Apple Hornist: variety description and characteristics, planting, growing and care with photo

Tangerine and pomegranate trees do not take root in mid-latitudes, but apple trees grow in any courtyard of a private house and in a summer cottage. In order for apples to ripen every year, you need to choose the right varieties, which is not so easy to do because of their abundance. Brown striped participated in the breeding of the Gornist apple tree, which transmitted frost resistance. The variety, created at the Sverdlovsk Horticulture Station, is adapted to a cold and damp climate, but bears excellent fruit in different regions of Russia.

Description and characteristics of the Gornist apple tree

Hybrid, pollinated by Ural varieties, is not only not inferior to them in terms of winter hardiness, but also has immunity to fungal infection.

Mature tree size

The apple tree grows 8 m in height, has a pyramidal crown, which eventually becomes wider and takes on the shape of a ball. The reddish branches, which initially stretch upwards, gradually diverge to the sides.

Frequency of fruiting

The variety pleases with the first apples only in the 8th year, but on the grafted apple tree, the ovary is formed already in the fourth. The tree lives for almost half a century, gives fruit literally every year. The fruits are different:

grainy structure;
juicy pulp;
pleasant fragrance.

Oblong apples covered with smooth red skin, painted with veins, weigh about 100 g. weeks.

Yields

If the Gornist variety is grown on fertile land, the crown is formed correctly, the apple tree will annually delight with a large number of fruits. 8-9 buckets of beautiful apples are plucked from one tree. The variety is unpretentious in care, but requires planting near summer pollinators.

Tasting evaluation

The fruits of the Gornist apple tree are rich in sugar, pectin, minerals, but there is very little vitamin C in them. Although the apples are juicy and sweet, due to the rough pulp, the taste of the variety is rated not at 5 points, but at 4.4.

Winter hardiness

Apple tree withstands temperatures below -30 °C, normally tolerates spring frosts, and if it freezes, it quickly recovers. Only seedlings insulate for the winter.

Disease resistance

Hybrid has inherited immunity to bacterial and viral infections from its closest relatives. Unlike other popular varieties, the Hornist apple tree is practically not affected:

scab;
fruit rot;
powdery mildew.

Simple preventive measures help to avoid the development of cytosporosis, the appearance of rust. Thanks to immunity to fungal infection, crop losses are avoided even in adverse weather.

Advantages and disadvantages of the variety

The advantage of the Hornist apple tree is the absence of interruptions in fruiting, apples are harvested in large quantities every year. The undoubted advantages of the variety include:

low temperature resistance;
being immune to diseases;
unpretentious care;
early ripening of apples.

The Hornist apple tree also has disadvantages. The tree needs pollinators because the variety is not self-fertile. Harvest is stored less than 3 weeks, but has a universal purpose.

How to choose seedlings?

Apple trees that are a year or two old are sold in centers and nurseries that grow fruit crops. Such trees take root without problems. You need to choose a seedling with a smooth trunk and fresh buds without cracks and dents. There should be no spots on the branches either. In a he althy and strong apple tree, the root has a length of at least 40 cm.

Boarding rules

In order for a tree to develop normally, you need to choose a place for growing where there is enough light, fertile land, and water does not come to the very surface.

Date of planting

To remove dead parts, the roots of the apple tree are soaked, adding phytohormone to the solution. Until the first frosts came, but the leaves managed to fly around, young trees are planted. By spring, they will get stronger and begin to grow.It is possible to graft the Gornist hybrid to another apple variety using the budding method.

Choosing a seat

Fruit culture loves the sun, does not tolerate acidic and stony soil, grows strongly. To plant a tree, the site must be spacious and well lit.

Preparing the pit

When the water is closer than 1.5 m from the ground, the roots of the apple tree will gradually rot. If there is no other place for planting, first a small mound is poured, a drainage layer is made of crushed brick or expanded clay. They dig a hole about 60 cm deep and at least a meter in diameter, pour 2 buckets of compost or rotted humus, wood ash and superphosphate into the bottom.

Distance between seedlings

Apple trees of a tall variety are placed every 5 meters, as they grow, they will begin to shade each other.

Boarding process

The hole for the tree is dug in advance so that the earth has time to settle before autumn. The nutrient mixture does not fill it completely, but half.

Before frost:

Install the wooden peg.
Spread the top layer of soil in one direction, the bottom in the other.
The seedling is placed in the hole.
The root neck is left above the ground, turned to the south.
The apple tree is tied to a support.
They are covered with soil, which is slightly tamped.

The tree is watered abundantly, covered with mulch. The plant will develop normally only if the neck is not deepened. Otherwise, the apple tree may die.

Features of care

In order for the Hornist to enjoy the harvest, as with any fruit crop, the tree must be looked after - feed, cut, remove dried branches, fight parasites.

Crown formation

When seedlings are just starting to develop, get rid of shoots growing inward or at an angle to the trunk, as well as weak and twisted ones. When forming a crown, at least 60 cm are left between the branches of the first two tiers, the third - about 40.

The slope of the shoots from the trunk should be within 45°. Sanitary pruning is done every year, adjusting as needed.

Irrigation

During the lack of rain, apple trees need irrigation, in regions with a damp and cool climate, additional moisture is not necessary.

If the weather is dry, the trees are watered when the buds appear, the formation of the ovary, before the fruit ripens and in the fall before wintering.

Feeding

Fertilize apple trees in the second year after planting. Mineral complexes are introduced in which nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium are present, or organic matter is used. Foliar top dressing is carried out with a solution of carbamide.

Diseases and pests

Apple Hornist is rarely affected by fungi. To prevent bacterial and viral infections, trees are sprayed with Bordeaux liquid and urea. Plant Attracts:

weevils;
phish;
sawfly;
leaflet.

To cope with harmful insects, traps and special belts are installed. Several times a season, apple trees are sprayed with insecticides.

Pollinator varieties

The Gornist hybrid is not self-fertile. To reap good harvests, summer varieties of apple trees are planted next to it, which bloom at the same time and produce high-quality pollen every year.

Features of cultivation in other regions

The Gornist variety takes root and pleases with the harvest of apples in different areas. Planting and caring for a tree in the middle lane and in the north are not very different, but there are some nuances.

In Siberia

The variety was created specifically for a cool climate, where the weather is damp in summer and severe frosts in winter. If you take care of the apple tree, you can harvest a good harvest in Siberia. After planting a tree, you must:

to form a crown;
fertilize;
carry out disease prevention;
fight rodents and insects.

The apple tree will have to be covered for the winter. Although it tolerates 30-33 °C, in Siberia the temperature often drops even lower.

In the Urals

The variety bred at the Sverdlovsk horticultural station grows in the Chelyabinsk, Perm, and Yekaterinburg regions, as it is adapted to the climate of the Urals. Caring for an apple tree, as in other regions, involves the formation of a crown, regular pruning and top dressing.In order for air to penetrate to the roots, the ground under the tree must be constantly loosened, the soil in this area is rocky and dense.

Harvest and storage of crops

Apples of a summer variety begin to pluck in the third decade of August. Unfortunately, they quickly deteriorate, do not lie for more than 3 weeks even in a cool place. The fruits of the apple tree are closed in jars, used to prepare juice, jams, preserves, marmalade.