the tree trunk circle is sprinkled with a layer of mulch (straw) or sown with siderates. It is recommended to water such apple trees using a drip method, while the supply of moisture to the root system should be dosed. However, once every 4 weeks, it is necessary to make abundant watering, so that the soil can get wet to the depth at which the roots lie. Once every 2 weeks in the evening after the sun goes down, you need to thoroughly water the crowns of the plants with a hose.
Fertilizer
Since a very large number of apples are formed on this tree, it absorbs a lot of nutrients from the soil. In this regard, such a plant should be fertilized throughout the entire period of intensive growth. In the spring, organic fertilizers need to be applied to the soil. For this, both fermented chicken manure and slurry are used. In order for the tree to receive the required amount of nitrogen, you can spray it with a urea solution (7%), but this must be done at the beginning of the spring period, before the buds begin to open. After that, until the beginning of the second half of the summer period, if desired, the plants can be fed 2 more times by the foliar method and use the same urea solution (0.1%).
During the peak of intensive growth (from early to mid-June), trees need complex mineral fertilizers. From the beginning of August, organic fertilizers should no longer be used for fertilizing. During this period, columnar apple trees need potassium, since it contributes to the rapid maturation of the upper parts of the shoots.
Wintering of columnar apple trees
At the beginning of the autumn period, the stems of young columnar apple trees must be properly covered with spruce branches or wood shavings. It should be remembered that only dry covering material should be used, and it must be protected from rodent penetration. Do not cover plants with straw. In the event that the near-trunk circle is mulched with straw, then it should be removed in the fall, because various rodents simply adore it. When the snow cover appears, it is necessary to cover the base of the apple tree trunk with snow.
Pruning columnar apple trees
What time is pruning
There should be no branches on a real columnar apple tree, therefore, it does not need pruning that forms the crown. Only lateral branches are cut off at the very beginning of the summer period or after all the leaves have fallen off.
How to prune a columnar apple tree
One of the main principles of apple tree pruning should be remembered - the more branches you prune, the more intensive their growth will be. So, for example, you cut a branch about ½ part, and at the same time there are 3 or 4 eyes on it. After some time, 3 or 4 strong shoots will grow from these eyes. In the event that you cut off 1/3 of the branch, and there are 7 or 8 eyes on it, then 7 or 8 medium shoots will grow of them. If the pruning is done correctly, then each year the growth of the apple tree will be 10-15 centimeters, and 2 or 3 lateral buds will appear.
As you prune branches, remember not to touch the center conductor. Otherwise, having lost its point of growth, the tree will begin to actively grow branches.
At the beginning of the spring period, all side branches should be cut off from a tree in the first year of life so that only 2 buds remain on each of them. In the next 2 or 3 years, it is necessary to engage in the formation of fruit links from young shoots. Those lateral shoots that are not needed are recommended to be carefully trimmed while still green. The fact is that the healing of wounds on a lignified shoot takes relatively longer.
Spring pruning
Before the sap flow begins, formative pruning should be performed. In plants of the first year of life, all lateral branches must be pruned, while 2 buds should remain on them. Sanitary pruning is also performed, during which diseased, crossed branches, as well as those affected by severe frosts in winter, are removed.
A tree of the second year of life is pruned to form fruit links. To do this, out of those 2 shoots that have grown on a cut off last year's branch, you need to cut off the one that is more vertical, leaving only 2 buds on it. A horizontally located shoot will begin to bear fruit already in the current year, and 2 powerful shoots will appear from the cut off.
In the third year of life, those branches that bore fruit in the past year must be removed. With the remaining branches, the same pruning procedure should be performed as in the past year. It should be remembered that the fruit link can function for no more than 3 or 4 years. After this period, it should be cut into a ring.
In the event of the death of the apical growth point, it is recommended to trim the guidewire, while only 2 buds should remain. Wait until lateral branches grow out of them. Only 1 of these branches should be left, and it should be located vertically. This branch will replace the conductor. The remaining side branches should be cut into a stump (not a ring), while the stumps should be the same length as simple ringlets.
Autumn pruning
In autumn, pruning should be done only when it is very necessary.
Reproduction of columnar apple trees
For the propagation of columnar apple trees, the method of grafting a varietal cuttings on the stock that is most suitable is used. However, in order to successfully carry out such a procedure, experience is required. It can be propagated by seeds, but it will take too long and take a lot of energy. And yet not all apple trees that have grown from seed are columnar. Experts advise to propagate such a plant with air layers. Select a branch at the very beginning of spring, the thickness of which should be similar to a pencil. Then, at the base, an annular bark incision is made, the width of which should be 5 mm. After that, it is necessary to moisten the cotton wool in Heteroauxin and wrap this incision for 24 hours.Further, to wrap the cut, moistened peat should be used, while this place is covered with a black polyethylene bag, it is fixed so that no air gets under it. Do not let the peat dry completely. In the autumn, roots should grow in the place of the incision. After that, the branch is separated from the parent plant and planted in the soil. The success rate of this breeding is 50:50.
Growing seedlings of this type of apple trees is not an easy task. In this regard, it is recommended to buy them in proven nurseries, while the seedlings must be transported correctly.
Pests of columnar apple trees
On columnar apple trees, green and plantain aphids, sawfly, glassware, red mite, moth, moth, leafworm, honeydew, comma-shaped scabbard, currant, fruit and subcrustal leafworms, fruit and fruit moths, various scoops, mountain ash moth, unpaired, oak-leaved and ringed silkworms, blood and red-gall aphids, weevil goose, western unpaired bark beetle, sapwood, pear pipe-worm, as well as other pests. In the fight against harmful insects, you can use insecticidal agents, and trapping belts made of corrugated paper will also come in handy (they prevent pests from going up the trunk).
Diseases of columnar apple trees
Such apple trees suffer from absolutely the same diseases as simple ones. Most often, the columnar apple tree falls ill with such diseases as: proliferation, or witch's broom, bitter fruit rot, mosaic, mosaic ringing, fly-eater, powdery mildew, milky shine, tinder fungus, common cancer, scab, dying off of branches, fruit rot, subcutaneous viral spot rubbery, rust, vitreous fruit, flattened branches, black cancer and cytosporosis.
Main varieties with photos and descriptions
The division of varieties is carried out depending on their growth, namely, they are divided into vigorous, medium-sized (semi-dwarf), and dwarf. And they are also divided by the time of ripening of fruits into late (winter), mid-ripening (autumn) and early (summer). Below are the varieties divided by ripening time.
Summer varieties
On these plants, ripe apples can be harvested from the last days of July until the first days of September. Such fruits are eaten fresh or they are used for making preserves, jams, compotes, etc. The shelf life of such apples is relatively short.
Most popular varieties:
Nectar
This semi-dwarf variety has a high yield and is resistant to frost, diseases and harmful insects. Yellowish-white apples have a fairly thick skin, juicy and grainy flesh with a distinct honey flavor. On average, each apple weighs 100-250 grams. Plant height can vary from 200 to 250 centimeters.
The president
This semi-dwarf compact variety is distinguished by its high yield and resistance to frost, harmful insects and diseases. The fruits are very fragrant, painted in a pale yellow or pale green color, in some cases they form a slight light pink blush. On average, apples weigh between 150 and 200 grams. The fine-grained pulp is juicy and tender.
Vasyugan
Such a productive variety is resistant to frost, harmful insects and diseases. The shape of the red-striped fragrant fruits is conical, the taste of the pulp is sour-sweet, while it has well-defined subcutaneous points. The cream-colored pulp is distinguished by its softness and juiciness. On average, the weight of the fruit is 140-200 grams.
Dialogue
The medium-sized variety is distinguished by its yield and resistance to frost, pests and diseases. The deep yellow apples are not very large, but they are quite juicy. The apples are flat.
Ostankino
The medium-sized variety is resistant to harmful insects and diseases.Fragrant, sour-sweet fruits have a light green color with a blush, which has a fuzzy, spreading shape. Juicy apples can weigh between 100 and 220 grams.
Also quite popular among gardeners are such varieties as: Chervonets, Luch, Ideal, Raika, Flamingo, Gala, Cheremosh, Iksha, Green noise, etc.
Autumn varieties
Ripening of fruits on plants of such varieties occurs during the entire autumn period. They are eaten fresh or made from them various preparations for the winter. Such apples are stored for a relatively short time (maximum until January). Popular varieties:
Baby
Such a dwarf variety is one of those that have the highest taste. The truncated-conical shape of the dessert type apples are large. They are painted in orange-yellow or deep yellow color and weigh from 150 to 250 grams. The firm, glossy rind is rather thin, and the yellow, fragrant flesh is fine-grained. This variety is high-yielding and fast-growing.
Gin
The variety is distinguished by its yield and frost resistance. The rich red fruits can weigh 80-200 grams. The sour-sweet pulp is firm and juicy. Apples can be stored until January.
Triumph
Medium-sized variety. Apples are deep red in color and have a striped blush on their surface. The shiny rind is quite dense. Fine-grained snow-white crispy pulp. It has a sweet dessert taste with a slight sourness. On average, apples weigh 100–150 grams.
Arbat
The variety is distinguished by high yield and resistance to frost, harmful insects and diseases. The fruits ripen in the last days of September or the first in November. Saturated cherry color medium-sized glossy apples have a sour-sweet juicy pulp. Average fruit weight is from 100 to 120 grams.
Iezenu
Such a vigorous variety is scab resistant and winter hardy. There are red streaks on the surface of yellow apples. The average fruit weight is 150 grams. The fine-grained dense yellowish-green flesh has a sour-sweet taste. The taste is high.
Also quite popular are such varieties as: Kumir, Ladoga, Titania, Teleimon, Melba, etc.
Winter varieties
The apples of these varieties ripen from the middle of the autumn period. They can persist until spring. Such varieties are popular:
Amber necklace (amber)
The medium-sized variety is distinguished by its yield and frost resistance. Large greenish-yellow apples have a blush. Fine-grained fragrant pulp is juicy and sour-sweet.
Currency
A medium-sized, early-growing variety with a high yield, resistance to frost and scab. Fruits are large (weight about 200 grams) have a rich yellow color with a red barrel. The snow-white sweet juicy pulp is rather aromatic.
Moscow necklace
Such a self-fertile variety has a high yield and resistance to frost, harmful insects and diseases. The fruits are rather large and dark red. The rind is firm. The sweet, juicy pulp has a slight sourness. On average, apples weigh about 170 grams.
Bolero
The fruits are large and their average weight is about 200 grams. The firm white pulp is juicy.
Yesenia
It is highly resistant to frost and scab. On the surface of large apples (average weight 170 grams) there is a bluish bloom of wax.
Also quite popular are such varieties as: Constellation, Snow White, Senator, Trident, Victoria, Barguzin, Garland, White Eagle, Sparkle, Peasant, etc.
Varieties of columnar apple trees for the Moscow region
In the Moscow region, apple trees of such varieties as Moscow necklace, Vasyugan, Currency and Malyukha will feel best.
Columnar apple varieties for Siberia
Here varieties that can withstand severe frosts (up to minus 40 degrees) are suitable. These include Iksha, Barguzin, Peasant and President. At the same time, the Vasyugan variety can withstand frosts down to minus 42 degrees.They are suitable for cultivation in the Urals, Siberia, the Far East and the Moscow region.
