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It just so happens that the apple tree in our gardens is the most traditional and most desirable tree. It’s not for nothing that it is believed that a few apples picked straight from a tree and eaten right there on the spot can bring health to a person for a whole year. But in recent decades, home gardens, especially near large cities, have become smaller and smaller. And it is becoming increasingly difficult to place large fruit trees on them. But a traditional apple tree is a tree 6-8 meters high and sometimes up to 10 meters in crown diameter. It is not for nothing that in industrial apple orchards they maintain a minimum distance between trees of 5-6 meters. But you want to have apple trees of different ripening periods in order to enjoy tasty and healthy fruits from mid-summer until frost.
This is where the so-called columns, that is, columnar apple trees, come to the rescue. It is believed that they take up little space, which means that even on a small plot of 2-3 acres you can place several trees at once and still have some free space left. And caring for them should not be difficult at all. But in reality, everything turns out to be not quite as we would like.
The care and pruning of these trees differs significantly from traditional varieties.This article will be devoted to how to properly trim 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 an accidental mutation of one of the old apple trees in Canada. Trees could not help but interest many amateur gardeners.
In addition, fruits are formed both on short fruiting 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 or even more.
There is one more point that is rarely paid attention to. Many varieties of columnar apple trees were bred for much milder climatic conditions than those found in most of Russia. 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 alter the development of the 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 soil in its tree trunk circle for the same reason.Most often, it is sown with special lawn grass to maximize moisture retention.
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 still argue whether it is possible and whether it is necessary to prune a columnar apple tree.
If it develops naturally, the side shoots will grow very short, and the tree will indeed be very compact and its growth form will resemble a column. But, as already noted, in Russian conditions, 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 loss of the apical bud is overfeeding the young apple tree with nitrogen fertilizers, which leads to insufficient ripening of the buds and their death in winter.
One way or another, when the apical bud is removed, the columnar apple tree begins to rapidly grow in lateral shoots, including in length. And in this situation, pruning a columnar apple tree becomes simply necessary.
In addition, there are other fairly traditional reasons why an apple tree still needs to be pruned. Pruning helps:
- Strengthen young branches;
- Rejuvenate the entire apple tree and individual shoots;
- Increase tree productivity;
- Thin the crown to avoid tangling of shoots with each other;
- Improve appearance.
Timing of pruning
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 which are best produced in the fall. And there are other, middle and late varieties that are optimally pruned in winter or spring.
It’s just that each season has its own pruning features, which are very important, especially for novice gardeners.
- Winter pruning is usually carried out in early spring before sap flow begins. For most varieties of columnar apple trees, it is considered the main one. In northern and middle latitudes, all apple trees are pruned at this time. And only in the southern regions of Russia the basic scheme for pruning columnar apple trees works better in the fall.
- Spring pruning is done as needed after the trees bloom. This is the right time to determine the viability of the apical bud. If it is frozen after the winter, then it is at this time that the most suitable vertical shoot is chosen from the many replacements and left as the main one. All remaining shoots from the top must be cut out at the very base. During the same period, it is necessary to remove the tips of the branches that have frozen after winter. This promotes health and apple tree rejuvenation.
- In summer, you can remove excess green shoots growing directly from the central trunk. In spring, many of them appear to be fruit branches. But in the summer, if it becomes clear that they have developed into ordinary leafy twigs, 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. All dry and broken branches must be removed. All intersecting branches that have grown over the summer are cut off.All branches are examined especially carefully in search of possible pests and diseases. All spoiled ones must be cut out. Well, in the southern regions, this is the best time when you can prune trees according to the basic scheme described below.
Basic scheme for pruning columnar apple trees
If the apical bud of your columnar apple tree has been removed or for other reasons the powerful development of lateral shoots has begun, then both the regularity of fruiting and the quality of ripening fruits depend on proper pruning.
How to prune a columnar apple tree so as not to harm it and get the most correct effect from the procedure?
It was observed experimentally that the more a side branch grows vertically, the stronger its growth. And branches growing more horizontally give minimal growth, but they produce many flower buds.
After the first year of life, all side shoots are pruned so that only two living buds remain from the trunk. 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 fruiting branch.
In the third year, the horizontal branch that bears fruit is completely removed, and the same operation is performed with the remaining two. In the fourth year everything repeats itself 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 itself again.
The video below shows in detail the process of pruning according to the basic scheme of a three-year-old tree in early spring:
Common pruning mistakes
Often, even with the correct procedure for pruning columnar apple trees, the result is not quite what is expected from it. The branches dry out and don’t grow, and the tree doesn’t produce apples. The reason may be that the cuts themselves were not made entirely correctly, because in such a difficult task as pruning, there are no trifles.
To avoid repeating the most common mistakes, you just need to scrupulously follow a few rules:
- The cut should be made from the base of the branch to its top.
- The direction of the cut should be opposite from the outermost bud.
- The cut should be located 1.5-2 cm above the kidney.
- Finally, it must be perfectly smooth, without bark burrs or 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 Russian climatic conditions.
