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Recently, dwarf apple trees are increasingly found on the garden plots of our country. They attract gardeners with their compactness and high yield, which is achieved due to the rapid growth of young trees and good development of the root system. Saplings of dwarf apple trees are bred in special garden nurseries, where they are obtained with the help of dwarf rootstock.
Benefits of Dwarf Apple Trees
Apple trees on a dwarf rootstock have several advantages compared with tall varieties:
- start to bear fruit early;
- have high yields;
- due to short stature, the main part of the nutritional elements is aimed at the formation of fruits, and not at the development of the trunk and branches;
- for harvesting are not used extras, which contributes to the preservation of excellent presentation;
- due to the superficial location of the root system, dwarf varieties can be planted even in areas with close groundwater.
All these factors contribute to the growing popularity of varieties of dwarf apple trees among Russian gardeners.
How to distinguish dwarf apple from columnar?
Very often, dwarf apple trees are confused with columnar. But these are completely different forms of fruit trees. Dwarf apple trees are stunted trees that have a spreading crown, up to 3 m in diameter.
The main characteristic of the columnar apple trees is that this clone has a crown consisting of one stem, with rather short lateral branches. Outwardly, such an apple tree resembles a column, covered with fruits on top, like that of a buckthorn.
In order not to confuse saplings of dwarf and columnar apple when buying, you need to pay attention to the stem and root. The trunk of a dwarf apple tree has branches, which are absent in the columnar form. The root system of a dwarf apple is fibrous, and its elasticity and firmness indicate a good quality seedling. In the columnar Apple tree root has a core system.
Popular varieties of dwarf apple trees
The following are descriptions and photos of varieties of dwarf apple trees that are particularly popular with Russian gardeners.
Apple Melba
Crop summer variety of Canadian origin. Main characteristics:
- tree height does not exceed 3 m;
- medium-sized fruits, weighing 150–250 g, rounded, elongated, bright green with a red blush;
- flesh snow-white, tender, juicy, with caramel flavor;
- ripening occurs in July - August;
- yield is 40 kg per tree;
- fruits are perfectly preserved for 3 months;
- resistance to frost and diseases is average;
- The best pollinator for the variety is Borovinka and Susp.
Apple Wonderful
Late summer high-yielding variety that can be grown throughout Russia. Key Features:
- tree height 2.8–3 m, with a small bole;
- fruits are medium, weighing 120–150 g, rounded, slightly ribbed, greenish-yellow peel with a rich dark red blush;
- pulp is juicy, sweet-sour, has a fine-grained structure;
- ripening occurs in August - September;
- yield - about 75 kg per tree;
- fruit preservation is good for 2 months;
- trees have high resistance to frost and scab;
- apple Wonderful - the best pollinator for other dwarf varieties. And for her the best pollinator is Anis Sverdlovsk.
Apple-tree Zhigulevskoe
Autumn high-yielding variety. Main characteristics:
- tree height is 2-3 m;
- fruits are large, weighing 150–300 g, rounded, red-orange;
- pulp coarse, tender, cream-colored, sweet and sour;
- ripening period: September - October;
- yield - up to 120 kg per tree;
- fruits are perfectly stored for 6 months;
- variety has good resistance to pests and diseases;
- best pollinators -Welsi, Autumn striped.
As a rule, one and two year old trees are planted. Planting dwarf apple trees includes the following steps:
- Planting pits are prepared with a width and depth of 50 cm. When digging a hole, the top layer of soil is laid on the right side and the bottom layer on the left.
- In the pit is placed 1 bucket of humus, mineral fertilizer, nitrophoska and part of the top layer of soil. All these ingredients are carefully mixed. If the soil is clay and heavy, then add some more sand.
- The roots of the seedlings are well straightened, the tree is fixed in a hole and filled first with the top layer of soil and then the bottom.
- The soil is slightly compacted. At the same time, the seedlings deepen so that the vaccinations are 5–7 cm from the soil.
- Wells are made around the trunk, and the seedling is watered.
- The pristvolny area is mulched with soil or humus.
If there is a probability of strong winds, then it is recommended to tie the seedling to a support.
Care for apples on a dwarf stock
Proper care for dwarf apples includes:
- watering;
- top dressing;
- trimming.
In summer, apple trees are dwarfed under a tree and watered 1 time in 7 days, at the rate of 10 liters of water for each tree. After watering the land must be loosened.
Top dressing is carried out 2 times in the summer. To do this, you can use chicken manure, diluted with water in a ratio of 1:20, or cow manure in a ratio of 1:10.
In the first year, it is necessary to perform pruning to form the lower part of the crown. In the following years, only regular trimming of growths will be carried out.
How to shape an apple tree?
It is recommended to form the crown 1 year after planting, in the fall or in the spring, but before the active growth of the branches. How to form an apple tree? To this end, its top is cut with shears at a height of 40–60 cm from the ground and treated with a cut garden pitch.
Like all other trees, the branches of dwarf apple trees develop unevenly. And strong branches, as a rule, hinder the development of weak and fragile branches. Therefore, when forming the crown, it is necessary to ensure that strong branches are located at the bottom, and fragile at the top. This is achieved by trimming the top vigorous branches.
To increase the diameter of the crown, when pruning, young branches should be directed outwards. In this case, the tree will grow compact, and its branches will not sag.
During the formation of the fruit, the growth of the branches is greatly weakened, and they begin to overload. Therefore, it is necessary to cut the growth more strongly, so that the apple tree remains strong and young longer and the fruits do not decrease in size.
If you follow all these recommendations, the tree will always have a beautiful appearance and bring a good harvest.
