It's probably hard to find someone who doesn't like apples. Someone like sweet varieties, someone needs sour taste. Breeders around the world are working on breeding new, more advanced varieties of apple trees. Today we will introduce you to one of these developments - the Red Delicious apple tree variety.
Grade history
The name of the variety comes from the words red, which translates as "red", and delicious, which means "delicious." The variety appeared in the United States, during the spontaneous mutation of the Delicious apple tree. A branch with red fruits suddenly appeared on a tree. Having appreciated this cultivar, Russian breeders approved its cultivation on Russian territory.
For a long time, the variety was cultivated only in the southern regions, but later industrial plantings appeared on the territory of the North Caucasus. Today, industrial plantings of the Red Delicious apple tree (photo you can see below) are significantly reduced, however, demand for apple trees and seedlings of this variety is still high among amateur gardeners.
Over the years of ongoing selection work, the variety became the progenitor of many interesting cultivars. For example, at the Crimean experimental station appeared: Flames of Elbrus, Prikubanskoe, Winter Beauty. At the Pomorie experimental station, Japanese breeders from the free pollination of the Red Delicious apple tree received the Orient cultivar, which is distinguished by the amazing taste of the fruits.
Apple-tree Red Delicious: description, photo
The medium-sized tree of this variety on a seed stock reaches a height of about six meters, and on a dwarf tree it is rarely higher than four meters. The crown of this tree undergoes changes in the course of development: up to 7-8 years old, it is oval or back-pyramidal, from 9-10 years old it becomes wide-round.
The crown is made up of many small, medium in thickness, sometimes even branches that extend from the trunk at an angle of 35 to 65 °. Usually they are painted in a reddish color. On them are fruit of different ages, short processes - gloves. It is on them on the Red Delicious apple tree that apples ripen.
The shoots of this apple tree are medium in size, in the nursery they stand out with a reddish color, which darkens in adult trees. On the surface, shoots are pubescent over the entire surface. Most shoots are straight, but sometimes there are curved in the crown.
Leaves
They are medium in size, in the center of the crown they are oval, and in the lower and upper parts they are more elongated. The top of the leaf is pointed and the base slightly rounded. The leaves are saturated green, the surface is smooth and shiny with serrate-edged edges. The main difference from other cultivars, for example, from the progenitor of this variety - Delishes, lies in the base of the petiole.
If you look carefully, then at the petiole you will see a scarlet speck, which extends to the middle of the plate, along the vein.
Flowers
The Red Delicious apple tree blooms annually and is very plentiful. The buds are pink, the petals are milky white, oval. The petals in the flower are located at a fairly large distance from each other and barely touch the edges. Anthers of stamens and stigmas of pistils placed at almost the same height. Loose shields - inflorescences, consist of 3-4 flowers.
Fruit
Genus Delicious is an apple tree, a description of which can be found today in all gardening guides. The fruits of this variety are attractive even externally: large, round-conical or conical shape. They are painted in deep red. Their average weight varies from 150 to 220 grams, but the maximum weight can reach 300 grams.
The color of the fruit of the Red Delicious apple tree evenly covers the entire surface. The peel of the apple is dense and completely smooth to the touch, well tolerates mechanical damage. Some gardeners find it too harsh and recommend that the fruit be cleaned before use.
The flesh in the center of the apple is greenish-creamy, and closer to the skin is greenish. It is crunchy, very juicy, but with prolonged storage it acquires powderiness and some kind of cottoniness. Apples can be eaten fresh or made from juices, jams, preserves, used as a filling for baking, and suitable for drying.
The taste of apples of this variety varies depending on the climatic conditions of tree growth: in dry, warm regions, more sugar accumulates in them, and their taste is sweet, with subtle acidity. In cooler areas, apples are more acidic, but no less juicy than in the south.
Nutrient content
The fruits of the Red Delicious apple tree contain from 0.38% to 0.65% acids, sugars - more than 11.5%, 130 mg / 100 g of P-active compounds, 16% solids, about 6.5 mg / 100 g of vitamin FROM.
Planting seedlings
Planting seedlings of Red Delicious apple trees is carried out in planting pits. Their depth should be about eighty centimeters, width - seventy. At the base of the pit, drainage (broken brick, pebbles, expanded clay) should be laid down with a layer of five centimeters, a layer of nutrient soil is laid on top: a mixture of peat, river sand and humus in equal proportions.
After planting and compaction of the soil, it is necessary to water it at the rate of three buckets for each seedling and mulch with humus or peat. Do not deepen the root neck of the young tree - after the subsidence of the soil, it should be three centimeters above the soil level. After planting, be sure to install the support peg and tie up the seedling.
Growing Features
Gardeners from the northern regions note that for their climate, the Red Delicious apple tree has insufficient winter hardiness. Given this, choosing a site for landing, choose places that are well protected from wind and drafts, leveled without micro-depressions, stagnation of rain or melt water, depressions. This variety does not tolerate excessively moist soils, so groundwater should lie no higher than two meters at the selected location.
If your seedling is on a dwarf rootstock, then it has a less developed root system, so groundwater is allowed to occur less than one and a half meters.
Planting seedlings of Red Delicious apple trees is best done in the spring, although in the southern regions of our country you can do this in the fall. Pre-dig the soil on a bayonet shovel, remove all weeds (wheat grass especially) and bring into the soil three kilograms of humus or rotted manure, a tablespoon of nitroammophos, 500 grams of wood ash.