Golden autumn unrecognizably changes the fading gardens, painting the once-lush green foliage of fruit trees in bright orange-yellow tones. In this autumn palette of thinning crowns, bright sides reveal the sides of raspberry-red apples.
These are the fruits of the so-called winter varieties, beloved by domestic gardeners for their unpretentiousness in care, excellent taste and good preservation. One of these late varieties is the Zvezdochka apple tree, a photo of which will illustrate our publication. Let's talk about this interesting culture, which has long been loved by Russian gardeners.
Selection history
A product of the Michurinsky Research Institute of Genetics and Selection of Fruit Plants of this Apple Tree Species. Variety Zvezdochka was obtained by breeder S.F. Chernenko was the result of his many years of research. Bred by crossing Anis with Pepinka Lithuanian, this variety received the corresponding “parental” qualities, expressed in good marketability of the fruit, but low frost resistance. Therefore, the species is zoned for regions with a temperate climate and mild winters: Central, Volga-Vyatka, Middle Volga, and others. Zvezdochka also adapts well in the southern regions, the northern territories are not suitable for this culture, since severe winter winters will not allow for high-quality tree development and stable crops conditions.
Apple Tree Asterisk: description, photo, reviews
So the apple tree was called because of the structural features of the fruit on the side of the stalk, which is caused by light ribbing, but it refers to tall-growing fruit trees. Young plants build up a beautiful rounded crown, supported by powerful skeletal branches, in older instances the crown is more spreading, and the accessory branches of the main conductors noticeably wilt. Such changes in the appearance of the culture occur with increasing yields from year to year, for which the variety is famous.
The leaves of the tree are dull green, small, oval with thin stipules and a slightly serrated edge. Shoots of the current year are very pubescent, long and thin, painted in brown-terracotta tones. Gardeners growing a crop emphasize not only its enviable harvests, but also excellent decorativeness. Such an apple tree pleases the eye. Variety Zvezdochka, whose photo will introduce the reader to this curious culture, can be called popular.
Fruit
Apple tree Zvezdochka, the description of the variety of which is presented in the article, gives small (from 80-90 to 150-170 gr.), Rounded, with a slightly noticeable ribbing, rosy fruits. At the time of ripening, the apples turn red, covered with a delicate blush, gaining the intensity of the purple color by the time of full maturity. Fruits smooth over the entire surface are generously coated with a protective wax coating. The flesh of apples is wonderful: fine-grained, juicy, sweet and sour to the taste of a pleasant soft green hue. In some fruits, the color of the pulp varies from green tones in the center to pinkish near the skin.
Grade Advantages
Apple-tree Zvezdochka (responses of summer residents emphasize this) - a culture of late ripening, which comes closer to winter. But harvesting begins in September, without waiting for the arrival of real cold weather.
Before eating apples are ripening 3-4 weeks. The main advantages of the variety are:
- annual high yields;
- excellent dessert taste of apples;
- the possibility of long-term storage. In the conditions of a basement or specialized fruit storage, apples are successfully preserved in March;
- high plant resistance to traditional species diseases, for example, scab;
- good cut tolerance.
An asterisk is an apple tree, the description of which would be incomplete without stating not only the merits, but also the flaws present in the variety. Such a minus is the chopping of fruits in older trees. However, the correct formation of the crown and sanitary scraps will help to avoid this, or at least significantly slow down the process.
Grade Features
Apple tree Zvezdochka, the description of which is presented in the article, is an excellent pollinator for many winter varieties: Antonovki, Ladoga, Bogatyr, etc. All of them, planted nearby, including Zvezdochka, are cross-pollinated, increasing fruit setting and, accordingly, increasing the yield. The tree begins to bear fruit 5-6 years after planting. You can speed up fruiting for 1-2 years by planting a seedling on a dwarf stock. The yield of the variety is impressive: from 50 to 100 kg per season. We note, however, that the number of fruits may vary depending on weather conditions; in different years it varies markedly.
In order to maintain good tree productivity, compulsory pruning is carried out every year, crown thickening is reduced, and access to the sunrays so needed by ripening fruits is increased.
Planting: seedling preparation
Growing an apple tree is easy even for a beginner gardener. When purchasing an Asterisk seedling, it is worth contacting a specialized nursery for producers with a good reputation and high rating. Purchases of planting material from unverified sellers often result in disappointment and loss of time.
The root system of the seedling must be inspected, removed from rotten and broken roots, before planting, dip in the so-called talker - a saturated water-clay solution. Clay enveloping the roots will prevent air from reaching the roots and will not cause decay.
Choosing a site for landing
Apple trees need good lighting, so the approach to choosing a place to grow this fruit tree should be serious. It is necessary to take into account all the conditions for the qualitative development of culture.
So, choose a sunny and open place with fertile, loose, breathable soils without close standing groundwater. The southern and southwestern sides of the site are more impressed by such a crop as the Zvezdochka apple tree. Description, photos, reviews of gardeners confirm the importance of choosing a place of planting. Failure to comply with these factors will lead to improper development of the seedling, a slowdown in fruit production and crop losses.
Another condition requiring strict implementation is compliance with the landing dates. The best time for this procedure is spring. A planted plant in late April or May, when the danger of frost return will come to naught, and the sun will begin to warm the ground well. Autumn plantings are not welcome by knowledgeable gardeners, since not all young plants tolerate winter colds. But, if you have to plant a tree for any reason in the fall, you need to do this 1-1.5 months before the onset of severe cold weather, since the young plant needs to take root.
Landing pit preparation
The site is carefully dug up, weeds and fragments of their roots are removed, a hole of 0.4 * 0.4 m is dug out. A third of the hole is filled with a mixture of humus, ash, garden soil and superphosphate (30-40 g), pouring it with a hill. The seedling is placed on top of the embankment, straighten the roots and fall asleep with earth. The root neck of the tree should rise 5-6 cm above the ground. Press the soil and generously water it.
It is necessary to provide moisture access to the roots, for which an earthen roller, which holds water, is made around the circumference of the trunk circle. The entire rooting period, about a month and a half, the plant should not experience a lack of water. For the winter, the tree is covered with special covering materials or fir spruce branches.
Apple Care: Key Activities
Experienced summer residents note the unpretentiousness of this fruit tree, emphasize the simplicity of caring operations. Like many fruit-bearing crops, the Zvezdochka apple tree (description, photos, gardener's reviews confirm this) responds by the rapid growth of shoots to timely irrigation, regular weeding, loosening of soil in near-stem circles and periodic top dressing with high-quality organic and mineral complex fertilizers.
The apple tree is watered sparingly, it is hard to tolerate an excess of moisture. But they always focus on the weather in the region: in hot weather they water more abundantly, in rainy years - less. The ground in near- stem circles is periodically loosened and weed removed, thereby increasing soil aeration and stimulating the development of the root system.
Needs wood and top dressing. The first of the season is carried out in the spring: more often they use humus or rotted manure, which is added in the amount of 10-12 kg per square meter. In the fall, after harvesting, the culture is fed with phosphorus-potassium complexes that help the tree survive the winter. It is important not to overfeed the crop; excess fertilizer is detrimental to it. Therefore, in regions with fertile soils, it is not customary to fertilize the Zvezdochka more often than once every 2-3 years.
And a few words about the scraps. The need for their implementation has already been mentioned above, we add only that the best time for these procedures is early spring, when the tree has not yet awakened. Late fall, pruning is not carried out.
We introduced the reader to an interesting and unpretentious culture, such as the Zvezdochka apple tree. Description, photos, reviews of summer residents who know firsthand the cultivation of this fruit tree - is this not a reason to try to grow a magnificent apple tree?