An annual apple tree seedling looks like. Correct pruning of young apple trees. The experience of leading gardeners. Growing apple seedlings from seeds

Nice garden will delight its owner for many years.

But to get such a treasure, you need to work hard first.

At any stage you can make a mistake, which will nullify all efforts.

The “wrong” seedling may simply not take root. Taking a seedling from an apple tree yourself without a clear understanding of how to choose an apple tree seedling is too risky.

In this article we will tell you how to avoid these mistakes and successfully grow an apple tree that will delight for many years.

This first step should not be underestimated. It depends on the choice of a seedling in many ways whether you will be able to grow a healthy tree.

Take the question seriously:

• Find out which apple varieties are suitable for your region... This is very important, because a young tree that is not adapted to such a climate can die long before it begins to bear fruit.
• It is best to contact your local gardening organization or nursery with this question. You can find their addresses on the Internet.
• Pay attention to customer reviews. Choose your company responsibly.
• Most difficult stage choice - practical. It all depends on knowledge and care.

Selection of seedlings in the nursery.

First of all, everyone seedlings can be divided into three groups depending on the level of the rootstock, i.e. the stem and root system. When choosing one or another type, you need to take into account the features of the site.

There are such types:

IMPORTANT! If your seedlings have thorns, don't buy it. Most likely, they give out a wild game for a varietal apple tree.

Contact of the root system with groundwater is highly undesirable. Such an apple tree will be weak and painful, its harvest will be extremely poor. When buying a seedling, do not forget about the importance of this factor.

The ideal age for a seedling is 1–2 years. The youth of a tree is a guarantee that it will take root better in a new place.

How determine visually the age of the seedling? Annual plant should not have developed branches, in a two-year-old one can count 2–3 additional branches.

Examine the root system. It must not be damaged. Healthy roots slightly wet, but by no means rotten; they should be elastic and not brittle.

The state of the bark also has great importance... Gently pick off the bark with your fingernail - the stem should be green.

It's better do not buy trees that have leaves... They will most likely not take root anymore.

How much do apple tree seedlings cost?

Seedlings with an open root system are cheaper than those sold in a container. The cost of an apple tree seedling depends on the variety and quality of the tree, as well as specifically on the selling company. On average, be guided by a price of about 300 rubles, although some nurseries may ask for 800 rubles.

Watch the tutorial video on how to choose the right apple seedling:

How are apple seedlings grown?

Brave gardeners can try grow a seedling yourself... It is not so difficult, especially there is at least basic knowledge in stock school course biology. Let's consider the main methods.

Growing apple seedlings from seeds

Method one -. Even small children think about whether an apple tree will grow from an accidentally dropped seed.

The reality is not that simple. There have been cases when the seed grew beautiful tree with tasty fruits, but there is a possibility that the grown apple tree will not lose the "maternal" properties of the wild and all your efforts will be in vain.

But if difficulties and possible risk do not scare you, follow our tips:

1. Rinse mature brown seeds in running waterto remove the substance that prevents it from germinating. The best thing place the seeds in water for 3 days.
2. Then place the seeds in the refrigerator (this process is called stratification). To do this, you need to prepare dishes filled with slightly damp sand. The seeds should last for about two months in the refrigerator. It is best to start stratification in early January..
3. In the refrigerator, the seeds should germinate. They need to be planted in specially prepared boxes (at the bottom of which drainage should be poured, on top - a nutrient mixture). The boxes should be placed on a well-lit windowsill.
4. Easy to recognize the wild even in the early stages: its leaves are bright green, and there are already short spines on the shoots. It's better not to waste your time on them. Or use the wild game as a rootstock, to which the desired variety has already been grafted.

From the cutting

Apple trees also propagate by cuttings.

How to make a seedling from an apple tree branch has been known for a long time. In order to grow a tree in this way, you need prepare the stock - choose a tree grown from seeds or (which is much better) a wild game.

Preparing the cuttings for the stock.

You need to graft the stalk of the tree you need to the roots of such a tree. It is very important to correctly combine the stock and the cutting.

For a wild bonsai better fit a stalk of a columnar apple tree, and an apple tree grown from a seed will well accept a stalk of an ordinary tall tree.

The shank must be not older than one year... We will describe in detail how to make a seedling from an apple tree below.

How to grow apple seedlings from a branch

Another way is dig a branch into the ground.

In the fall, the tree is planted with a slope so that the young shoots touch the ground. In the spring, the twigs are attached to the bud with staples. During the summer, they need to be hilled, and in the fall, ready-made seedlings are obtained.

Air layering or how to get seedlings from an old apple tree

Provide ground for a new root system to form.

It is more difficult to plant a seedling from a branch, so it is often more advisable to use the method of air layering.

So that the twig starts to take root, you need to surround it with moist soil. To begin with, choose a branch that will become a seedling - healthy, without branches, as thick as a regular pencil.

When the snow melts, this branch needs put on a polyethylene sleeve... Attach it, preferably with electrical tape. It will remain on the apple tree until steadily warm weather sets in. Then the sleeve is removed.

Need to find the border between the adult branch and the new growth - from this point, about 10 cm recede and an annular incision of about 1 cm is made, small cuts are also made to the left and right of it. All buds above the incisions must be removed.

Then a sleeve with a container is put on the branch. In the first three days in a container (you can use cut plastic bottle) put root growth stimulating liquid, then specially prepared soil, which must be constantly wet.

You can try any of these methods yourself at home. It is advisable to additionally consult with competent specialists.

See detailed video on how to get a seedling from an apple tree using the air layer method:

You can take a seedling from an apple tree yourself. You don't have to be an experienced gardener to do this.

If you want to get varietal apple tree, then you can use the parental shoot, which is sometimes enough just to dig in correctly.

The procedure is carried out in the spring... You can use young shoots no more than 1 year old.

They are placed in a hole about 10 cm deep. The twig is fixed to the peg. Thus, a shoot of 30-40 cm should remain above the ground... It is also necessary to rid the nearest site of weeds.

To be sure, root a few branches this way. In a year, some of them will take root. In the fall, the seedlings will be ready for transplanting.

IMPORTANT! Remember that large-fruited apple trees take root in this way worse than other varieties.

Apple tree sapling pruning

Do not forget that this is a rather complicated process that must be carried out strictly according to agrotechnical instructions.

You need to prune the seedling when it is at rest.

In warm climates, the ideal time will be autumn-winter, in temperate - the end of winter. Anyway, trimming should not be carried out at temperatures below -10 ° C.

The first pruning takes place in the first year after planting. Cropping in such early age will provide the bookmark for future skeletal branches.

One-year seedling you need to remove lateral shoots that are up to 70 cm from the ground level. Above this point, only those branches are removed that form an acute angle with the trunk. If the angle that the branch forms with the trunk is close to 90 °, the branch is cut to the fifth bud.

Biennial seedling looks almost like a mature tree. How to prune such apple tree seedlings? In this case, the following goal is pursued - to leave from 3 to 5 strongest shoots, forming a wide angle with the trunk.

In the future, they will become the main branches of the tree. It is necessary to form and center conductor... It is best to do this from the most developed kidney, which is about 3 kidneys higher than the others. The lower branches should be longer than the upper ones. So wood.

Next 3-5 years it is better not to touch the apple tree, let it develop on its own.

How to distinguish a pear sapling from an apple tree?

It is sometimes difficult to distinguish different types of trees at such a young age, even for experienced gardeners.

Before the leaves appear, this is almost impossible. - the seller in the market could experiment with vaccinations. Recall general rules which will allow you not to become a victim of deception and determine how to choose an apple tree:

1. In annual apple trees, the color of the shoots is dark red-brown, while in pears it is yellowish-green.
2. On the shoots of apple trees there is a slight pubescence, pears usually do not have such a feature.
3. Shoots of pears have more pronounced cranking.
4. The buds of apple trees are wide and large. They fit snugly to the shoot. Pear buds are pointed and small, do not adhere tightly to the shoot.
5. The buds of apple trees swell and blossom later than that of a pear.
6. The root system in apple trees is more branched, and in pears, the stem.

When buying a seedling, you don't need to know about the peculiarities of the leaves of pears and apple trees. If the seedling already has leaves, you should not buy it. It is unlikely to take root successfully, and your efforts will be in vain.

How to grow an apple tree from a seedling?

Any gardener first you need to choose the time of planting the apple tree.

It can be spring or autumn - depending on the specific circumstances and climatic conditions your region.

In any case, tree care begins in the spring.

Prepare the soil before planting... This means that the soil must be well loosened, rid of weeds, fertilized (depending on the season) and dug up again.

The planting hole will be a house for the seedling, it will reliably feed it.

Choose a place responsibly. This should be a well-lit area, preferably sheltered from the wind.

IMPORTANT! The preparation of the planting pit should be started 2 months before direct planting.

The seedling is still too vulnerable. Our task is to protect it from the negative factor of weather conditions. The tree needs to be fixed to a peg. It will be possible to remove it 2 years after planting. This must be done with extreme caution so as not to hurt the root system.

In the first week after planting, regular watering is very important, which will help not only saturate the tree nutrientsbut also to compact the soil. Gradually watering intervals it is necessary to reduce, but in hot weather it is impossible to spare water for a young tree.

The near-barrel section is required mulch... To do this, use compost, chicken droppings, vermicompost and rotted droppings, on top of this layer you need to put a small layer of straw.

Watch the video on how to mulch trees:

Required you need to prune one-year and two-year-old apple treesto form its skeletal branches.

In the summer, all care consists in regular watering and protecting the tree from pests. To avoid using chemicals, try attract birds to the garden.

It's easy to do - arrange feeders on the tree branches. This way the birds will know that a tasty treat awaits them in your garden.

If pests appear, you can collect them by hand from a young tree. In hot weather, do not water the tree during the day to avoid burns.

So that air flows to the root system, make punctures 30 cm deep at a distance of 60 cm from the trunk.

Preparing apple tree seedlings for winter.

• A young apple tree needs to be spud to a height of 10–20 cm;
• The area near the trunk must be mulched with humus or peat;
• You can apply nitrogen or potash fertilizers. The lack of these substances will affect the quality of future fruits, therefore it is best to use complex fertilizers;
• The trunk of the apple tree must be whitewashed with a solution of chalk;
• To avoid breaking the weak young tree, it can be preliminary.

Apple tree seedling dries up, how to save?

Before solving a problem, you need to understand it. reason, causing the apple tree to dry out. Then you can understand how to save a dried apple tree seedling.

Growing too much can prevent the seedling from developing. close trees or shrubs... In this case, you can transplant the tree to the required distance.

The problem can be caused by too close groundwater... Excess water simply displaces excess air from the soil, which is so necessary for a young root system. You can also solve the problem by replanting or regularly loosening the soil.

If groundwater interferes with more than one apple tree, you can dig drainage ditchesto help get rid of excess water.

IMPORTANT! The key to the successful growth of an apple tree is air access to the root system, so loosen the soil regularly. Do not plant an apple tree in a sandy or clay bud.

Gardening is not only difficult, but also very interesting. To grow from a seedling good apple tree, you need to show both intelligence and care.

• Remember, the most crucial stage is the choice of a seedling.
• It is better to buy them from professional breeders. On the spontaneous market, you can unknowingly purchase another tree (an apple tree can be easily confused with a pear before the leaves appear).
• Do not overuse fertilizers in the first year... The tree has enough watering and mulching.
• Do not forget to rid the young apple tree of weeds. In the fall, you can add.
• A very important procedure is tree pruning. Remember to do this to form the skeleton of the apple tree.
• Pests can negatively affect the development of an apple tree... However, try not to poison them in the early years. chemicals... Involve to this business of birds.

Recruit birds for natural pest control.

• Treat your landing site responsibly... Groundwater lying too close and trees and shrubs growing nearby can kill the apple tree.
• Provide adequate air access to the root system. She really needs it.

A responsible approach to business will ensure your success.

In contact with

The gardener must be patient: planting annual apple tree on a tall stock, the first apples need to wait five or even six years. But you really want to see swollen fruit buds early in the spring, watch the apples pour in all summer, and enjoy them in the fall! Is it really impossible to bring this pleasant moment closer? - Of course you can!

Choosing seedlings

Planning for future fruiting dates begins from the moment you select the seedlings upon purchase. A tree with an open root system will take longer to survive than its container counterparts. True, a one-year-old seedling with an open root system will take root faster than the same two-year old, since its roots are less injured when digging out of the soil. But the seedling from the container does not need to take root: its root system will immediately begin to develop the fertile land that you have prepared for it with love.

One of my listeners shared her observations during lectures. She read somewhere that the root system of a container seedling needs to be shaken slightly so that the roots get more freedom than they had - they say, after that they grow faster. My experience shows that when planting in summer, the root system should not be disturbed: it is worth breaking up a clod of earth, and the top leaves will immediately be attached. But when planting in the spring, before the foliage blooms, and in the middle of autumn, you can already shake a lump of earth a little and straighten the roots.

I also noticed that the longer the seedling is in the container, the faster it then begins to bear fruit. Even in the first issues of the magazine, I described the story of a pear in a container, which was gnawed by mice in a hole in the winter. The question arose: throw away or fight for the life of the tree? We decided to save. The son treated the pear with sorrel, but it was kept in the container for a whole season: it was necessary to make sure that the tree was cured. After landing in a permanent place, the pear blossomed in the third year.

Advice:

The longer the root system of the plant will be in cramped conditions, the faster the fruiting period will come. However, the growth of the tree in this case will slow down somewhat.

The experience of Chinese peasants is very interesting. To get stunted tangerine trees and accelerate fruiting, they bend the main root in a loop when planting. After this operation, tangerine trees form a smaller and more branched root system, become stunted and begin to harvest earlier.

Dwarf apple trees

As a rule, huge apple trees grow in our gardens, which grow in size both upward and outward. They begin to bear fruit in the fifth, sixth, and even in the tenth year. Summer varieties begin to harvest in the fifth or sixth year, and winter ones even later.

In Europe, many orchards have long been growing apple trees on dwarf or semi-dwarf rootstocks. The first grow up to two meters, and the second - up to three and a half. Despite the fact that even Ivan Vladimirovich Michurin believed that dwarf gardens had a great future, and Valentin Ivanovich Budagovsky worked all his life on breeding winter-hardy dwarf rootstocks, our gardens are dominated by tall trees... But apple trees on dwarf and semi-dwarf rootstocks begin to bear fruit already in the third or fourth year, and it happens that they bloom in the second - right in containers.

Formative pruning

Let's take a closer look at the slope of the branches and the laying of fruit buds on them (Fig. 1). The more the branch tends to a horizontal position, the more fruit buds are laid on it. To bring the branches to a horizontal position, a stake is driven in next to each of them and the branches are tied to it. However, I prefer another method: pruning to the outer bud (Fig. 2). The bud that wakes up after such pruning independently gives rise to a shoot, deflected to a horizontal position, on which fruit buds are quickly laid.
Already in the fall, you can determine whether your tree will bear fruit. If ringlets, spears, fruit twigs or fruits appeared on the apple or pear tree, on which fruit buds were formed (see photo), then in the spring the tree will bloom.

The regularity here is as follows: if there is a strong growth of a young fruit tree, then, as a rule, fruit buds are not laid. To accelerate fruiting, it is necessary to weaken the growth, that is, to redistribute the nutrients that go to the tree. You can accomplish this task using formative pruning and bending of branches.

Low-growing varieties

These apple trees grow no higher than two meters, enter into fruiting in the third year after planting with annual seedlings, are not inferior to Antonovka in terms of winter hardiness and give large fruits.

Unfortunately, my experience with these varieties has been unsuccessful. I received the seedlings by mail in late autumn, did not have time to plant and sent them to the prikop. In winter, their bark was damaged by mice, so much so that only one out of three saplings was saved. But these are the deeds of bygone days. Now we equip the winter pit in such a way that no mice even come close to it. We use all means: spruce and pine spruce branches, burnt pieces of natural fur, cloth moistened with kerosene; lay out the seeds of the thistle and burdock.

I will give the main characteristics of some varieties of naturally low-growing apple trees that can be grown here, in the Leningrad region, including in Babino's gardening.

Advice:

The earliest fruiting are apple trees on dwarf or semi-dwarf rootstocks, so impatient gardeners should purchase just such seedlings.

Sokolovskoe. A variety of winter ripening, winter-hardy, scab resistant. If you graft it on a low-growing stock, then the height of the tree will be only 1 m 20 cm. The fruits are large, up to 190 g, greenish-yellow with a dark red blush. The yield, according to the books, should reach 85 kg, but I cannot imagine how such a short tree can produce so many apples. We will grow and test.

Winter undersized. Ripening in October, storage until March-April. The variety is winter-hardy, scab resistant. Fruits up to 170g, greenish-yellow with a red blush, flesh with good dessert taste.

Grounded. Autumn variety, high winter hardiness, scab resistant. According to the description, this variety begins to bear fruit even in the second year after planting with annual seedlings. If grafted on seed stocks, it reaches 2.5 m, if on dwarf ones - 1.5 m. Fruits are greenish-yellow with a dark red blush, good sweet and sour taste.

I can well imagine this short tree covered with bright yellow-red fruits, and I so want to grow it in my garden! And you won't have to wait long for fruiting, although our zone of risky farming can present any “gifts”: for example, this year there will be no apples in all our gardening. The late spring freeze, from 8 to 9 June, ruined everything flower buds... The apple trees were about to bloom, but that never happened. The buds have acquired a rusty color, dried up and fell off. True, the pears managed to bloom earlier, but many of the ovaries also fell off because of this frost: traces of freezing were clearly visible on the cuts and outside. A single frosty night in June destroyed the harvest of plums, cherries and apples. But if some other natural disasters do not fall on our dear and beloved Babino, then the sea buckthorn harvest this year will be excellent - you will have to sit in the trees all autumn and painstakingly collect this wonderful berry, which in winter replaces apples and pears combined. But this is already a "lyrical digression" ...

Fruit tree care also affects the setting of fruit buds.

Until mid-summer, fertilizing with nitrogen should be done, which causes an increased growth of green mass, and in the second half of summer, fertilizers with a low nitrogen content should be used, which contributes to the laying of fruit buds, as well as the preparation of seedlings for winter.

In the first half of summer, trees are fertilized with an infusion of manure with weed herbs, and in the second - with ash. Of mineral fertilizers use "Kemira" ("spring-summer" and "autumn") - according to the standards indicated on the packaging.

I begin almost every lecture with the words: “My dear gardeners! We are happy people! We have land. We can plant the plants that we like, help them grow in our difficult conditions, and they will thank us - either with their fruits or with lovely flowers. Talk to plants - and they will hear you! " (Take care of the plants, love them - and they will surely reciprocate you!)

"Garden affairs" No. 8 (24), 2008

Often, behind the beauty embodied by material means, there is a huge human labor. Behind the facade of a beautiful building - the idea of \u200b\u200ban architect and the work of builders, behind unusual dresses - the fantasy of a couturier and a robotic seamstress, behind a magnificent garden - the regular care and attention of a gardener. Well-groomed trees do not appear by themselves: first a seedling is planted, then the gardener feeds and cuts it, forms a crown and gets rid of pests. And only in the end his work is rewarded with wonderful fruits. So that you can take care of your garden, we will tell you about pruning fruit trees, in particular apple trees. After all, the correct pruning of apple seedlings is the key to the future flowering and fruiting of the tree.

Why prune seedlings

First of all, pruning the apple tree allows you to give appearance tree neat look and properly form the crown. Timely and regular pruning of an apple tree seedling stimulates growth, proper development and the formation of a full-fledged healthy fruit.

The apple tree is pruned for different purposes:

• form a beautiful and correct crown, which will make it easy to harvest future crops;
• removing competing, but not so developed shoots, strengthens young branches. Thus, they ensure the full growth of a young tree;
• remove dried, deformed and diseased branches, contributing to the emergence and growth of shoots that can bear fruit in the future;
• provide sun access to all branches;
• preparation of a seedling for the winter period.

The season for pruning depends on the end goal and outcome. As a rule, apple trees are pruned in spring or autumn. Can a seedling be cut in summer? It is possible, but only if absolutely necessary.

Rules for pruning tree seedlings

Pruning apple tree seedlings in the spring should be carried out before the beginning of the growing season: the tree not only recovers faster, but also grows more intensively. In summer, shoots are usually shortened, stimulating the formation of fruit buds and improving the quality of the fruit. However, autumn is considered the best time for pruning, when the tree goes into a "dormant" period.

At this time, dead and damaged parts are removed. After frost, pruning can be fraught with disease and death of the seedling. To know how to properly prune a seedling, you need to follow certain rules.

In the fall, you should act like this:

1. Remove large, damaged or rotten branches.
2. Thin the crown in areas of dense congestion of branches, getting rid of weak and defective shoots.
3. Get rid of branches growing at an acute angle to the trunk: such branches tend to break in the event of a bountiful harvest.
4. Protect the tree by treating the cuts with garden varnish or oil paint.
5. Burn waste to prevent the spread of disease.

Spring pruning occurs in March or April. In order not to cut the seedling incorrectly, follow these rules:

1. Cut over the eyes.
2. Treat the cuts with garden pitch.
3. Get rid of last year's shoots.
4. Choose the length of the pruned branch according to the apple variety: for dwarf ones, pruning is performed by 2-3 eyes, for medium ones - at least 5, for tall ones - from 9.

Sapling pruning scheme

Annual apple tree saplings are pruned in the first year after planting. An annual seedling is often not branched, so it is crowned and cut. The height is calculated based on the height of the stock. Medium-sized and seedling stocks allow you to cut the shoots higher. After the tree has grown enough, the leaves must be removed in the trunk area. If the planted apple trees are already branched, you need to start removing the side shoots.

Those branches that grow within 70 cm and those that grow at right angles are removed. Branches growing at a wide angle are shortened. These branches provide a strong crown and ripen earlier for fruiting. Pruning two-year-old apple tree seedlings has its own specifics. Since such a seedling already has several shoots from the trunk, after planting, two-year-old apple trees are pruned, and only the most developed shoots are left, which grow at a wide angle. Subsequently, they will form the "skeleton" of the tree. Excess branches are removed.

To form the central conductor, which will grow vertically, the most developed kidney is chosen.

The height of this shoot should be several buds higher than that of the other branches of the "skeleton". Pruning of the remaining shoots is carried out in such a way that the lower ones are longer than the upper ones. It is this pruning of a two-year-old apple that forms the popular type of crown - strong and round. It is not recommended to cut apple trees in spring or autumn for the next 3-5 years, otherwise a delay in fruiting is possible. But it is still necessary to remove diseased and broken branches. If the tree is growing too vigorously, the guide can be shortened slightly.

Crown formation

Many gardeners prefer the cupped crown shape as it is neat and easy to form. The branches, located symmetrically, form one tier at a height of half a meter from the ground, getting rid of the central conductor. It is advisable to remove it within a few months after planting. To form a beautiful "bowl" you need to allocate enough space for the seedling, later you may need to tie the branches. Dwarf rootstocks serve as an excellent basis for this type of crown. Its main advantage is considered to be free access. sun rays to all branches. In the future, you should only take care of the timely removal of tops from the skeletal branches and excess shoots growing inward.

And don't forget about hygienic pruning. The branches of the "skeleton" should be placed in subordination: the closer to the trunk, the longer. The fusiform shape is also very popular: semi-skeletal branches are arranged in a spiral manner on the trunk. The height, as a rule, should not exceed three meters. Since the branches must take a horizontal position, they are bent with the help of wire stretch marks. However, this type of crown is only suitable for seedlings with low-growing rootstocks.

Another suitable view crowns for apple trees with dwarf rootstocks - a slender spindle. The height of the central conductor is about 2.5 m, and the crown is formed by short horizontal branches. The hatching stem is rather low. Dwarf varieties are formed with a bushy crown type, with a stem height of no more than a few tens of centimeters, in order to be completely under the snow in winter. Take good care of your seedlings and they will become beautiful trees.

Video "Pruning Apple Trees"

This video will show you how to properly prune apple trees.

Due attention and care must be given to everyone garden tree, and to the young - doubly.

This also applies to pruning.

Having planted a seedling in the soil, the gardener is responsible for ensuring that its crown is formed correctly.

By timely removing unnecessary branches, you can create a lush crown with a large and quality harvest.

CAUTION! Incorrect pruning can weaken the apple tree and deprive the crop for the coming fall.

Pruning a young apple tree in spring

Removal of unnecessary branches of young apple trees is carried out in the first year after planting.

Adhering to certain rules, pruning of branches occurs after the growth of the growth stops. This phase can be determined along the formed apical shoot bud. At this time, nutrients will completely stop the outflow from the leaves to the root.

The optimal month for pruning is October. Leaves at this time do not fall yet, only change their color. Until the cold weather sets in, the weather is dry and warm, the wounds on the trees will heal faster.

Cut off damaged, dry branches. Using garden var or oil paint , cover up the place of the cut.

Pruning for the formation of the crown of young apple trees is not recommended. Shortened annual growths and branches may freeze slightly.

When forming a crown, strong pruning should not be carried out. Annual growths are enriched with nutrients, and a young apple tree can lose them. This will weaken the growth process, worsen the ovary, which will lead to shedding of the fruit.

This process should be carried out in dry cloudy weather, if desired, choosing a suitable day according to the lunar calendar.

Autumn pruning of young apple trees: video tutorials

See how to properly prune a young apple tree in the fall: video and practical advice.

Pruning young apple trees in the fall - video for beginners. See basic rules for fruit trees:

Pruning young columnar apple trees

The correct shape of columnar apple trees is maintained throughout their life..

When pruning an apple tree, you need to remember the main rule is not to cut off many branches at one time... must be timely.

The upper part of the tree is subject to radical pruning to provide the entire crown with sunlight.

In order for a young apple tree to have a beautiful crown and give a generous harvest of fruits every year, you need to take care of it and regularly prune it.

In contact with

The most literate buyers already know that there are GOSTs for planting material (GOST R 53135-2008), according to which certain biometric requirements are imposed on the seedlings, depending on the age, rootstock and their growing area. But few people know that the choice is not limited to the variety, stock, age and marketability of seedlings. There are also their various modifications associated with the peculiarities of growing technologies.

Growing technologies

According to the cultivation technologies, apple tree seedlings are divided into a one-year-old, a branched one-year-old, a two-year-old, a knip baum (knip bom), a modified two-year-old and a modified knip baum.

Which seedling to choose and what are these technologies for? You need to know the answers to these and other questions before you start laying an orchard.

Growing annuals

The simplest and most common technology for the production of seedlings is the cultivation of a standard annual. In the first field of the nursery, rootstocks of the first and second commercial varieties of different growth rates are planted. Winter, spring grafting or summer budding is carried out at a height of 5–15 cm. In the first and second fields of the nursery, in spring and autumn, root fertilizing with nitrogen fertilizers is carried out. With any technology, seedlings are grown in a well-lit area, subject to all agrotechnical measures in combination with effective irrigation.

For the cultivation of a branched one-year-old, only rootstocks of the first commercial grade are used.

In addition to root dressing with nitrogen fertilizers, foliar dressing and processing of eyepieces at a height of 50-60 cm with growth regulators are carried out in the second field of the nursery, in combination with 2-3 times pinching of the apical (upper) leaves while maintaining the growth point.

The advantages of these technologies are the simplicity of growing planting material, low price, good growth and the survival rate of seedlings in the garden, minimum costs during transportation and landing.

Unfortunately, such planting material has more disadvantages. In the garden, seedlings require additional costs for the formation of the crown, they begin to bear fruit late. The first yield occurs in the 3-5th year, the recoupment of the garden in the 7th-8th year. The resulting sharp angles of branching contribute to a decrease in the formation of the generative sphere.

Biennial seedlings

The highest consumer demand is for standard two-year-old apple seedlings. They are grown from unbranched annuals. In the third field of the nursery, one-year-olds are cut (crowned) at a height of 90–100 cm from the soil level. Young shoots below a height of 50 cm and 2-3 upper competing shoots of the central conductor are removed (broken out). Annually in spring and autumn, root fertilization is carried out with nitrogen fertilizers.

Such seedlings grow well in the garden, they are sold at a relatively low price.

But this technology also has its drawbacks:

• a long, three-year cycle of growing seedlings in a nursery, using additional agricultural techniques (pruning, forming a crown);
• two-year-old seedlings have sharp branching angles;
• generative buds are few or absent;
• the first harvests are obtained in the 2nd-4th year, the recoupment of the garden comes only in the 6th-7th year.

Knip baum

More recently, modern the latest technology growing seedlings of the knip baum type (knip bom), which has already been able to confidently take a high position in the planting material market. At the first stage of obtaining such seedlings, a standard unbranched one-year-old is grown.

In the third field of the nursery, a one-year-old is cut at a height of about 40-50 cm, and a branched seedling is grown from the upper bud. When the central conductor reaches a length of 15–20 cm, it is treated with a growth regulator and pinched. It turns out a two-year-old with an annual crown. Root and foliar feeding is carried out several times.

Knip baum seedlings have a developed crown and formed generative buds, capable of producing single yields (up to 2-3 kg per tree) already in the year of planting, and up to 5-6 kg in the second year.

After 4–5 years of fruiting, orchards planted with such seedlings fully pay for themselves and become profitable, providing a garden yield of up to 200–350 c / ha. The maximum productivity occurs in the 5-6th year.

The price of seedlings grown using this technology differs markedly from those described earlier. This is due to more labor-consuming agricultural practices and a long, three-year growing cycle. Transporting and planting knip-booms is also somewhat more expensive. In the first years after planting in the garden, seedlings are stressed, growth processes are weakened.

Modified knip baum

In Russia, two new technologies for growing seedlings have been developed and proposed, which, in their main biometric characteristics, are somewhat superior to knip baum seedlings. This is a modified knip baum and a modified two-year-old.

The modified knip baum in the nursery is formed by crowning a standard one-year-old at a height of 70 cm from the soil level. A branched central conductor is grown from the upper bud, and the lateral branches formed below are partially removed, leaving 3–5 shoots.

Lateral shoots are deflected to a horizontal position using clothespins or twine. When the central conductor reaches a length of 15–20 cm, it is treated with a growth regulator or pinched. Root and foliar feeding is carried out.

A modified two year old is obtained from a branched one year old. In the third field of the nursery, the tree is crowned at a height of about 100 cm from the soil level. All branches longer than 20 cm are cut in half. The growing side shoots are deflected to a horizontal position using clothespins or twine. The central conductor, which has reached a length of 15–20 cm, is also treated with a growth regulator.

Root and foliar feeding is carried out several times. In terms of early maturity, yield and payback of the garden, such a technology for obtaining seedlings is similar to the knip baum technology, and even surpasses it.

Summing up

Thus, despite all the variety of technologies for growing apple tree seedlings that exist today, before laying a garden, it is necessary, first of all, to make a choice between planting inexpensive seedlings, but with a later date for the entry into fruiting, or planting more costly, but early-growing and quickly recouped.