Apple tree "Pepin Saffron": description of the variety and subtleties of cultivation

Apples "Pepin Saffron" have long been deservedly popular with all lovers of healthy fruits.

The fragrant and sweet fruits of “Pepin” are adored by children, they make delicious jams and juices, jams and fruit purees, apples are good in home baking: cakes, pies, beloved by all charlotte. A special feature of apples is the time of their ripening - almost in winter, when a person needs vitamins, especially vitamin C, which are so rich in winter apples.

The apple tree "Pepin Saffron", a late-winter variety, was born thanks to the efforts and scientific experiments of the famous breeder I. V. Michurin.

Fragrant apples of this variety appeared in the last century, in 1907, by crossing the "excellent parents": "Reneta d'Orleans" and "Chinese Golden" with the variety "Pepinka Lithuanian".

Just starting the experiment, Michurin suggested that as a result of crossing, excellent results will be obtained, and the variety of the future apple tree will be an excellent specimen for hybridization. The scientist got to the point - thanks to "Pepin Saffron" we have today the opportunity to enjoy more than 20 varieties of apples.

Starting the description of the variety "Pate Saffron", you must start from the tree itself - it is low, with lush and dense foliage. The maximum height that the tree reaches is 3-3.5 meters, the crown is in the shape of a ball, the leaves are deep, almost emerald in color, oval-shaped. During flowering, all trees are a unique picture - white flowers literally cover the entire tree crown.

Fruits are yellow-red, the peel is shiny, sometimes with longitudinal lines, sometimes with small dots, with a unique aroma. The taste is sweet and sour. Small apples themselves - their weight is about 140 grams. Apples can be stored for a very long time - this is their undoubted plus - almost a few months. Storage containers should be dry: wooden or plastic. Fruits should be shifted by newspaper or tracing paper, they should be stored at a temperature not higher than 2 degrees Celsius.

To prevent the fruits falling from the tree to disappear, one can make fragrant compote according to the simplest recipe: a kilogram of apples, 300 grams of sugar and a liter and a half of water.

Pepin Saffron begins to bear fruit 3-5 years after planting, but the result is worth it.

The apple tree begins to bloom in June, and the owners will be able to harvest in September or in early October. After harvesting, the fruits should rest for about a month, and then you can enjoy the juicy and rich taste of apples at the height of the winter cold. Of course, apples are edible in August, but they will taste sour.

The popularity of “Pepin” is proved by the fact that it is planted all over the territory of Russia and the near abroad:

• in the North Caucasus;
• in Eastern and Western Siberia;
• in the Central Black Earth region;
• in the Volga-Vyatka region;
• in Georgia and Armenia;
• in Belarus and the Baltic States.

Despite the fact that the Pepin Saffron variety is a winter one, the rich taste of apples pleases both adults and children. Due to the content of sugar and vitamins from “Pepin”, fruit purees for babies are unparalleled, and practical hostesses will make the most delicious marmalades and candied fruits from apples.

Those who prefer Russian cuisine, harvest from them gorgeous moistened apples, use dried fruits from fruits.

If we talk about the benefits of the fruit "Pepin Saffron", then the following should be noted:

• high and regular yield;
• excellent taste;
• low shedding of fruits;
• self-pollination;
• high transportability - apples can be transported over long distances, they will not deteriorate and retain their taste;
• winter hardiness

As for the shortcomings, it should be noted here that the fruits are poorly resistant to the pathogens of scab, a dangerous agricultural plant disease caused by bacteria and fungi.Therefore, if the season, when the fruits ripen, will be rainy, you must take care of the integrity of the crop.

Most often gardeners use special chemicals against fungi, which include sulfur and copper sulfate.

If you decide to plant Pepin Saffron trees on your garden plot, you should seriously prepare for this process.

Even if you have to plant a couple of trees, it is better to choose them not in the market, but in special stores. Sometimes unscrupulous sellers can offer you a completely different variety, issuing the desired "Pepin Saffron". It may happen that the traders themselves do not know that the saplings of the tree are sick or treated with strong chemicals. Ideally, if the sapling grew on the territory of the nursery - then the option of the raznosortitsy is excluded.

But in the store you can ask for a quality certificate to make sure that you are buying a healthy and necessary seedling. And be sure to remember that buying trees is better than those that independently threw off the foliage. The remaining greens will absorb all the moisture, and, most likely, the tree will die. Vendors in the market often offer spring seedlings that could not be sold in the fall.

It is better to plant an apple tree in September or early October, if strong frosts are not foreseen in your area so that the tree can adapt and survive the winter. The leaves that appeared on the sapling will already fall off, and the nutrients necessary for the future growth of the plant will “concentrate” in the trunk.

If a tree is planted in spring, better to do it in mid-april, again, given the climatic features.

It is better to choose a sapling, which is more than a year old, better than two. On such a tree should not be more than two branches, and the height of the seedling should not exceed one and a half meters. Ideal - the presence of vaccinations, which is located 10 centimeters above the root.

A place for an apple tree is sunny, without drafts. Does not like the apple tree and excess moisture, it can die. If the soil is acidic, neutralize it with lime mortar.

It is advisable to choose a permanent place for the apple tree, the tree does not like transplants. Before planting, hold the roots of “Saffron Pepin” in room temperature water, then soak them in special insecticide solutions to help protect the root system from possible plant diseases.

If you plan to plant an apple tree in the fall, prepare a place for planting in the summer - enrich the soil with necessary components.

• First of all, compost is a complete fertilizer containing organic substances that feed the root system. This may include both manure and bird droppings.
• Potassium salt, so necessary to apple seedlings.
• Superphosphates - mineral fertilizers.

All components are mixed and distributed in the area where the apple tree will grow. It is advisable to thoroughly dig the soil with the resulting fertilizer.

We are preparing a planting pit, the dimensions of which are no different from the standard ones: 1 meter in diameter, not less than 80 cm deep. We mix the dug up earth with compost, you can add more fertilizers. We fall asleep the ground back into the pit and let it stand.

When starting planting, the main thing is not to overdo it, not to plant a seedling too deep. At the very beginning, place a peg in the center of the dug hole, you can even have two, on which the seedling will “rest” in the future, then place the apple tree itself. Be sure to make sure that the roots of the tree are laid out, otherwise they may die. Pour the prepared, fertilized soil gradually, tamping each layer after about 10-15 centimeters.Water the seedling planted with a bucket of water, you can two, having equipped a kind of roller around the pit with enriched soil, which will subsequently retain moisture.

Carefully tie the tree to the peg so that it does not collapse during a strong wind. If you plant more than one sapling, remember that an apple tree is a freedom-loving tree, loves a lot of light, it needs room for branches and the root system. The following seedling is recommended to be planted at a decent distance, given that each tree requires an area of ​​more than 12 square meters.

In order for your tree to grow and strengthen, it needs proper care in the first years of life. The main condition is that in the first year of life an apple tree should receive the necessary amount of moisture: during the spring-autumn period, the tree is watered with 15 liters of water. Watering is necessary twice a day at the very beginning, then, when it gets a little stronger and will be taken, watering will need to be adjusted depending on weather conditions.

At that moment, when the fruits will form, and this happens in the summer, more water will be needed, but after the summer period, watering may be stopped.

In addition to watering, pay attention to the mineral dressing in the spring and organic fall. Saffron Pepin leaves can be simply sprayed with a spray with a special compound against the aphid that has appeared. In two buckets of water, dissolve a pound of tobacco (some even use cigarette butts) and 40 grams of laundry soap. Infusion should stand for two days, and then spray them with leaves. This procedure is recommended in early spring, when the aphid larvae have not yet hatched from the eggs. Aphid is a very dangerous pest, it can destroy the leaves of all trees in one season.

In order to avoid fungal diseases, the so-called scab, the spores of which appear on the fruit, it is necessary to remove rotten leaves from under the tree in time in time and be sure to burn everything.

If you do not have time to do this, spray the roots of the tree with a solution of urea, but this should be done before the tree blossoms.

In the autumn, be sure to whitewash the trunks of the apple tree and engage in cutting the crown. You can cut branches in the spring to remove sick and dried shoots.

Gardeners who are fond of planting the Pepin Saffron apple tree, note that the variety is excellent, frost-resistant, and with proper care in the first year of life in the future, growing a tree does not require much effort and effort.

The fruits themselves are stored for a long time and efficiently, delighting the owners with a full harvest. Some gardeners can be proud of the amount of fruit - up to 200 kilograms per tree.

Apple tree perfectly tolerates wintering, especially in the territory of central Russia and Moscow region, according to the stories of the owners of the garden plots. For the regions of Siberia and the Urals, an adapted frost-resistant variety “Pepin Saffron” was grown, which also bears fruit very well, and the fruits are also fragrant and tasty.

The grade "Pepin Saffron" will suit any gardener in the territory of Russia, it is enough only to attentively treat various agrotechnical actions right at the beginning.

For how to plant an apple tree, see the following video.