The apple tree with the delicious name Medunitsa, which it fully justifies, has long won a leading position in gardens of medium and temperate Russian latitudes. Apples of this variety have a great taste - fragrant and very sweet with honey notes, in a juicy pulp. And the festive spectacle of a flowering or fruit-bearing tree will awaken the best feelings in the soul of a domestic gardener.
Apple tree Medunitsa: description, photos and features of the variety
Rather early ripening summer apple variety, traditionally grown in dachas and gardens, is characterized by low acidity and high sugar content. The early ripening of the fruits of the Medunitsa is its indisputable advantage, because they ripen just in time for Apple Savior. In addition, the high winter hardiness of the culture served her well. The apple tree easily survives the cold Russian winters without freezing, without losing productivity and decorativeness, which contributed to a very wide spread of culture in Russian open spaces. Fruits - roundish bright yellow apples with raspberry striped blush. Thick skin covers a delicious juicy flesh of a pinkish-cream hue. In addition, the apple tree is surprisingly resistant to scab - the scourge of many apple crops.
Lungwort, the care of which is not very burdensome, has a broad pyramidal shape, grows rapidly, rapidly increasing in size. Therefore, culture requires annual pruning, correctly forming a crown and suppressing uncontrolled growth. It is characterized by an unusual form of foliage. Active fruiting begins quite early - from the 4th year of growth, and lasts until the tree is 60 years old. True, in old age productivity decreases, giving way to periodic pauses. The fruits of this variety are usually medium in size - no more than 100-120 grams. In addition to high palatability, apples are noteworthy in that they can be stored for up to two months after harvest.
Lungwort: landing and care
The best soil for growing apple trees is a well-drained fertile soil that provides normal aeration of the root system. Preferring several elevated areas, Medunitsa is sensitive to stagnation of water, ground or above ground. Therefore, the choice of the place where the tree grows is very important: large depressions in the near-trunk space should be excluded, as well as stagnation of groundwater, because getting into the water by the roots, the trees develop poorly, give poor crops, lose frost resistance and die over time.
Selection of planting material
The decisive factor is the choice of seedlings for such an apple tree as Medunitsa. Planting and caring for varietal processes is not particularly difficult, but to grow a tree with excellent decorative qualities and high yields, healthy one- or two-year-old seedlings with strong elastic branches and healthy roots are required. The place of vaccination should be distinct and covered with bark. It is better to buy a two-year sprout: it takes root faster and begins to bear fruit earlier than a one-year sprout.
Cultivation agricultural
Planting pits should begin to be prepared a month before planting an apple tree of the Medunitsa variety. Planting and caring for the process require a certain algorithm: the excavated soil is thoroughly mixed with 3 buckets of humus, 300 g of wood ash, 250 g of superphosphate and 120 g of potassium sulfate and laid on the bottom of the pit. The upper part of the pit is covered with a fertile soil layer without fertilizers, then it is well shed with warm water and left for 25-30 days.
When planting an apple tree, it is necessary to control the deepening of the root neck: it should be 5-10 cm above ground level. The straightened roots of the process during planting are evenly covered with prepared soil and rammed. For better rooting, a seedling is generously watered with 30-45 liters of water. If the root neck is exposed after watering, it is necessary to add soil. An excellent survival rate is provided by the planting of the apple tree in the previously spilled (to the state of mud) pits, followed by the addition of soil. After planting, trunks should be mulched with humus or plant debris.
Necessary feeding
The Medunitsa apple tree is very demanding on fertilizers and regular top dressing . Planting and caring for it are always accompanied by soil recharge and begin in early spring. It was at this time that young apple trees should receive a portion of a urea solution (50 grams per 10 liters of water) under the root to activate growth. In early June, foliar top dressing (spraying) with a solution of sodium humate should be carried out . In September - the last recharge with a solution of 60 grams of superphosphate in 10 liters of water. Such supportive measures are necessary for young, not yet fruiting trees.
A different feeding scheme is used for mature, giving stable harvests of apple trees. For good development and obtaining high-quality fruits, 4-fold fertilizer application per season is required. The first feeding takes place at the end of April: 500 grams of carbonade granules are scattered and covered under each of the fruit trees. Before flowering begins, a second top dressing follows: 100 g of superphosphate, 80 g of potassium sulfate and 50 g of carbonate insist 7-10 days in 20 liters of water. After the tree fades, a third dressing with a solution of 100 g of nitrophoska and 2 g of dry humate in 20 liters of water is recommended.
The last time the apple tree is fertilized after harvest: a bucket of humus and 300 g of potassium sulfate and superphosphate are brought under each tree. It is important to remember that dry fertilizers close up to the depth of the bayonet along the borders of the trunk circle. All nitrogen root dressings (urea, chicken droppings, manure) are introduced to enhance the growth of branches, but from the second half of July they should be stopped, since the branches must have time to ripen before the cold. Rapid dissolution and absorption by plants of nitrogen provides a generous 2-fold watering before and after top dressing with a normalized amount of water. For example, a 5-year-old apple tree is watered with 50 liters of water, 5 buckets of fertilizer solution are introduced, and then it is re-shed with the same amount of water. Good care, timely watering and the application of the necessary fertilizing contribute to the excellent growth and development of all fruit trees, including such as the apple tree Medunitsa. Description, photos and various publications emphasize this.
Foliar top dressing
The alternation of root dressings with foliar is extremely useful. Together with them, periodic preventive treatments against diseases and pests can be carried out. For example, spraying with a solution of carbonate (60 g per 10 l of water) and wood ash (250 g per 10 l of water) is carried out twice - before and after flowering with an interval of 20 days. Solutions with trace elements (manganese, zinc, copper) are used when setting and pouring fruits, stopping them a month before harvesting.
Apple care
The landing of the Medunitsa is completed. To ensure good conditions for the growth and development of the tree, simple but regular care is required. In the first two years, weeds must be weeded and watered periodically. Planting in side-trunk circles of green manure, additionally feeding the seedling, is welcome. Under mature trees, natural or artificial lawns are usually arranged, and the growing grass is cut and left as mulch. Starting from the 3rd year, formative pruning of wood is mandatory. For the winter they insulate, tying with spruce branches, parchment, etc.
Excellent winter hardiness, decorativeness and stable high yields distinguish the apple tree variety Medunitsa. The reviews of Russian gardeners are unequivocal: this is a favorite and unpretentious variety, annually pleasing with good crops.