Growing an apple tree Pepin Saffron

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Popular varieties of fruit trees are zoned throughout Russia - they can withstand both cold winters and hot summers. Apple tree Pepin Saffron was bred by crossing Reneth of Orleans with a hybrid of Pepin Lithuanian and Chinese apple. The winter variety turned out to be stable and unpretentious to care for.

Growing an apple tree Pepin Saffron

Characteristic

Pepin Saffronny is the result of many years of painstaking work, so the resulting hybrid is still one of the most successful Michurin varieties. On the modern market there are more than 20 subspecies of the apple tree - this is both a summer red species and an ordinary Pepin.

Hybrids are suitable for all weather conditions: every gardener will find a suitable species for himself with a set of necessary characteristics.

This apple tree has stable fruiting, which allows for a high-quality and bountiful harvest.

The late-ripening variety grows rapidly. He has good adaptation and resilience. Pepin is not afraid of frosts or sudden cold snaps - he copes well with temperature changes. If the roots freeze, then with the arrival of heat they quickly recover.

Drought does not threaten the tree. In summer, if proper care is taken, the tree does not dry out and does not lose its foliage.

The annual growth is stable - the branches grow by 50-60 cm. Resistance to common garden diseases is low. A tree suffers from a fungal disease, and if an epidemic begins on a land plot, it is difficult to save the culture.

The variety is self-fertile. Pollinators are not needed for culture. The tree can grow in complete isolation, but pollinating varieties must be used to improve the quality of the fruit. Hybrids with similar characteristics will do. Cross-pollination makes apples tastier and larger, above average.

Description of the tree

The tree has a wide round crown. The branches are a little drooping, and from the severity of the fruit they sag. The leaves are matte, round. Fruits can form on twigs and ringlets.

Description of the tree:

• medium height;
• maximum height - 3-4 m;
• the shape of the crown is spherical;
• the crown consists of thin branches.

The barrel is solid, strong. In the first years of the tree's life, the bark is smooth, but over the years it becomes covered with cracks. The flowers are white, small in size.

Description of fruit

The fruits are of good taste.

Fruits are medium to small in size. The weight of one fruit is from 90 to 130 g. The peel is thin, but dense. During the ripening period, it changes its color. At first, the fruits are green, then they turn yellow, and before harvesting, a blush characteristic of the variety appears.

The Pepin Saffron apple variety has a typical sweet-sour taste. The sourness is not pronounced. It appears before the onset of consumer maturity. The fruit has a spicy aroma. While they are stored in the winter, the entire storage room smells like juicy apples.

The pulp is rich, sweet, creamy. There is no fine grain. The hybrid has a high tasting score. The use of fruits is universal - they are used to prepare compotes, jams and other winter preparations.

Advantages and disadvantages

Before planting, the gardener takes into account the advantages of the species for which it needs to be planted, and the disadvantages - the disadvantages that need to be leveled with proper care. Pepin Saffron apples are popular for their dietary benefits.

Juicy pulp is given to children, and even nursing mothers such a natural supplement will only help. There are many other advantages of the Michurin hybrid:

• early maturity;
• high transportability of fruits - they can be grown for sale and transported;
• resistance to pests - if a tree suffers from fungi, then pests rarely attack a massive trunk.

The variety, like any apple tree, has disadvantages. Scab is the main threat to the tree. If prevention is not carried out, the culture gets sick every year. As a result, the gardener loses the harvest, which every year decreases in quantity and quality.

Demanding hybrid to the composition of the soil. If you don't find the right plot of land, your culture can die. The harvest, no matter how hard the gardener tries, is unstable.

Disembarkation

For an apple tree of this variety, special conditions are created for planting. Whimsical, but productive, such a culture needs a multi-stage preparation of the planting pit. The depth of such a hole is 60-70 cm, and the diameter is more than 70 cm. Immediately, the hole is fertilized.

For this, compost or slurry is used. Any organic matter to enrich the planting pit is laid in a thick layer. In total, you need at least 5 cm of such fertilizer. After that, the pit is covered with foil.

The Pepin Saffron variety is planted using two-year-old material. It is better not to take an annual, because its survival rate is lower. The seedling is pre-soaked. You can use plain warm water or Fitosporin solution. A purchased product helps to strengthen the seedling's immunity.

By the time of planting, the pit should have settled for at least 2 weeks. After that, it is dug up, and drainage is laid on the bottom. An additional system will help drain excess moisture from the rhizome so that it does not rot.

After that, a seedling with a cleaned root system is placed in the pit. Pour fresh soil on top. A roller is made around the trunk - this is a prerequisite for proper watering in the coming year. The tree is moistened abundantly.

Features of the autumn landing

The soil under the trees should be loosened regularly.

An apple tree is planted twice a year. The autumn procedure is the simplest, but the most risky one. The planting date is calculated based on the harvest. First, all the fruits are removed from the trees. After that, the land is removed from leaves and weeds.

The main difference between spring and autumn plantings is in the timing of the preparation of the pit. In the fall, this is done 2-3 weeks before planting. From the moment the seedling is placed in the ground, at least a month must pass before the onset of frost. Only in such conditions will the tree take root faster.

To properly carry out an autumn landing, you must:

• dig the hole twice - after one and two weeks, and in the third week they plant;
• preliminarily, the land plot around the pit is well dug so that there are no soil lumps or plant roots left;
• water the tree immediately after planting - after another month, regular care is completely stopped until spring;
• at the end, cover the seedling so that its root system does not suffer.

To protect the apple tree, mulch is used - hay, grass and peat are mixed. They don't clean it all winter. When snow falls, it serves as a second protective layer for the crop.

Features of spring planting

Spring or summer disembarkation is the best option for this species. May or June is suitable for these purposes. The exact date varies by region. The warmer it is, the faster the disembarkation is carried out. This procedure has two main conditions:

• warming up the soil.If the soil layer does not warm up, the tree will die immediately. To prevent this from happening, the gardener measures the layer of heated soil. The minimum indicator is 10-13 cm. It should not be allowed that the planting in spring was before the last frost, otherwise the seedling will disappear. Better to plan outdoor work by the end of May;
• restoration of fruit trees in the garden. Warming up the soil is an important component of the adaptation of the seedling, but the flowering period is no less important. If you do not have time to plant the apple tree before the ovaries appear on mature trees, the planting material will grow in less favorable conditions.

The advantage of spring planting is that the planted material has time to germinate before autumn. He has a strong root system, which is not afraid of the first frosts. Saplings of the variety are bought in the fall, then they can be stored until spring: for this, a "digging" procedure is carried out.

Care

Apple needs standard care. It includes:

• watering;
• top dressing;
• loosening the soil;
• weed removal.

Additionally, in order to protect the apple trees of the Pepin Saffron variety, prevention is carried out. Regular care is a guarantee of a high-quality harvest. Loosening is carried out with two tasks - to remove weed roots and improve the quality of the soil.

The tree needs to be well looked after

The denser the soil, the less moisture and oxygen penetrates into the apple tree root system. Such a rhizome grows worse. The stem, foliage and fruits suffer from a lack of moisture. Loosening is beneficial for young and mature trees.

Watering

Use rainwater or tap water for these purposes. It is impossible to collect liquid from rivers or lakes - the gardener does not know the composition of the water. In most cases, it is a source of pathogenic microflora. You can't water the tree right away. First, the liquid is settled. The container with water is left in the sun, and watering is carried out in the evening.

Irrigation is carried out in a complex way - the branches are sprayed, and the main part of the water is applied at the root. The younger the crop, the higher the risk of root leaching. For this reason, the seedling is watered at a distance of 10-15 cm from the trunk. It is convenient to make a trench into which water is introduced.

Top dressing

This is the second part of the mandatory care. The first feeding is carried out in the second year. The entire first year, the rhizome of the culture is fed from humus or compost introduced into the planting pit. From 2-3 years, regular feeding is established.

The variety needs 4-5 fertilizers per year. The most important nutrients occur during the flowering and fruiting of the tree. In the summer, 2 dressings are carried out as the culture depletes. Use organics diluted with water.

Poultry droppings in concentrated form cannot be applied. Mineral fertilizers are useful for the apple tree - nitrogen, potassium, phosphorus. If combined dressings are carried out, a break of 1-2 weeks is taken between them.

Pruning

Like planting, pruning is carried out twice a year - in spring and autumn. In March - April, a shaping procedure is carried out. With its help, you can make a round or more elongated crown. Use a pruning shear which is cleaned with a disinfectant solution. Cut off old branches or those that grow crooked.

A young tree is pruned according to this principle: every third shoot is removed.

In the fall, another procedure is carried out for the purpose - sanitary pruning. Its goal is to rid the tree of old and sick shoots. Use a secateurs. Immediately after this, the cut sites are treated with garden varnish.

During pruning, the tree trunk is examined to find parasite larvae that hide in the bark until spring. After this procedure, the tree can be insulated.

Preventive work

Prevention is the key to good immunity of the apple tree. Such measures protect it from pests and parasites. The most popular prevention methods:

• installation of hunting belts;
• manual collection of parasites and their larvae;
• digging the soil layer is an important event that saves the tree from the eggs of parasites;
• stripping old bark;
• deleting branches;
• preparation of infusions with a pungent odor to scare off parasites.

Fungicides protect against rot or fungus. These are the most effective means to prevent a disease that is dangerous for the species.

Ripening and fruiting

The first crop can be harvested in the fourth year.

The tree bears fruit in the 5th year. If you choose the right stock, the Pepin Saffron apple tree gives the first fruits in the 4th year. Fruiting is stable. The ripening period falls in mid-September. After that, the crop needs to "lie down" in order to reach consumer maturity.

Harvesting and storage

The fruits of the variety are harvested at the same time. Retain their stem to extend their shelf life. Immediately after that, the fruits are sorted out. Only ripe and undamaged fruits should be stored. Apples are stored for up to 200 days.

For this, suitable conditions are created - a semi-dark room with moderate humidity. The optimum temperature at which the apple does not spoil is 2-4 ° C.

Variety subspecies

All subspecies are conventionally divided into a cultivated winter apple tree and a creeping one. The winter species is widespread throughout Russia. The climatic features of the Volga region and the Moscow region are suitable for him. They choose land plots with low acidity. For the subspecies, preliminary liming is required.

Creeping stock tolerates winter well. The culture has a high resistance to frost. Requires a subspecies of special care. Twice a year, a crown is formed for the correct growth of skeletal branches.

Where is it better to grow

Apple trees of the Pepin Saffron variety are grown in the Moscow region, in the Urals and in Siberia. The best region that does not need special care is the Moscow region. The main requirement is the composition of the soil and its acidity. In the Urals and Siberia, a special zoned subspecies of the variety is planted.

Gardeners reviews

Reviews of gardeners about the variety are positive. Michurin himself considered this species to be his pride. Unpretentious with good quality characteristics, this variety gives a stable yield.

A tree is planted and looked after according to the standard scheme. A semi-dwarf rootstock is used for this. Experienced gardeners note the winter hardiness of the species - the tree can survive any winter.