How to choose an apple seedling. Practical recommendations on how to grow apple tree seedlings How to choose the right apple tree seedlings in spring

Who among us does not like to enjoy the delicious, juicy fruits of ripe apple trees? Of course, many people like this fruit. But in order to grow fragrant apple trees in your garden, you need to understand the importance of choosing the right tree. How choose apple seedlings?

How to choose seedlings: a step-by-step strategy

In order not to make a mistake in choosing and not to buy an unsuitable seedling, you need to consider a few points:

Your location. Everyone knows that some varieties of apple trees are not suitable for growing in certain conditions. The best solution is to buy only those varieties that are suitable for your area. According to the ripening period, apple varieties are divided into three types:

Ripening in autumn. They have a more pronounced and rich taste. They bear fruit in late September and can be stored for more than a month.
Winter varieties. Such apple trees ripen in late autumn and attract with the possibility of long-term storage - until spring. Seedlings of such trees will be perfectly accepted in those places where the summer is very warm, and the autumn is mild and frost-free.

Practical advice for choosing seedlings. If the first steps are quite simple, then a visual inspection requires some knowledge in order to be able to choose the right tree. Before that, of course, you will find out which varieties are allowed to be grown on your territory and go to special nurseries to buy.

To begin with, note that all apple trees are divided into the following categories:

Vigorous. Such seedlings have a deep root system and reach a height of about 9 meters. It is recommended to grow only on those where the groundwater level is below 4 meters.
Semi-dwarf. Trees grow up to 6 meters in height. They can be planted if the groundwater level does not exceed the mark of 2.5 meters.
Dwarf. Small trees up to 3 meters high. They are the most popular among gardeners.

In order for the seedling to quickly take root and begin to grow, it must be young (1-2 years). Experts say that the younger the seedling is, the faster and more trouble-free it will take root there. How to understand the age of a seedling? Everything is quite simple: if the seedling is about a year old, then it will have practically no branches from the pillar. But if the seedling is already over a year old, in this case there should be a few more additional branches that will stick out in different directions.

Roots should not be dry and broken

Video: How to choose the right apple seedling

How to choose the right apple seedling? Consider the examples of the selection of seedlings for your site, what to look for when choosing a seedling.

To obtain an abundant harvest of fragrant apples, the garden must be periodically updated by planting seedlings of productive and new varieties.

Always buy only locally released varieties, they will do well in this climate and will overwinter well. Choose varieties from local nurseries.

What are the seedlings

Seedlings are grown in two ways: by winter grafting and by budding.

Both are on sale. With winter grafting, seedlings with a closed root system are found, and with budding - only with an open root system.

Budding, or eye grafting- a method of grafting fruit and ornamental plants with a single bud taken from a cutting of a cultivated variety. The accustomed kidney starts growing in the spring of next year, a tree or bush is formed from this shoot, which is transplanted to a permanent place.

At winter vaccination the shoot of a cultivated plant is grafted onto the stem or bark system of another, often uncultivated plant.

The secret of growing seedlings is that winter grafted seedlings grow 1 year faster than budding seedlings.

When buying a seedling with budding, it is usually already two years old, at least.

Choosing a seedling for planting

Before choosing a seedling for your site, you need to be guided by the following principles:

See how the seedling is propagated, on which rootstock

What is the thickness of the bole. Using a caliper, measure the thickness of the bole 5 cm above the graft. Vigorous - 1-1.2 cm, medium-sized - 1-1.1 cm, low-growing - 0.9-1 cm.

The height of the seedling, measured with a ruler from the ground level. Vigorous - 110-130 cm, medium-sized - 100-120 cm, undersized - 100-110 cm.

The number of side branches - maybe 3-5 side branches.

It is necessary to take into account the parameter from the ground to the first branch (the first side branch) - this distance should be from 40 to 60 cm. If the branch is lower, then the lower branches will have to be cut.

How to choose an apple tree seedling?

According to the ripening period, apple trees are divided into the following types:

Summer- fruiting occurs in August, stored for a short time, about 10 days. These are such varieties - White filling, Grushovka, Medunitsa.

autumn- ripen in September, stored for a month. These are varieties such as Korean, Melba, Borovinka.

Winter- fruiting in late September, early October. Such varieties are able to be stored for a long time, up to 6 months. Such varieties of apple trees are popular - Welsey, Antonovka, Bogatyr, Moscow winter.

Depending on the rootstock, apple tree seedlings can be divided into three types:

vigorous- tree height from 4 to 8 meters with deep roots. Plots for such apple trees should be with a groundwater level below 3 m.

Semi-dwarf- tree height up to 5 meters with a root system of 2-2.5 m. The groundwater level should be at a distance of 2.5 m from the surface.

Dwarf- with a tree height of up to 2.5 meters. Such seedlings are planted if the groundwater level in the area is above 1.5 m.

Attention: The contact of the roots of the apple tree with groundwater weakens the tree, impairs fruiting and increases the risk of disease.

When choosing a variety, pay attention to the taste of the fruit. Apple trees may be self-pollinating or may need a pollinator.

The younger the seedling, the better it will take root. annual seedling does not have developed branches, takes root well, lends itself better to crown formation, but begins to bear fruit later.

two year old seedling already has 2-3 additional branches, they take root well, but it is more difficult to form a crown.

three year old seedlings, this is an already formed tree, take root worse.

Pay attention to the stem and roots of the plant when choosing - there should be no growths and damage. Stem under the bark bright green. The roots should not be rotten and brittle.

Strong branched roots with a small amount of fibrous - so the plant is grown from seed. From seed rootstock a tall tree will grow that will bear fruit for 30 or more years, but you will receive the first harvest in 5-7 years. Such trees adapt well, are resistant to diseases and are unpretentious in care.

clone rootstock has a fibrous root system. A bountiful harvest from such rootstocks is obtained in a short time.

How not to make a mistake with the choice of a seedling?

Apple tree seedlings can be sold in containers or with an open root system. Exposed roots should be damp, wrapped in a damp cloth.

In the container, the roots should master the soil mixture; it should not crumble if such a seedling is removed from the container.

The right choice of apple seedlings will allow you to get a bountiful harvest of apples for 15-20 years.

Video - How to choose the right apple seedling

The apple tree is a rather capricious tree, and first of all, you need to ask yourself not only which varieties to plant, but also the right one. After all, 80% of the time of the first harvest depends on professional planting. But more on that later, first you need to choose a good seedling.

What to look for when buying an apple tree seedling

The tree should be with healthy bark, about 1.5 m high. The graft is located at a distance of 7-8 cm from the root, the crown has 4-5 branches.

There should be a lot of boxes. Choose only winter-hardy varieties. Be sure to find out where on the seedling the southern one is especially important for its fruiting. The fact is that when planting a seedling, it is necessary to place it on the cardinal points in the same way as it grew in the nursery. Otherwise, the tree will take root for a long time and will bear fruit a few years later.

What you need to know when choosing a planting site for a seedling

If the apple tree has leaves, be sure to remove them. When deciding how and what to plant in the garden, it is impossible to skimp on the space for the future tree, as each plant wins its place under the sun. And if the apple trees are planted closely, they begin to oppress each other. For the same reason, a seedling should not be planted near an adult tree. Well, it is also not recommended to do this near garden paths, so that the branches of an already adult tree do not block the passage later. It is also undesirable to grow apple trees in places where they are highly located. This tree develops in two directions: horizontal and vertical. Horizontal roots provide rainwater and various nutrients to the fertile layer. Vertical ones provide stability to the apple tree. If the groundwater is high, then the vertical roots, having reached them, stop growing and rot, which means that the “age” of such a tree will not be long.

How to plant apple trees in a permanent place

So, having correctly marked the site, proceed to dig a hole for landing. The depth is 1 meter, the width is 1-1.5 m. The pit should be filled up to half with a mixture of compost, peat and humus. Next, add regular soil so that the root neck is above the ground. It is advisable to drive a wooden stake into the center of the pit before planting in order to fix the seedling later. And never do this after you can damage the root system. Now lightly tamp the earth in the center, and compact more tightly around the edges.

How to plant apple trees if their growth is unknown in the cardinal directions in the nursery

If you do not know exactly how the seedling grew in the nursery, then the grafted branch should be directed to the south side. If the scion is in the center of the rootstock, then place the thickest root to the south. This will make it more likely that the tree is planted correctly. Otherwise, an incorrectly “oriented” seedling will take root longer, and will begin to bear fruit 2-3 years later, it happens that even for 10 years the tree grows idle.

After planting, the entire hole must be shed with water until the soil absorbs it. Sometimes it takes up to 70 liters. Then you need to mulch the landing site, for this, use dry grass and humus. And somewhere for 5-7 days you can forget about the tree. But after this time, the landing site must be poured with plenty of water again. Now, you know how to plant apple trees and how to do it right.

Each gardener strives to ensure that the garden is constantly updated with new productive varieties of fruit trees. At the same time, it is important to know how to choose apple tree seedlings, because the final result directly depends on the quality of the planting material.

Criteria for the selection of seedlings

When choosing material for planting in your garden, you need to dwell on varieties zoned in this region. In order not to be mistaken, it is worth going for apple tree seedlings to a local nursery or garden partnership. When deciding which apple tree seedlings to buy from a nursery, you need to decide what kind of fruit you need. Based on the timing of fruit ripening, apple trees are classified as summer, autumn and winter.

Groundwater causes root rot and plant diseases. To make the right choice of the type of apple tree seedlings, it is important to know how deep the groundwater is located in the garden plot. Depending on the rootstock, apple trees are divided as follows:

tall - with deep roots, reaching the height of the trunk together with the crown up to 8 meters. For these apple trees, lands with groundwater depths deeper than 3 meters are suitable;
semi-dwarf - grow up to 5 meters. For their normal development, it is necessary that groundwater does not rise higher than 2.5 meters;
dwarf - up to 2.5 meters tall. For them, it is permissible for groundwater to be at a depth of up to 1.5 meters.

What to look for when buying seedlings

The appearance of the seedling indicates its condition, so when choosing a healthy copy from the nursery, you should pay attention to the following characteristics:

The most important part of a tree is the roots. If they are lethargic, dry, then the plant was not stored properly, and it is difficult to imagine how it will take root. It is better that the roots are covered, otherwise it is important that they are in a humid environment in the shade;
the tree should not have damage, wounds, be straight;
branches should be located at an acute angle to the trunk;
on the roots and trunk there should not be swellings, growths that indicate the presence of a disease in the plant;
tree age. The younger the plant, the faster it takes root, it is best to buy a 1-2-year-old seedling that does not have side branches or has 2-3 of them;
in a healthy plant, the trunk under the bark is bright green.

Transportation and storage of seedlings

Apple tree seedlings from the nursery must be transported, well protecting their roots from drying out and damage, covering them with a damp cloth and film. In this case, the branches are carefully tied to the trunk.

If you are not going to plant plants right away, then their roots should be soaked in a mash, which is soil with clay and mullein additives, diluted with water to a creamy state. Another option for protecting the roots is to wrap them in a damp cloth and store them in a cool place.

To revive the roots before planting, they must be kept in water for a day. If you are not going to plant seedlings from the nursery bought in the fall until spring, then they should be placed obliquely in half-meter grooves, deepening the plants into the ground to half their length. At the same time, the soil is well compacted at the roots and watered. During spring planting, the seedling is carefully dug out and planted in a permanent place.

How to choose the right apple seedling (video)

When and how to plant apple trees

When answering the question of when it is better to plant apple trees in the garden, you should know that you can do this in spring and autumn, but it is better to buy seedlings in autumn. At this time there is an opportunity to try all varieties of apples. The purchased seedling can be stored until spring, but it is better to plant as early as possible. After wintering in the garden, it will develop better. When thinking about when it is better to plant an apple tree, you should choose autumn.

You need to plant young apple trees in this order:

A few days before planting, pits should be dug, maintaining intervals between them: for dwarf species - 3 meters and row spacing - 2 meters, semi-dwarf varieties - 4 and 3 meters, respectively, for vigorous ones - both intervals of 4-5 meters.
We separate the layers: upper (with humus) and lower.
At the bottom we make a mound from the top layer, additionally fertilizing it with bone meal.
When planting, the seedling is placed on this mound.
Near it we drive in two pegs or one from the north side.
We sprinkle this layer of earth, compacting it manually, for fear of damaging the roots.
We almost completely fill the hole, leaving only 5-10 cm to the soil level, i.e. to vaccination level.
Fill each tree with 2 buckets of water.
If it is autumn, then we remove all the leaves from the seedling when planting.

For the winter, you should protect the trunks of apple trees from hares and other rodents by overlaying them with spruce branches or juniper.

Preparation for winter and wintering

The first wintering of seedlings is an important stage when everything must be done to make it successful. Back in September, the trees are watered abundantly, and then insulated with a layer of mulch or earth from the aisles. Before this, it is important to fertilize the seedlings.

In winter, the best insulation is snow. They are surrounded by tree trunks, then the natural insulation is well tamped. It serves well until the end of winter. With the onset of thaws, excess snow is removed so that the trees do not rot.

How to grow a seedling yourself

To grow a seedling from a seed, you need to do the following work:

Mature seeds are washed with water, soaked in water for three days, changing it daily. On the last day, a growth stimulant is added.
Then in the refrigerator (starting in January) they are stratified. To do this, a container with seeds immersed in sawdust or wet sand is placed in the refrigerator for two months. Periodically check for mold.
Sprouted seeds are planted in boxes with drainage and nutrient mixture, putting them on the windowsill.
Seedlings must be grown in good light.
Grown seedlings can be planted in the garden, watering them abundantly in the heat.
Before that, "wild birds" are culled based on the fact that good plants do not have thorns, their buds are symmetrical, the trunk is thick, and the leaves are large.
Before winter, apple trees should be planted again in pots or in tall boxes so that their main root grows more freely.
The following autumn, they are again planted in the garden, directing the central root at a right angle.
In spring, cultivars should be grafted onto wild apple trees.

How to plant an apple tree seedling (video)

Choosing the right variety of apple trees is not an easy task. It is better to buy seedlings in a special nursery, giving preference to specimens that are dug up with you. You should also decide when it is better to plant the purchased seedling. You can, of course, grow an apple tree seedling yourself. This is a very painstaking work with unpredictable results. Having ended up with delicious apples, you can be proud of the fruits of your hands.

Hello, dear gardeners, gardeners and flower growers! My dears, many of you, arranging a garden on your plot, planning plants, select varieties and do not know which varieties to choose, how to choose varieties. And now is the best time to try these varieties, to know what they taste like.

After all, usually in catalogs, in reference books, in pomologies, all characteristics are written very briefly and it is not always clear what “sweet and sour taste” or “sweet” or “sour” means. Very abstract, right? Not to mention that smells are generally very difficult to convey.

Of course, each of you must unmistakably know such an old Russian variety called "Antonovka". There are several variants of Antonovka. Some number about 20 or even 30 of them. But, in fact, there are not so many of them. Real Antonovka. More precisely, here is a real Antonovka, i.e. an ordinary antonovka looks like this - look. It can be just a pressed form, flattened, it can be a little elongated, the bottom is here, the lower part, the top of the fruit. This means that the color is green.

Maybe if there was an apple in the sun, such a yellowing, such as a blush. And of course this rustiness. This spot is rusty. And, of course, the smell. You can’t confuse Antonovka with anything, with anything. Antonovka vulgaris should smell like Antonovka vulgaris. So, cutting an apple, for example, yes. It is also very important to know, for example, the color of the seeds. This can also characterize the variety very well. And you will not be mistaken, you will not be deceived. For example, seeds should be dark brown.

Here, now I'll take it and show it on a white background. Perhaps such a dark brown color, medium size. And, of course, the smell should be specific. The taste of antonovka apples should last until about the new year. After the new year, Antonovka loses its extraordinary qualities, taste, and turns into boiled potatoes.

There is Antonovka, for example, sweet. This is also such a variety, you can buy it in nurseries. Completely different. If the color of the surface is uniform here, there are very, very few dots. You know, there are such whitish dots? There are very few of these points here. That antonovka sweet has a lot of them. Look at these dots.

Construction apple. Look, the size of a smallish apple. If you do not take care of your apple trees, cut them in time, feed them, you will have exactly the same apples called "Stroevsky". By the way, the variety is very good, both in taste and in its lightness. It will lie until May, or even until June, remarkably retaining all its excellent properties.

Here is an apple called "Freshness". Look how beautiful. Extraordinary beauty. And the same thing, lies for a very long time. If you have storage, then, of course, at a temperature of about zero degrees, without light - if you go into the storage, then turn on the light literally for a moment - you will have apples until June.

And very, very good taste. Look how tight the apple is. Oh how. See, right? The flesh is not so white, you see, like antonovka, but still it has a slightly green color. You see, the pulp is crunchy. Very tasty. The seeds are much larger than, for example, Antonovka, if you compare.

"Semerenko", well, look. Is it possible to confuse "Semerenko" with some other apple? Of course not. Just seeing such a size, one can already wonder if this is Semerenko? Again, it all depends on care and, to some extent, depends on weather conditions. By the way, Antonovka at one time lost its attractive qualities and there are very few of it in the gardens. Now this love for Antonovka is returning. But know, if you plant Antonovka, that it does not pollinate itself, it is self-fertile, so be sure, be sure to plant some 2-3 varieties for Antonovka.

Here, for example, is the Bogatyr apple. This, in general, an apple came from the Antonovka line. Therefore, it resembles, of course, Antonovka, but in size it is 2 or even 3 times larger than Antonovka. The taste is very good. Unlike Antonovka, it lies until May. In the month of May, you can make charlotte. The same, crispy pulp. Pluck from the tree when apples ripen, at the end of September, and it is already ready for consumption.

"Memory of a Warrior" is an excellent variety. At exhibitions in general he always receives medals. Lobo, look what Lobo looks like. You know, when you look at the characteristics of apples, you need to know about 50-60 different nuances. Only by adding all these characteristics together, you can definitely unambiguously find out which variety it is. Therefore, some apples we can easily determine what it is, some apples are very difficult.

Here, please, take a bullseye called "Orlovsky synapse", and this is "Northern synapse". You see, the difference, firstly, is quite large. But, again, where they fed and watered poorly, the apple was smaller. Although the characteristics of these two varieties are very, very different. Indeed, the Orlovsky Sinap should be large, the Northern Sinap should be smaller.

And, please, also such an old variety "Aport". Well, what's wrong with "Aport"? Aport is much better, much better than, for example, such a variety as "Streifling". Shtreifling 2 months at most. This one is much longer.

My dears, please walk around the markets, try real, village apples. Decide on those varieties that you like and only plant them on your plots. So I wish you more time to prepare, choose unmistakably the varieties that you like best and will not disappoint in the future, and, of course, all the very best.