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

Growing technologies

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

Which seedling to choose and why are these technologies needed? You need to know the answers to these and other questions before you start planting an orchard.

Growing annuals

The simplest and most common technology for producing seedlings is growing standard annuals. In the first field of the nursery, rootstocks of the first and second commercial varieties of different vigor 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, it is carried out in spring and autumn root dressings nitrogen fertilizers. Seedlings using any technology are grown in a well-lit area, subject to all agrotechnical measures in combination with effective irrigation.

To grow branched annuals, only rootstocks of the first commercial grade are used.

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

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

But, unfortunately, such planting material has more disadvantages. In the garden, seedlings require additional costs on the formation of the crown, they begin to bear fruit late. The first harvest occurs in the 3rd–5th year, the payback of the garden in the 7th–8th year. The resulting sharp angles of branch branching help to reduce the formation of the generative sphere.

Two-year-old seedlings

Standard two-year-old apple tree seedlings are in greatest consumer demand. They are grown from unbranched annuals. In the third field of the nursery, annuals 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 shoots that compete with the central conductor are removed (broken out). Root fertilizing with nitrogen fertilizers is carried out annually in spring and autumn.

Such seedlings grow well in the garden and 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 practices (pruning to form the crown);
two-year-old seedlings have sharp branch angles;
there are few or no generative buds;
The first harvests are obtained in the 2nd–4th year, the payback of the garden occurs only in the 6th–7th year.

Knip baum

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

In the third field of the nursery, the annual plant is cut at a height of about 40–50 cm, and a branched seedling is grown from the top 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 tree with a one-year-old 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 harvests (up to 2–3 kg per tree) already in the year of planting, and up to 5–6 kg in the second year.

After the 4th–5th year of fruiting, orchards planted with such seedlings fully pay for themselves and become profitable, ensuring garden productivity of up to 200–350 c/ha. Maximum productivity occurs in the 5th–6th year.

The price of seedlings grown using this technology is noticeably different from those described earlier. This is due to more labor-intensive agricultural practices and a long, three-year growing cycle. Transporting and planting booklets also requires somewhat higher costs. In the first years after planting in the garden, seedlings experience stress and growth processes are weakened.

Modified Knip Baum

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

A modified knip baum is formed in the nursery by crowning a standard annual 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.

Side 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. Growing side shoots tilted 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 fruiting, productivity and payback for the garden, this 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 planting an orchard, it is necessary, first of all, to make a choice between planting inexpensive seedlings, but with a later period of fruiting, or planting more expensive ones, but fast-bearing and quickly pay off.

Thanks to pruning of young seedlings, subsequent appearance mature tree. In addition, the amount of the future harvest depends on the correctness of the process. Therefore, the question arises: “How to prune an apple tree seedling?” Let us take a closer look at the technology of this action at various stages of fruit tree formation.

Basic information about pruning apple trees

In order for the crown of apple trees to form properly, it is necessary to perform timely and regular pruning. Also this process promotes stimulation proper development, growth and formation of full-fledged healthy fruits.

By pruning the branches of an apple tree, you can achieve various necessary goals, namely:

The formation of not only a beautiful and correct crown, but also comfortable for the future collection of ripening fruits.
Strengthening young ones by removing competing but less developed neighboring shoots, which promotes the full growth of the entire seedling.
Promoting the quantitative growth of branches capable of bearing full harvest. To do this, dry and improperly developed specimens are removed.
Removing some branches to fully illuminate the entire tree with the sun's rays.
Preparatory pruning for the period of winter cold.

Important to know! Pruning of apple tree seedlings is carried out during spring and autumn. Very rarely this process is performed in the summer. The right choice The time of year depends entirely on the need to obtain a certain result.

But the question still remains, how and when to prune apple trees, because the vague concepts of “autumn” and “spring” do not provide an exact answer. We will try to find answers to all the questions posed.

Rules for pruning seedlings in autumn

Late autumn is the best time to prune apple tree seedlings. This is the period when the leaves have completely fallen and the tree goes into hibernation mode. At this time main task pruning is the removal of dead and damaged elements.

Important! Under no circumstances should you start treating wood after frost has occurred, as this can lead to the death of the entire plant.

So, the next question is: “How to properly prune an apple tree in the fall?” There is a certain scheme that determines the sequence of actions:

Initially, you need to start eliminating the largest specimens, which for various reasons have been damaged or rotted.
In places where there is an abundance of branches, it is necessary to thin out the crown. During this work, it is worth removing only the weakest and underdeveloped shoots.
It is also important to remove branches that grow at an acute angle relative to the trunk. This type can quickly break under the weight of ripened fruits or cause inconvenience during harvesting.
The cuts must be processed, since winter cold can destroy an unprotected tree. For this, a special garden varnish is used. You can also use oil paint.
All removed waste must be burned, as it can become a source of disease spread.

How to prune an apple tree in spring

Before pruning an apple tree, it is also important to choose the right period and study the exact technology for carrying out this action.

The earliest period for pruning is selected, namely before the buds begin to swell.

Spring is the best time to carry out this process, as the tree recovers faster and gains strength.

Let's look at the rules for pruning an apple tree in spring:

For cuttings, you need to prepare a garden varnish first.
During the pruning process, it is necessary to ensure that the cut passes over the eyes.
Last year's shoots should definitely be pruned.
The length of the pruned branches depends on the type of fruit tree: dwarf species - pruning is done with 2 or 3 eyes; medium-sized apple tree - at least 5 eyes; tall apple tree - 8 or more eyes.

In addition to the listed technologies, there are certain recommendations for processing one-year and two-year-old apple trees.

Treatment of one-year-old seedlings

When planting apple tree seedlings that do not yet have branches, it is necessary to immediately cut off the top so that in the end there remains a small tree, no more than 1 m high. This method allows new branches to develop in the first year of life, so it will soon be possible to crown formation.

In the event that annual seedlings already have branches, the following processing methods are used:

Young shoots are removed along the entire trunk to a height of 70 cm.
Next, specimens that extend from the trunk at an acute angle are removed.
Branches extending from the trunk at right angles must be shortened to the third or fifth bud.

Interesting! A tree with almost horizontal branches provides a ripened harvest much earlier. In addition, the crown of this type much stronger than other types.

Treatment of a two-year-old apple tree

At the age of two years, an apple tree seedling already has a formed trunk of small diameter and branches extending from it. After planting it, it is necessary to remove all unnecessary branches, leaving 3 to 5 most developed shoots. The angle of connection between the trunk and the branch must be wide enough. Ultimately, the branches left behind will become the strongest branches of the mature tree.

The most central branch must be formed from the most mature and developed eye. It is from here that the branch should grow in the vertical direction. It is also necessary to take into account that the branch should be several buds longer than the others. All other branches are pruned as follows:

Instances located at the bottom of the tree should be longer.
The upper parts are cut so that their length is shorter by a distance of at least 30 cm.

As a result of these actions, a crown is formed that has the following characteristics: sufficient strength and attractive roundness.

After this, it is not recommended to touch the planted and pruned seedling for several years. Only removal of damaged and dried branches is allowed.

Conclusion

In order for a planted apple tree seedling to produce a full harvest as soon as possible, it is necessary to perform timely and regular pruning in accordance with all requirements. It takes a little effort to be proud of the beautiful, self-grown fruit trees.

It is unlikely that today you can find at least one summer cottage plot where there are no apple trees. Regardless of the style of the garden design project, there is always a place for the iconic tree.

When purchasing fruit tree seedlings, you should adhere to the following rules:

Planting material should be dug out no earlier than the first ten days of October, since before this period the tree accumulates nutrients and getting ready for winter.
The seedlings should be bare, since the presence of foliage indicates that the tree continues to evaporate moisture, which increases the risk of freezing.
You should only buy varieties of apple trees that are common in a given region, since unadapted plants may not produce a harvest at all.
When choosing an annual apple tree seedling, you should focus on a trunk size of 1.2-1.3 m with completely woody branches.
The trunk, branches and roots should not be damaged.
It is important to keep the soil ball moist until planting.

An apple tree is planted early spring(before the buds swell), and in the fall. Autumn planting is preferable, since during the dormant period the root system is restored and gains strength. The optimal period is until mid-October. In regions where there is a high probability of severe frosts (-20 - -30 o C), preference is given to spring plantings.

Choosing a place to plant an apple tree

Since the apple tree has a deep root system, you should choose a place for the tree based on the depth of groundwater - it should be at least 1-1.5 m. If groundwater is close, you need to build an embankment for the seedling with a diameter of 2.5 meters and a height of 0 .7-1.2 m.

In the case of planting several trees or setting up an apple orchard, it is a good idea to autumn planting sow the area with meadow grasses, and then dig up the green mass.

Apple trees planting and care. Preparatory work

Holes for fruit seedlings are dug in advance - about a week before planting. On fertile soils the diameter and depth of the hole can be 50-60 cm. On thin soils, the hole is dug 1.5 times more, and the excavated fertile top layer does not mix with the bottom. The top layer of soil must be combined with fertilizers (humus, peat, superphosphate, ash, potassium chloride) and added to the hole. To avoid burning the roots, nitrogen fertilizers are not applied.

A peg is installed in a hole that is half filled, and a seedling is tied to it so that the root collar is 5 cm above the soil level.

All broken roots of the seedling are trimmed and evenly spread around the trunk.

The earth around the tree is pressed down with your feet, and 3-4 buckets of water are poured into the resulting hole. Then the planting site should be mulched with humus, peat, sawdust, straw or leaves.

Crown formation

Pledge good harvest and decorative functionality of the apple tree - a correctly formed crown. Careless treatment of wood, as well as too much zeal, can lead to counterproductive results. If the tree is not thinned in time, the crown thickens, which leads to a decrease in yield and the development of diseases.

Too frequent and deep pruning leads to increased growth of young shoots, which do not have time to form fruits.

The main methods of crown formation include:

Starting pruning occurs in the first year of the seedling's life. The only condition– pruning is always done in the spring, regardless of when the planting took place. The first pruning is designed to restore the balance between the root system and the crown of the tree.

The central trunk of an annual seedling is cut at a distance of 80-100 cm from the ground. If the seedling has branches, the lower shoots are also cut off at a height of 50-70 cm. All are cut off top shoots, forming an acute angle with the trunk. Branches that make an angle of more than 40 degrees are shortened to 3-5 buds, counting from the trunk. The central trunk should be 15-20 cm higher than the side branches.

You can do it differently - do not cut off the shoots that form an acute angle, but pull them down and fix them in an almost horizontal position. As a result, three to five side shoots should remain, extending at a wide angle from the central trunk. In the second year, the operation is repeated, finally forming the skeleton of the tree.

There is no need to prune the tree for the next three to four years. Only broken and diseased branches are discarded.

In the future, the crown is thinned out as necessary.

Articles on the topic of apple trees:

Home Articles How and what apple tree seedlings should be purchased for planting

How and what apple tree seedlings should be purchased for planting

Apple trees are usually planted with formed two-year or one-year-old seedlings. The desire of some gardeners to buy older and larger trees most often ends in disappointment. The fact is that three- to four-year-old plants do not take root well due to large losses of roots when digging them up. Do not avoid one-year-olds; two years after planting, they are equal in growth to two-year-olds planted at the same time and begin to bear fruit at the same time.

When purchasing, carefully inspect the seedlings. A one-year-old must be at least 1 m tall with a stem diameter no thinner than 1 cm. A good two-year-old has a height of 1.5 m and 3-5 side branches extending from the central conductor in different directions. The trunk should be smooth, with healthy bark, its diameter at a height of 5 cm (above the grafting site) is at least 2 cm. It is advisable that the conductor be 15-20 cm higher than the side branches. Pay special attention to the roots, the survival rate and further growth of the plants depend on them. The roots of good seedlings are fibrous, with 3-5 main branches, 25-30 cm long. They should not be dry or rotten, without darkened tissue on sections, cancerous growths (swellings similar to a walnut), or deep tears between the roots.

According to the rules, all seedlings must be sold without leaves. If they were not removed before selling, do it yourself immediately after purchase. The reason for such haste is due to the fact that the leaves evaporate moisture from the seedling, and the root system, deprived of soil, cannot replenish it.

When purchasing apple tree seedlings, keep in mind that it is better to buy a strong, powerful one-year-old than a two-year-old with a well-developed above-ground part but a weak root system.

The gardener must be patient: having planted an annual apple tree on a tall rootstock, you need to wait five or even six years for the first apples. But you really want to see the swollen fruit buds early in the spring, watch the apples fill up all summer, and enjoy tasting them in the fall! Is there really no way to bring this pleasant moment closer? - Of course you can!

Choosing seedlings

Planning for future fruiting dates begins from the moment you select seedlings when purchasing. A tree with an open root system will take longer to take root than its “brothers” from containers. True, a one-year-old seedling with an open root system will take root faster than the same two-year-old one, since its roots are less damaged when dug out of the soil. But a seedling from a container does not need to take root: its root system will immediately begin to develop the fertile soil that you have lovingly prepared for it.

One of my students shared her observations during lectures. She read somewhere that root system container seedlings need to be slightly shaken so that the roots get more freedom than they had - they say, after this they grow faster. My experience shows that when planting in summer, the root system should not be disturbed: just crumble a clod of earth, and the top leaves will immediately wilt. But when planting in the spring, before the leaves bloom, and in the middle of autumn, you can already shake the clod 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. Back in the first issues of the magazine, I described a story about a pear in a container, which was nibbled on by mice in winter. The question arose: throw it away or fight for the life of the tree? We decided to save. My son treated the pear with sorrel, but they kept it in the container for another whole season: it was necessary to make sure that the tree was cured. After landing on permanent place The pear blossomed in the third year.

Advice:

The longer the root system of the plant is in cramped conditions, the faster the fruiting period will begin. 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 speed up fruiting, when planting, they bend the main root into a loop. After this operation, tangerine trees form a smaller and more branched root system, become stunted and begin to produce crops earlier.

Dwarf apple trees

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

In Europe, many gardens have long grown 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 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, tall trees predominate in our gardens. 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 inclination 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 into a horizontal position, drive a stake next to each of them and tie the branches to it. However, I prefer another method: pruning to the outer bud (Fig. 2). The bud that wakes up after such pruning independently produces a shoot, bent to a horizontal position, on which fruit buds are quickly formed.
Already in the fall you can determine whether your tree will bear fruit. If ringlets, spears, fruit twigs or fruit shoots appear on an apple or pear tree, on which fruit buds have formed (see photo), then the tree will bloom in the spring.

The pattern here is this: if there is strong growth of a young fruit tree, then, as a rule, fruit buds are not laid. To speed up fruiting, it is necessary to weaken growth, that is, to redistribute the nutrients reaching the tree. This task can be accomplished using formative pruning and bending of branches.

Low growing varieties

These apple trees grow no higher than two meters, begin to bear fruit in the third year after planting as annual seedlings, are not inferior to Antonovka in winter hardiness and produce large fruits.

Unfortunately, my experience in growing these varieties was unsuccessful. I received the seedlings by mail late in the fall, did not have time to plant them and sent them to the graveyard. In winter, mice damaged their bark, so much so that only one seedling out of three was saved. But these are things of bygone days. Now we equip the winter shelter 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 soaked in kerosene; spread out the thistle and burdock seeds.

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.u gardening.

Advice:

Apple trees on dwarf or semi-dwarf rootstocks bear the earliest fruit, so impatient gardeners should purchase just such seedlings.

Sokolovskoe. Variety winter term ripening, winter-hardy, scab-resistant. If you graft it onto a low-growing rootstock, 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 can’t imagine how such a low-growing tree can produce so many apples. We will grow and check.

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

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

I well imagine this low tree covered with bright yellow-red fruits, and I really 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 at all in our entire gardening. A late spring frost, from June 8 to 9, destroyed all the flower buds. The apple trees were ready to bloom, but this never happened. The buds turned rusty, dried out and fell off. True, the pears managed to bloom earlier, but many of the ovaries also fell off due to this frost: traces of freezing were clearly visible on the cuts and outside. One single frosty night in June destroyed the harvest of plums, cherries and apples. But if some other natural disasters do not strike our dear and beloved Babino, then this year’s sea buckthorn harvest will be excellent - we will have to sit on the trees all fall and painstakingly collect this miracle berry, which in winter replaces both apples and pears combined. But this is already a “lyrical digression”...

Caring for fruit trees also affects the formation of fruit buds.

Until mid-summer, you need to fertilize with nitrogen, which causes increased growth of green mass, and in the second half of summer you should use fertilizers with a low nitrogen content, which promotes the formation of fruit buds, as well as preparing seedlings for winter.

In the first half of summer, trees are fertilized with an infusion of manure with herbs and weeds, and in the second half with ash. From 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 with you - happy people! We have land. We can plant 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 plants, love them - and they will definitely reciprocate your feelings!)

“Garden Affairs” No. 8 (24), 2008