Growing and caring for a columnar apple tree Moscow necklace

Description and characteristics of the variety

Variety "Moscow necklace" refers to semi-dwarf, the apple tree grows up to 2-3 meters high. Her leaves are dark green, somewhat elongated with pointed tips, flowers are flat, round, white-pink. Almost all fruits are kept on the trunk, and not on the side shoots. The variety does not belong to self-fertile, representatives of other varieties should grow nearby so that the Moscow Necklace will please with the harvest. The first fruits can appear in the first year after planting. Apple trees bear fruit annually, the number of apples increases and reaches a peak at 4-6 years. By the year 10, the yield begins to decline, and after 15 it practically stops.

"Moscow necklace" is considered a cold-resistant variety that is immune to scab and many other diseases of apple trees. All descriptions note not only the advantages of the fruit, but also the ease of caring for the tree, good survival rate after transplantation.

Round apples with fine-grained light creamy flesh have an average weight of 170 g, grow and more - 200 g. They have a very pleasant aroma, dessert taste - sweet with sourness. The thin, but rather dense skin has a green color, which from the end of summer begins to become covered with a dark red blush, and by the beginning of October, the period of full maturity, the apples turn dark red. They are so juicy that they can crack when dropped to the ground.

For 2 months after harvest, apples are perfectly stored, a large amount of pectin allows you to prepare excellent jams and preserves from them. Apples are good not only fresh, but also canned or dried.

Advantages and disadvantages

10 kg of large tasty fruits can be harvested from one tree - this is a very good indicator for a columnar apple tree. The description of the variety also notes other advantages - frost resistance, resistance to one of the most common diseases - scab, graceful decorativeness of trees, excellent taste and marketability of fruits. Indeed, slender, low trees take up little space, but they very much decorate the site with their appearance. The absence of a lush crown practically excludes the fight against numerous pests, facilitates the care of the tree. Its pruning is minimized and does not require much physical effort.

The "Moscow necklace" has many advantages, but the disadvantages include short-term fruiting and the high cost of seedlings. Like almost all columnar apple trees, this variety begins to bear fruit early, but after 10 years the number of apples decreases so much that the owners prefer to replace the tree.

Care rules

Apple trees of the Moscow Necklace variety require minimal maintenance. They need to be watered, fed, prevented against common diseases.Trees do not need to be sheltered from the cold, pruning consists in shortening thin shoots, and if you mulch the trunk circle, then you will have to water less often.

"Moscow necklace" is in a hurry to bloom immediately after planting, and this will greatly weaken the tree, so it is better to plant it in autumn, in September or even October, if the weather permits.

For planting, they usually buy a one-year-old seedling, it will take root easier than an adult tree. You need to inspect it carefully before buying. The roots should be alive, not overdried, on the stem - no damage, and all the buds are alive and well visible. If you need to transport the tree to the planting site, it is advisable to moisten the roots.

Trees are planted at a distance of 40 cm from each other, and more than a meter should be left between the rows.

The soil should be non-acidic, nutritious, light, permeable to moisture and air. Loamy or sandy loam soils with good drainage are best suited. A planting hole is dug so that it is slightly wider and deeper than the root system. The removed soil is mixed with compost and humus, the roots are lowered into the pit, covered carefully so as not to damage the roots and not deepen the grafting site.

After filling the hole, the tree is watered abundantly with water, preferably warm. In order for the seedling to take root well, the ground around it should not dry out for the first couple of months. In the future, trees are watered 1 or 2 times a week, taking into account the weather.

Columnar apple trees should receive good nutrition for fruiting. So, it is advisable to season the acidified soil with dolomite flour, and during the season until mid-August, three dressings are carried out. In the spring, urea can be added by mixing it with the earth while loosening. Trees respond well to watering highly diluted slurry (900 g per 10 l). In summer, wood ash is scattered around the tree.

Despite all the frost resistance, the top of the apple tree can freeze (this is extremely rare, but it does happen). In this case, it is cut off to the first strong shoot, which will become an extension of the trunk, and the tree will still be straight and slender, because all the shoots grow vertically upwards. Annual pruning is designed to shorten fruiting shoots, remove excess ones. The cut points, although they are not wide, are treated with garden varnish (or drying oil).

Diseases and pests

Trees of the "Moscow Necklace" variety are extremely rarely affected by scab, but other troubles traditional for apple trees can occur with them. These are moniliosis and spotting. They are attacked by aphids, moths and Schlechtendahl's mites. The female of the latter lays millions of eggs, and such an amount, albeit a very small pest, can deprive young leaves of juice.

To scare off the moth, you can sow aromatic herbs between the trees. And against other pests (diseases, too), treatments with acaricides are carried out, which are stopped 3 weeks before harvesting.

Many gardeners choose not to use chemicals unless absolutely necessary. They regularly inspect trees, especially since it is not difficult to do this with such a crown and such growth. They use ash or tobacco solution for spraying, attract birds to the garden to fight insects.

With proper care, the trees of this wonderful variety very rarely cause trouble to their owners, more often they simply delight with their appearance and delicious fruits.

Video "Autumn transplantation of columnar apple trees"

From this video you will find out why the author decided to transplant the Moscow Necklace apple trees, and how he did it.