Chinese apple tree: varieties, cultivation and care

Apple is the most common crop among pome fruit trees.Due to the variety of varieties and species, it is adapted to the different climatic conditions of our country. Among the diversity of all species, there is a Chinese apple tree. This type of apple is a hybrid of home and berry apple trees.

This name does not mean a specific variety, but is a separate species having several varieties with similar properties. The Chinese has got its name from the apple tree because its leaves are very similar to the leaves of Chinese plum. Officially, it bears the name of an apple tree with a strong Chinese. Most varieties have a tall tree (up to 10 m), but there are also stunted ones. Chinese barrel has many branches, and the crown is thick and lush. Its branches are directed upwards, the bark of a brown color shading gray. The shape of a dark green leaf is oval, elongated with a sharp finish, its surface is smooth and shiny. Edge of sheet serrate with fine teeth.

Large white or pinkish apple flowers, forming an umbrella inflorescence, have a strong pleasant smell that attracts pollinating insects. Fruit ripening time is from August to September. The size of the fruits collected in the socket is small, they are painted in shades from yellow to red. The shape of the apples is round or oval. The flesh of the fruit is soft, white in color, rarely with a yellow or pinkish tinge, with a sweet and sour taste and very fragrant. The Chinese have a well-developed root system, it is shallow, but strong and highly resistant to frost, even Siberian. Apple is unpretentious to the composition of the soil, tolerates drought well and has good immunity to fungal infections. China is very fruitful and bears fruit every year.

China in some regions is called "Paradise Apple" ("Raika"). But this name is not an official variety, bred by breeders. Since it has many good qualities, breeders have created various varieties of apple trees. These varieties differ in shape, size of fruits and their taste characteristics.

This is a very popular columnar low-growing apple of a late autumn variety. This species has a trunk with branches growing upwards. Chinese Red has small apples the size of a sweet cherry on a long petiole, with aromatic juicy flesh of yellow color and sweet-sour taste. The color of round apples is bright red with a crimson hue. The shelf life of the fruit is about 2 months. The variety has its advantages and disadvantages.

The advantages include:

• endurance and resistance to frost;
• the rapid onset of fruiting (for 3-5 years);
• high yield and slight shedding of the ovaries;
• short stature that facilitates tree care;
• long shelf life of the crop.

Among the shortcomings you can specify:

• late ripening;
• lack of immunity to scab;
• small fruits that do not meet consumer qualities.

This variety is created by US breeders. In our country, it became popular in the second half of the last century, when it was exported from America to Russia. "Long" refers to low-growing Chinese varieties. The branches grow to the sides, giving the apple a shrub look, so the crown needs to be shaped. May bear fruit in the fourth year of growth. Apples are very small (15-20 g), elongated, yellow-red. The flesh is tough, light yellow in color, with a sweet taste and a wine aroma.

The advantages include:

• good cold hardiness;
• high yield;
• good immunity to disease;
• the rapid onset of fruiting;
• decorative look.

The disadvantages include:

• apples are too small;
• short shelf life - no more than 2 weeks.

The variety cultivated by Michurin I.V. is a hybrid of the variety Belfleur and Chinese ordinary. A tree of medium height, whose branches grow upwards.The pyramid-shaped crown is not very thick, so it is not necessary to form it. In the fourth year of growth begins to bear fruit. Fruit ripening time is the second half of August. The ripened fruits fall off by themselves. The shape of the yellow color of apples is round, slightly flattened. In apples, the average size, up to 40 g. The white flesh has a fragrant sweet and sour taste.

Grade advantages:

• resistant to frost;
• has immunity to disease;
• the rapid onset of fruiting;
• ripening comes early.

Disadvantages:

• the ability to quickly dropping ripe apples;
• low consumer qualities of apples;
• limited immunity to scab.

This variety has a tall tree, the crown of which is round. Ripening of apples comes in the last decade of August. Apples are very tasty, sweet, with a honey taste, for which they received the name. Their pulp is so transparent that the seeds are visible to the light. The size of the fruits having the form of a ball is average, about 40 g. The ripening is simultaneous, after which the apples quickly fall off. Fruit storage is not suitable for storage. In overripe fruit peel cracks. Advantages are the same as in all chinas, besides apples have high palatability. The disadvantage is the great height of the trunk, which makes it difficult to care for the apple tree, lack of resistance to scab, as well as inability to store. The variety is adapted for cultivation in the Black Earth region.

For the first time, this cultivar was brought up by the breeder NI Kichunov in Samara, at the end of the 19th century, although the exact time of creation is unknown. The apple tree is also well tolerated by colds, a good immunity to scab. Fruiting occurs later than other varieties (by the sixth year of growth). “Saninskaya” is a tall variety with a thick and lush crown in the shape of an ellipse that needs pruning. The elongated apples have a small size (up to 30 g), the pulp is compacted, with a sweet-sour, astringent taste. The ripening time is the end of August, the harvests are great. It has good scab resistance. Shelf life almost until November. The disadvantage of “Saninskaya” is unstable fruiting, low taste qualities of apples. The cultivation area of ​​this variety is the Central Non-Black Earth and Bashkiria.

This variety is bred by Pavlovsky nursery VIR. "Pioneer" - a tree of medium height, has a not very dense crown, with an oval shape, the top of which is slightly elongated. It blooms with small pink flowers, and the foliage has a burgundy shade, which gets thanks to the red veins on bright green leaves. In the fall, the foliage becomes beet color, which is very beautiful and gives the tree a decorative look. Fruits are small to 15-20 g, in the form of a ball. Gentle and thin rind of red color, as well as very sweet, pulp with fragrant taste. The apple tree has excellent resistance to cold, to various infections, including scab. The disadvantage is the inability of apples to store.

Planting and maintenance rules are the same for all varieties. Despite the fact that the Chinese are unpretentious to the composition of the soil, on fertile lands, it is better cultivated. Moderate moisture and fertilizers have a beneficial effect on its growth and development. However, she does not like acid soils and nutrient saturation. Do not plant a plant in areas where groundwater comes close to the surface. It grows well in light sandy or loamy soil, prefers places open to sunlight, although it also grows in partial shade.

Early spring or autumn to mid-October - the time of planting seedlings. 2-3 year-old trees are better suited for planting, as they have a good and fast survival rate. Before planting, the seedling’s root system is placed in water for 24 hours (preferably warm), and immediately before planting the roots should be dipped in liquid clay.The Chinese pit should be about 80 cm deep, one meter in diameter.

A mixture of soil, compost, peat with the addition of 250 g of ash and mineral fertilizers — 250 g of superphosphate and 100–120 g of potassium sulphate is prepared in advance for filling the pit. The pit is one third filled with this mixture; a wooden peg is placed in its middle. The seedling is placed near the peg, the pit is filled with soil so that the root neck of the tree is above the soil level from 5 to 7 cm. The earth around the trunk is well rammed, the seedling is attached to the peg and poured with water.

The gap between the trees should be about 6 meters. For the first two years, the sapling remains tied to a peg. In the next spring you need to trim the end of all the branches without exception. This is the first stage of the formation of the crown of the Chinese. In order to ensure China’s continued good development, the formation of ovaries in the first years after planting should not be allowed, for this purpose all blooming flowers are removed.

It is possible to propagate an apple tree with a subsilus. In apple trees grown from seeds, fruiting occurs later, but they quickly grow strong and healthy.

With this cultivation of apple follow certain rules.

• For seeds choose ripe or even ripe apples. Seeds are well washed in water.
• Then they are soaked for 3 days, daily changing the water. On the last day, you need to add growth stimulant to the water - “Epin” or sodium humate.
• Stratify seeds to stimulate germination. To do this, the seeds are placed in a container with a wet mixture of sawdust, sand and activated carbon powder, covered with a film (preferably perforated), put in a cold place with a temperature of +5 degrees and hold for 2.5 - 3 months.
• Regularly check the condition of the seeds for germination, maintaining moisture, but preventing the formation of mold.

Before the onset of heat, sprouted seeds are planted in pots with soil prepared in advance from the ground, compost, peat, 200 g of ash, 30 g of superphosphate and 10 g of potassium sulfate are added per 10 kg of soil. Chinese seedling can be grown at home for 6-12 months. Grown up seedlings need to be transplanted as necessary to a larger container. Only in late April or early May sprouts can be planted in open ground.

In summer and autumn, you can sow Chinese seeds directly into the ground immediately after washing and soaking. In the open ground during the winter, a natural stratification of the seeds will occur, and they will germinate in the spring. However, it is possible to sow the seeds while warm, about four weeks before the cold weather. The soil for planting seeds is prepared in the same way as when growing at home.

When planting in autumn, seeds are sown in beards about 5 cm deep, with an interval between them about 10-15 cm and between rows about 20-30 cm if in spring the sprouted seedlings are transplanted. When planting seeds at a permanent growth site, the gap between them should be 20-30 cm, and between rows 40-60 cm. After sowing, the grooves are well watered.

Sprouted seeds are planted in this way:

• a groove is made about 3-5 cm deep;
• small pits are made in the grooves, the depth of which depends on the size of the roots, with an interval of 10-15 cm;
• seedlings are carefully placed in pits, the earth is gently compacted around them;
• then gradually watered, gradually moistening the soil.

After the seedlings have taken root and grown, you need to remove the dick. The first time this is done when there are 4 true leaves on the sprout.

Wicks are determined by the features:

• the presence of bright green small serrate leaves;
• the thickness of the trunk is small, and the internodes are long;
• the presence of sharp thorns on the trunk or shoots.

In the first year after planting, saplings are sprayed with copper sulfate: during the growth of buds and then with the appearance of the buds, but before their blooming.

Subsequent care of trees includes the following steps.

• Watering, which should be not frequent, but plentiful, about 4 buckets of separated water per sapling.Mulching is carried out after irrigation using either sawdust, or peat, or compost.
• Top dressing, which is held for the first time on the second year after planting. In early spring, before flowering, feed with nitrate (ammonia) or urea, as well as organic matter. The second is done during the formation of ovaries nitrophoska (250 g per 10 liters of water). The third time fertilizer is superphosphate 250 g and potassium sulfate 150 g per 10 l of water is applied at the end of summer. In late autumn, the ground around the trunk is covered with a thick layer of compost.

• The fight against pests and diseases. Despite the good immunity of the Chinese, disease prevention should be carried out. From cytosporosis apply the tool "Hom", bluestone, making spring spraying. With scab fight copper sulfate, drugs "Horus", "Dispute", as well as urea. Harmful insects such as aphid, apple fleece and apple moth can damage trees. Soap solution with tobacco helps from aphids, and you can get rid of apple flower beetle and moths using chlorine.
• Removal of weeds and simultaneous loosening of the soil.
• Formation of the crown and pruning of the branches, which should begin in 2-3 years. The trees can be cut only in March when the temperature is set at + 10 degrees. If the seedling is then transplanted, then you can remove a large number of branches. With the growth of the apple in a permanent place, small pruning is made, which stimulates the growth of its roots.

The purpose of pruning branches is to form a crown, which will ensure good aeration and the desired height of the apple tree (approximately 3 m). It is necessary to identify the 6 largest branches that make up the skeleton of the crown (skeletal branches). All further pruning equals them. The branches below the skeletal branch are removed, as are all growing down or inward, curves, weak or affected. They also prune one that impedes the main one, but in such a way that there is no hemp, otherwise new shoots will grow on it.

Shoots growing on the main branch with an angle of 30 degrees or more have an annular formation at the base. Pruning is done only at the top of this influx, as it contains woody cells that multiply rapidly, which means that they tighten the cutting points. Pruning that is not done according to the rule will lead to long healing or the appearance of germs.

The first cropping should form:

• main trunk;
• the skeleton of a tree, leaving no strong branch equal to the main trunk;
• the center of the apple tree, surrounded by uniformly growing offshoots.

All the following years need to maintain pruning to eliminate the density of the crown, remove mutually obscuring, as well as dry and affected branches, form branches that can bear the weight of the fruit and maintain the desired shape of the crown. Pruning of branches affected by frost should be done after the size of the damage has been determined, since vertically growing thick twigs (tops) often appear in this place. The trimming tool must be clean and very sharp. Places of cuts should be immediately covered with garden pitch or paint on linseed oil.

Since Chinese apples do not have a long shelf life, they should be quickly used after harvest. Fruits can be dried and frozen for cooking compotes in the winter, of which they prepare juices, compotes, jelly, jam, jam, wine and cider, as well as excellent jam.

The decorative look of some varieties of Chinese are used for landscape design. Decorative Chinese with its beautiful flowering and brightly colored fruits are used in the design of territories in boarding houses, sanatoriums, parks (both in group plantings and as a tapeworm). In addition, trees are commonly used to form beautiful hedges. Kitayka, which has excellent frost resistance, is used to create new cold-resistant varieties of apple trees.

Many amateur gardeners successfully grow various varieties of apple trees. According to their many reviews, the Chinese do not require specific care.The range of its successful cultivation is wide: the middle zone of Russia, and Siberia, and the northern regions of our country. It is noted that despite the annual harvest, it is not always abundant. According to reviews, the columnar varieties of Chinese do not take up much space, do not require pruning and are easy to maintain.

All celebrate the wonderful taste not only of apples with different flavors, but also jams, compotes and preserves. Many point to the fact that after planting, the whales increased the yield of other apple trees, as they attract a lot of pollinating insects during flowering. Do not forget to note the gardeners and decorative varieties of Chinese, which is a decoration of the garden plot. Reviews about apple subsilab only positive. This speaks in favor of its widespread cultivation.

For information on the Chinese apple varieties and how to care for them, see the following video.