Columnar fruit trees - let's create a garden on one hundred square meters!
Columnar fruit trees are named after the shape of the crown. The crown represents the shape of the aboveground part of the tree, the location of the branches in relation to the trunk. The columnar shape of the tree represents very short skeletal branches, on which there are many shortened shoots - ringlets with a fruit bud. From a distance, the flowers and fruits appear to be located on the trunks. Abnormal branch development of a fruit tree has been seen in Canada, the mutation has led to the creation of ornamental and fruit trees in a columnar shape.
Obtaining seedlings of columnar tree varieties
Varietal seedlings of columnar fruit trees with stable properties are obtained only in well-known foreign and domestic nurseries. A prerequisite is the use of dwarf varieties as a rootstock - Currency, Arbat, 003. The graft must be with the dwarf gene - Co.
Another direction in the formation of seedlings is an artificially formed columnar form from dwarf varieties Orlinka, Vasyugan, President and the like.
In the same way, other columnar fruit trees are obtained - pears, plums, cherries, apricots. As a result, a seedling leaves the nursery with a well-developed root system and early fruiting. It is important to choose a zoned variety, to study the rules of care and formation techniques.
The agrotechnology of a garden of intensive fruiting has its own characteristics.
Gardens of the Moscow Region
Columnar fruit trees for the Moscow region are represented by apple trees, pears, plums and other types of fruits.
The varieties of the dwarf columnar pear are not very diverse. But a thermophilic plant in the middle lane is already exotic. In addition, the first fruits appear in the second year, after planting the seedling. Pyramidal tree bears fruit for 10-15 years with good care. The yield of a compact tree is higher than that of a regular tree. Yakovlev's favorite is the most frost-resistant variety, and Severyanka is in a hurry to return the crop in August. The Decora variety will bestow its ripe fruits in August, and the half-kilogram Dalikor fruits are harvested in October.
Columnar varieties of plum fruit trees can most often be found in the country gardens of the Moscow region. They have a small crown, short stature, allowing for easy harvesting. Dwarfs begin to bear fruit in the second year after planting. Many have become favorite varieties, but several are more popular:
- Blue bird, the variety is the result of a crossing of Hungarian, Caucasian and Kabardin early. Large, wide fruits are covered with a waxy coating. The sweet and juicy fruits are harvested in mid-August with ripening for two weeks. The tree is self-fertile, immune to common diseases.
- Plum of Memory of Temiryazev is 2 times smaller, but contains a large amount of vitamin C.The tree is self-fertile, and fruiting occurs 4 years after planting. It does not bear fruit every year, but it is resistant to frost and drought.
- The Smolinka variety is distinguished by an egg-shaped dark purple color. The columnar tree can grow up to 5.5 meters in height and yield 20 kg of delicious fruit. But this variety requires a pollinator, and branches overloaded with plums require support.
Column-shaped peaches and cherry plums, apple trees and apricots grow in the Moscow region. Gardens made from such fruit trees require special care, but the results are encouraging.
A photo of columnar fruit trees cannot convey a special aura when a dozen trees hung with fruits are collected on a plot of one hundred square meters.
Residents of the southern regions are not limited in the choice of planting material. They can take advantage of foreign varieties. It is believed that in Europe with its mild climates the most productive and tasty hybrids have been created. Columnar fruit trees in Krasnodar are the backbone of industrial horticulture. The garden is looked after taking into account the characteristics of the tree.
Features of caring for columnar trees
First of all, you need to buy quality planting material. In order not to lose years of waiting for a miracle, the seedling needs to be bought expensively and directly from the nursery. There are many subtleties to growing a scion and using a rootstock. It is good if the seedling has a closed root system.
Pits for fruit trees are prepared according to the classical scheme. It is important that the soil has time to settle, the mound with the fertilizer mixture is compacted. For better lighting and maintenance, trees should be planted in a row every 50-60 cm, and the row spacing should be left at 1.5 m.
One of the most common mistakes is deepening the vaccination site. If this part of the stem is in the ground, there will be no fruit.
The care and pruning of a columnar fruit tree has features. The column grows with the upper bud, so it must be protected from frost and damage. There will be no top - the columnar tree will turn into an ordinary one, due to the growth of lateral shoots. Pruning of branches is carried out if they grow more than 5-8 cm. Regrown shoots are cut exactly on June 20-25 so that the cut dries up and fruit buds appear before autumn.
In the first years, the trees show increased growth, it is important at this time to maintain the "hair". Another most vulnerable spot is root freezing. It is necessary to insulate the root system with spruce branches, non-woven material, but so as to prevent rodents from reaching the trunk. Sunburns of trunks are also dangerous. The fruiting and growth rate of the tree is a varietal trait.
It is important to feed the columnar fruit trees of all kinds. They take out of the ground and transform into fruits a lot of macro- and microelements. For 1 ton of apples, it is required to process 5 kg of nitrogen, 6 kg of potassium, 3 kg of phosphorus. The plant absorbs top dressing in the spring, when the processes of biochemistry are intensive, and in the fall, when the roots grow, and the buds of the future harvest are laid.
In the summer, all treatments against insect pests and fungal diseases must be carried out, according to the table. But since the crown is small, the concentration of solutions in the tree is much lower than that of a spreading tree.
Watering the garden can be organized in holes, along furrows or drip irrigation. The best irrigation method is considered to be drip irrigation:
- water is supplied according to the needs of the tree;
- the ability to apply dissolved fertilizers;
- no surface crust is formed, air enters the roots;
- the root system of columnar fruit trees is compact, fibrous and the absorption of moisture by drip irrigation is effective.
Scientists say columnar fruit tree varieties are becoming more popular in commercial and private gardens. The desire to grow as many different trees as possible in a limited area is justified.