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If you decide to lay a new garden on your site or are thinking about whether you can afford another apple tree, then it makes sense to pay attention to a rather new, and at the same time promising variety of apple trees – Elena. Of course, it is difficult to pass by a variety with such a popular female name in the past for those gardeners who have a family member with that name in their family. But other gardeners, the apple tree Elena is able to interest in many of its characteristics.
In this article you can find both a description of the apple tree variety Elena and a photo of its fruits, as well as reviews of people who planted it on their site.
The history of occurrence and description of the variety
The apple tree variety Elena was obtained by Belarusian breeders Semashko E.V., Marudo G.M. and Kozlovskaya Z.A. as a result of hybrid crossbreeding varieties Early sweet and Discovery (Discovery). Both original varieties belong to varieties of summer ripening and are characterized by excellent taste ratings. The Elena variety obtained as a result of their crossing took from them the best indicators of taste and even surpassed them in terms of aroma and juiciness of fruits. This variety was bred at the Institute of Fruit Growing of the National Academy of Sciences of Belarus in 2000, and a year later it was submitted for state testing. In Our Country, the apple tree Elena appeared a few years later, and only in 2007 was it officially entered into the State Register with recommendations for growing in the Central and North-Western districts.
Trees of the Elena variety are distinguished by medium growth vigor, rather undersized and compact. They can be classified as semi-dwarfs. They usually grow up to three meters in height. The crown is not very dense and has a pyramidal-oval shape. Shoots are thick, rounded, with dark red bark, well pubescent.
The leaves are elliptical, medium in size, dark green in color with a grayish coating on the underside. The branches are abundantly strewn with foliage, especially along the edges.
Fragrant white flowers cover the entire tree in the early stages – in late April – early May. The fruits of this variety are formed mainly on the ringlets of simple and complex species.
According to the ripening time, the apple variety Elena belongs to one of the earliest summer apples. Its fruits ripen even a week earlier than White filling apples. The variety is quite fast-growing, that is, it begins to bear fruit already in the second year after planting.
The Elena apple tree enters its full fruiting power approximately 5-6 years after planting. Its yield is recognized as quite satisfactory – up to 25 tons of apples are obtained from one hectare of industrial plantings.
The variety is self-pollinating, that is, for fruiting, it does not require additional pollinators – apple trees of other varieties growing nearby. This can be especially convenient for small yards where the owners have the desire and ability to plant only one small tree.
The apple-tree variety Elena is distinguished by a really high resistance to frost, even for a long time. She is not afraid of the cold. Therefore, you can try to grow this variety of apple trees even in harsh northern conditions.
Resistance to diseases, in particular to scab, is average.
Fruit Characteristics
The fruits of the Elena apple tree are characterized by the following characteristics:
- Apples have a traditional flat-round shape.
- The size of the apples themselves is not very large, the average fruit weight is about 120 grams. In years when there are not very many apples on a tree, their weight can increase up to 150 grams.
- The fruits are very uniform in size. Apples of the same harvest practically do not differ from each other.
- The main color of apples is light green, but more than half of the fruit is usually occupied by a blurred blush of a bright dark pink hue. Numerous subcutaneous light dots of rather large sizes are clearly visible.
- The skin is smooth, medium in density, at the same time it retains the structure of the apple well and does not affect the taste sensations at all.
- The pulp is medium in density, fine-grained, juicy, whitish-green in color with small pink inclusions when fully ripe. Apples contain up to 13,2% dry matter.
- Apples are sweet in taste, practically without sourness, dessert with a good apple flavor. The tasting score is 4,8 points out of five. Fruits contain up to 10,8% sugars, 6,8 mg of ascorbic acid per 100 g of pulp and 0,78% pectin.
- Marketability and transportability are relatively high. Apples are stored under normal conditions for several weeks. Then the taste quality deteriorates sharply. Therefore, they are ideal for obtaining juices, compotes and jams.
Advantages and disadvantages of the variety
Despite the fact that the Elena apple tree is a rather young variety, many gardeners consider it promising for growing and are happy to settle it in their gardens. The Elena variety has many advantages:
- The small dimensions of the trees, from which it is convenient to collect fruits and which are easy to care for.
- Ultra-early ripening and precocity – the harvest can begin to be harvested as early as the second year after planting.
- High resistance to frost and other adverse conditions makes it possible to grow the Elena apple tree even in the Urals and Siberia.
- Like many modern varieties, it is distinguished by the regularity of fruiting – annually.
- Delicious and beautiful fruits.
The Elena apple tree also has some disadvantages, without which, probably, not a single fruit variety can do:
- Fruits are not very long stored and quickly lose their taste.
- Remaining unharvested on the branches, it crumbles or overripes, reducing its fruit characteristics.
Peculiarities of growing
In general, caring for an apple tree Elena is not much different from other varieties of apple trees. It is only necessary to remember some of the nuances associated with the characteristics of the variety.
- Since the Elena apple tree can be attributed to a semi-dwarf variety, for its planting it is necessary to choose a place where groundwater comes no closer than 2,5 meters to the surface for the full development of the roots.
- Since trees of this variety tend to be overloaded with ovaries and fruits, it is advisable to ration the ovaries after flowering.
- It is better to eat fruits directly from the tree and regularly collect them and process them into compotes, juices, etc.
Reviews
Apple tree Elena has already managed to fall in love with gardeners for its resistance to frost, dessert taste and early ripeness.
Conclusion
Apple tree Elena is a good choice for a private garden and small home gardens because of its compactness, early ripeness and good taste of apples.
