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Everyone knows about the benefits of apples, which is why apple trees are planted in almost every garden. In order for the apple harvest to please, the trees need to be provided with comfortable living conditions. In summer, a lot depends on the gardener, but in winter everything is different, since we have no control over the weather. In the middle zone, extremely frosty winters are rare. Even with significant frosting, apple orchards have time to recover, but only if zoned apple tree varieties adapted to our harsh climate are planted.
Their winter hardiness exceeds such an old, proven apple tree variety as Antonovka, which is stable in winter.
But in the vastness of our large country there are regions in which even the most frost-resistant varieties cannot survive the winter without special preparation. There are special types of apple trees for them.
Types of apple trees for harsh climates
- Ranetki - the result of crossing the Siberian berry apple tree and the Chinese or European apple varieties.Their fruits weigh no more than 15 g and, as a rule, do not have very high taste qualities, but are quite suitable for processing. From the Siberian apple tree, ranetki have simply outstanding winter hardiness. Some varieties can withstand temperatures down to -49 degrees without freezing. To further protect these apple trees from frost, they are often grown in a low, bush-like trunk.
- Semi-cultured women – also most often grown in the form of a bush, but their fruits are larger, the winter hardiness of these apple trees is somewhat lower than that of the first type;
- Stlantsy. This is not a variety, but an artificially created form of growing an apple tree with normal winter hardiness, in which the trees are forced using certain techniques to grow horizontally; Apple tree varieties have been bred that are capable of forming the stale form on their own.
The best varieties of apple trees for harsh climates
Ranetki
For a long time
This is a variety of apple tree with very elegant ovoid apples of bright red color, sometimes with a yellow side. The variety was developed in America, but based on the Siberian wild apple tree. The apples have a slightly sour taste with a wine tint. Among all the ranetkas, the fruits of Dolgo are one of the best in taste. The tree is squat, but with a wide crown, the maximum yield is up to 25 kg.
Siberian
The tree is compact and exhibits high winter hardiness. The apples are quite large for ranetki - up to 18 g, yellow in color with a red blush, sweet and sour taste. They ripen in August. The main purpose is recycling. Contains a lot of juice.
Semi-cultured women
Silver hoof
Ripens in summer. It has large apples that are uncharacteristic for semi-cultivators - up to 100g of good taste.Their color is creamy-orange, covered with a red blush; the first apples can be obtained already in the third year. It is characterized by high winter hardiness.
Dachnoye
Another half-crop with the same large fruits, but ripening in autumn. The color is soft yellow, sometimes with a slight blush. The tree is resistant to scab.
Natural stones
These varieties of apple trees were obtained relatively recently at the South Ural Research Institute thanks to the famous breeder M. A. Mazunin, who worked together with other employees. The height of the trees on the seed rootstock does not exceed 2.7 m. When using special clonal rootstocks, it is even less - 2 m. The fruits are large, in some varieties up to 500 g. The yield, despite the compact size of the trees, is high. Ripening times vary. The following varieties of apple trees are most distinguished by their taste qualities: Bratchud, Seedling of Dawn, Prizemlennoe, Carpet, Wonderful. Frost resistance of all these varieties is at the level of -39-40 degrees. But frost resistance alone is not enough.
Factors of winter hardiness of apple trees
For apple trees, as for other plants, not only the maximum low temperatures that they can withstand without damage are important. It is necessary to take into account many other factors that make up winter hardiness, i.e. the ability to resist all the adverse weather phenomena that accompany winter. We are talking about sharp temperature fluctuations, prolonged thaws, drying out by winter winds, and sunburn.
In order to ensure successful overwintering for apple trees, it is necessary to smooth out the influence of all these factors as much as possible, especially in the harsh Ural climate.
Climate of the Urals
The Urals stretch from north to south for 1800 km.
It is clear that the climate cannot be the same throughout this entire territory. Polar and subpolar regions are characterized by long, frosty winters with large amounts of snow and short, cool summers. In the Middle Urals, the climate is very different in the western and eastern parts. On the side of the East European Plain, the climate is milder; in winter there is a lot of snow and frosts, although they can be severe, are still less than on the side of Western Siberia. The climate there is continental, with fairly hot summers and very cold winters. In the south of the Urals, strong winds prevail in winter and summer, and there is very little snow. However, the minimum temperatures in winter in the north and south do not differ much. The minimum temperature at the latitude of Naryan Mar is minus 51 degrees, and in Yekaterinburg – minus 48.
Not all plants can survive in such harsh conditions in winter, this also applies to apple trees. In order not to lose valuable varieties, you should properly prepare trees for winter. How to cover properly apple tree for the winter in the Urals?
Preparing apple trees for winter
If all agrotechnical measures during the summer and autumn are carried out correctly, apple trees will be able to fully realize the frost resistance potential given to them by nature, and will be prepared for all unfavorable winter factors.
Preparations for winter in the Urals should be carried out in two directions:
- Ensure that the tree finishes its growing season and goes into a dormant state by the beginning of the frost season. All shoots must ripen.
- Carry out all possible measures to prepare, insulate and cover apple trees.
Let's take a closer look at each point.
Continuation of the growing season stimulates:
- pruning in early autumn, which forces new shoots to grow. Pruning can be done only when the apple trees have completely lost their leaves, i.e. in late autumn.
- abundant watering in late summer also leads to this result. We are not talking about moisture-recharging irrigation, which must be carried out after the end of leaf fall.
- Overfeeding with fertilizers, especially nitrogen ones, at a time when the growing season is not yet over, stimulates the regrowth of new young shoots that will not have time to ripen.
A variety that has completely completed its growing season can withstand frosts down to -25 degrees even in November. How to prepare an apple tree correctly?
Preparation activities
You need to start it before the onset of frost.
- 2 weeks after harvesting the fruits, dig up the trunk circles while simultaneously adding well-rotted manure or compost and phosphorus and potassium fertilizers. Fertilizer rates should be appropriate to the age and size of the tree.
- at the beginning of autumn, drain excess water from the tree trunks; after leaf fall, carry out water-recharging watering at a rate of about 40 buckets per adult tree. For autumn-winter varieties, this operation is carried out during the final formation of the fruit. The entire tree trunk circle should be moistened to a depth of about 1.5 m.
- treat trees with a solution of copper sulfate against pests;
- remove fallen leaves, mummified and fallen fruits;
- clean the trunks of mature trees from dead bark and lichens; Cleaning should be carried out in dry weather at an air temperature of about 2 degrees Celsius;
- whiten them after cleaning, and for young trees without it, with a lime solution, which will protect against frost damage and sunburn. This should be done when it is dry and windless outside. Add fungicide and insecticide to the solution to protect apple trees from diseases and pests;
- mulch the tree trunk circles with a layer of mulch of about 40 cm, since the root system of apple trees suffers greatly when the soil freezes;
- To prevent heavy snowfalls from breaking off the branches, they need to be pulled to the central conductor and tied with twine. True, this can only be done in young trees.
If there are young apple trees growing in the garden, they need to be prepared for winter especially carefully.
Preparing young seedlings for winter
In addition to all the above measures, young seedlings must be protected from damage to the bark in winter by rodents and hares. The trunk and the lower part of the skeletal branches are especially affected by them.
For shelter, you can use spruce branches, dry plant stems, branches of other trees, special plastic nets, and fiberglass. They cover the trunk and the lower part of the skeletal branches and tie them well. In winter, snow should be compacted in the area of the root collar so that mice cannot get close to it. With the onset of spring warmth, all shelters must be removed.
Winterize your apple trees properly and they will last well into the winter. If ordinary varieties of apple trees cannot survive in your climate, plant special types and forms adapted to harsh conditions.
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