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It just so happened that the apple tree in our gardens is the most traditional and most desired tree. After all, it is not in vain that it is believed that a few apples plucked directly from a tree and eaten right there on the spot can bring health to a person for a whole year. But in recent decades, household plots, especially near large cities, have become smaller and smaller. And it is becoming more and more difficult to place large fruit trees on them. But the traditional apple tree is a tree 6-8 meters high and sometimes up to 10 meters in diameter. It is not for nothing that in industrial apple orchards they observe a minimum distance between trees of 5-6 meters. But you want to have apple trees of different ripening periods in order to feast on tasty and healthy fruits from mid-summer to the very frosts.
This is where the so-called columns come to the rescue, that is, columnar apple trees. It is believed that they take up little space, which means that even on a small plot of 2-3 acres, several trees can be placed at once and there will still be free space. Yes, and care for them should not be difficult. But in reality, everything is not quite as we would like.
The care and pruning of these trees is significantly different from traditional varieties. This article will be devoted to how to properly prune a columnar apple tree and care for it.
Features of columnar apple trees
These varieties were obtained in the 80s of the last century as a result of a random mutation of one of the old apple trees in Canada. Trees could not fail to interest many amateur gardeners.
In addition, fruits are formed both on short fruit branches and directly on the main trunk.
Columnar apple trees are usually also characterized by a small height, but this value is largely determined by the characteristics of the rootstock on which the trees were grafted. If the rootstock turns out to be vigorous, then you can grow a “column” up to 4-5 meters in height and even more.
There is another point that is rarely paid attention to. Many varieties of columnar apple trees were bred for much milder climatic conditions than are found in most of Our Country. It is for this reason that the apical buds of these trees often freeze, unable to withstand severe frosts. Namely, they are the most valuable buds, the death of which can completely modify the development of a tree.
Finally, the columnar apple tree has a shallow root system, so it requires more frequent watering, especially in hot and dry weather. It is impossible to loosen and dig up the earth in its trunk circle for the same reason. Most often, it is sown with special lawn grass to maximize moisture conservation.
All these features cannot but affect the nature of the care and pruning that a columnar apple tree may need.
Reasons for pruning
Many even experienced gardeners are still arguing whether it is possible and necessary to prune a columnar apple tree.
If it develops naturally, then the side shoots grow very short, and the tree will indeed be very compact and the growth shape resembles a column. But, as already noted, in the conditions of Our Country, freezing of the apical bud is almost inevitable. In addition, many gardeners themselves, unknowingly or by accident, cut off the top of the tree. And sometimes the reason for the prolapse of the apical bud is overfeeding the young apple tree with nitrogen fertilizers, which leads to insufficient maturation of the buds and their death in the winter.
One way or another, but when the apical bud is removed from the columnar apple tree, the rapid growth of lateral shoots begins, including in length. And in this situation, pruning a columnar apple tree becomes simply necessary.
In addition, there are other fairly traditional reasons why you still need to prune an apple tree. Pruning helps:
- Strengthen young branches;
- Rejuvenate the whole apple tree and individual shoots;
- Increase the productivity of the tree;
- Sparse the crown, in order to avoid tangling the shoots with each other;
- Improve appearance.
Trimming time
In general, the timing of pruning is individual for each variety and is determined by its characteristics. Indeed, among the columnar apple trees there are early summer varieties, the main pruning of which is best done in the fall. And there are other, middle and late varieties that are optimally cut in winter or spring.
It’s just that each season has its own pruning features, which are very important, especially for beginner gardeners.
- Winter pruning is usually carried out in early spring before the start of sap flow. For most varieties of the columnar apple tree, it is considered the main one. In the northern and middle latitudes, all apple trees are pruned at this time. And only in the southern regions of Our Country, the main scheme for pruning columnar apple trees works better in the fall.
- Spring pruning is done as needed after the trees have blossomed. This is the right moment to determine the viability of the apical bud. If it froze after the winter, then it was at this time that the most suitable vertical shoot was chosen from the many substitutes, and left as the main one. The rest of all shoots from the top must be cut at the very base. In the same period, it is necessary to remove the tips of the branches that have frozen after the winter. This contributes to the healing and rejuvenation of the apple tree.
- In summer, you can remove excess green shoots growing directly from the central trunk. In the spring, many of them appear to be fruit twigs. But in the summer, if it becomes clear that they have developed into ordinary leafy branches, then it is better to remove them. They are usually easily removed by plucking. Removing small green shoots requires care so as not to accidentally damage the bark.
- Columnar apple trees are pruned in autumn mainly for sanitary purposes. It is necessary to remove all dry and broken branches. All intersecting branches that have grown over the summer are cut off. All branches are especially carefully looked through in search of possible pests and diseases. All spoiled must be cut out. Well, in the southern regions, this is the most suitable time when you can cut trees according to the main scheme described below.
The basic scheme for pruning columnar apple trees
If the apical bud has been removed from your columnar apple tree or, for other reasons, a powerful development of lateral shoots has begun, then the regularity of fruiting and the quality of the ripening fruits depend on the correct pruning.
How to cut a columnar apple tree so as not to harm it and get the most correct effect from the procedure?
Empirically, it was noticed that the more the side branch grows vertically, the more strongly it grows. And branches that grow more in a horizontal direction give a minimal increase, but they form a lot of flower buds.
Already after the first year of life, all side shoots are cut so that only two living buds remain on them from the trunk. The next year, each of these two buds will develop into a strong branch. The one that will grow more vertically is again cut into two buds. The other branch, growing closer to the horizontal, is left as a fruit branch.
In the third year, the fruiting horizontal branch is completely removed, and the same operation is performed with the remaining two. In the fourth year, everything repeats again. And on the fifth, usually the entire fruit bud is cut into a ring.
But since new branches grow from the trunk during this time, everything repeats again.
The video below shows in detail the process of pruning according to the basic scheme of a three-year-old tree in the early spring:
Common Pruning Mistakes
Often, even with the correct procedure for pruning columnar apple trees, the result is not quite the one that is expected from it. The branches dry up, do not grow, the tree does not please with apples. The reason may be that the cuts themselves were not made quite correctly, because in such a difficult matter as trimming, there are no trifles.
In order not to repeat the most common mistakes, you only need to scrupulously follow a few rules:
- The cut must be made from the base of the branch to its top.
- The direction of the cut should be opposite from the outermost kidney.
- The cut should be located 1,5-2 cm above the kidney.
- Finally, it must be perfectly even, without bark and burrs.
By following all these simple rules and adhering to the schemes described above, you can achieve annual, fairly abundant fruiting from your columnar apple trees, even in difficult climatic conditions.
