Columnar pear: description of the best varieties, planting, growing and care with photos

The largest, juiciest, fragrant pears, until recently, grew only in warm regions. Thanks to selection work to improve varieties, residents of the northern regions also have the opportunity to grow pears in garden plots. Fruits in dense crowns of tall varieties do not have time to ripen in a temperate continental climate due to a lack of sunny days. Things would be somewhat different with columnar pears, whose fruits are open to the sun's rays.

Description and history of selection of columnar pears

For the first time, a pear, which is mistakenly called a columnar, was bred by English breeders a little over 30 years ago.Varieties of dwarf plants with a rounded crown were not winter-hardy. Contrary to the expectations of scientists, plants even in the Krasnodar Territory froze to death, as Mikhail Vitalyevich Kachalkin, Candidate of Biological Sciences, author of 13 varieties of columnar apple trees, has been working on breeding a pear tree in a nursery for many years.

On the territory of Russia, 3 scientific institutions deal with this issue. According to the scientist, at the moment there is not a single variety of columnar pear in the world, sellers give out a dwarf plant for it. This trick works for unscrupulous sellers due to the fact that the one-year shoot really looks like a column.

On a two-year-old, there are more branches, the fruits ripen on the annulus, and not on the trunk, as would happen on a columnar tree.

The advantage of undersized (dwarf fruit trees) is that with proper pruning of branches, crown formation like a column, the fruits of winter-hardy varieties suitable for growing in temperate climatic zones receive their portion of heat and light in full Among the varieties that can be conditionally called columnar, several varieties of low-growing pears that are most suitable in terms of resistance to diseases and frost, unpretentious in care, have been singled out for cultivation in a temperate and harsh northern climate.

Best varieties

Short trees, densely strewn with large pears during the fruiting period, are a real decoration of the backyard. When purchasing pear seedlings in the nurseries of research institutes, universities, most often you will not be able to see a colorful label; instead, a tag with a marking will flaunt on the seedling, for example, g (pear) 322.

G-322

This cultivar can be purchased from retailers under different names as the breeding is not yet complete and no names are assigned to the intermediate columnar cultivar experiment. Despite this, the G-322 variety is recognized as one of the best for growing in central Russia - the Moscow region, the north-west of the Leningrad region and the B altic states.

The name can be deciphered: "G" - a pear. The first digit of the marking contains the main characteristics of the variety, if the first is the number Z, then you have a seedling in front of you:

• early autumn variety;
• with frost resistance down to -25 °C;
• harvest dates in September-October;
• large (≈ 400 g) yellow fruits;
• the pulp of his pears is sweet, tender.

The numbers following these data are simply the number of the experiment to improve the qualities of the main variety. A beautiful name can only replace the last digits, but not the main characteristics of the variety.

Dwarf Pear Dalicor

In addition to the name Dalikor, the label will contain generalized characteristics corresponding to G-4 varieties. They will not give a full understanding of what the gardener will receive. The variety of dwarf (columnar) pear Dalikor meets the following parameters:

• maximum height of a mature tree trunk is 2 m;
• pruning forms a column with flattened upper branches;
• life span of a tree is 10 years;
• fruit weight from 300 to 500g;
• fruiting abundant;
• fruit pulp is uniform, tender, without granules, not astringent;
• the plant is resistant to diseases and pests.

Dalikor is a variety of autumn ripening terms, with high keeping quality. Wide, juicy fruits with a taste of butter cream, if properly stored, will decorate the New Year's table. It is extremely rare to keep them longer.

Doyen du Comis

In terms of taste, the variety Doyen du Comis is recognized as the best among mid-ripening varieties for temperate latitudes. It is difficult to achieve resemblance to columnar plants from this dwarf tree, but this is not the only negative. The main unpleasant moments in cultivation are:

• the need for the neighborhood of pollinating varieties, despite the fact that the variety itself is also self-fertile;
• the need to ration the crop by removing extra ovaries in the fertile season;
• the variety is characterized by spontaneous dropping of part of the fruit in June.

All these shortcomings are compensated by the taste of juicy, thin-skinned, large fruits. Note: Pýrus communis Doyen do Komis cultivar number is 590.

The best varieties of pears for the Moscow region

Despite the small size of the plant itself, dwarf pears give decent yields. Some of the varieties common in the Moscow region can be stored at a positive (stable) temperature for 5-6 months, others are characterized by increased immunity to diseases. According to various criteria, the best varieties for the Moscow region are:

1. Dalikor - 35-40 kg, 70-80 fruits from one tree.
2. Decora has a high immunity to sporioz and monizioz, has high winter hardiness, the variety is self-fertile, does not require cross-pollination and special selection of soil for planting.
3. Carmen is a great strain for pear lovers with a taste similar to Williams. Dignity - resistance to scab, high taste, adaptability in any soil. Disadvantages - low frost resistance and yield.
4. Academician Yakovlev's favorite - yield up to 50 kg, fruiting later (4-5th season), fruit weight 200-400 g, taste similar to quince. To increase the yield of a self-fertile variety, pollinators are needed - the Daughter of Blankov and Esperen.
5. Honey - up to 80 kg of a crop consisting of yellow fruits weighing 400-500 g, but it is not possible to keep the fruits fresh for more than 2 months. The variety is unpretentious in care, it is not afraid of either drought or frost. There are no special requirements for the soil either. The tree begins to bear fruit in the 3rd season.
6. Autumn Dream - a variety with fruits, the weight of which varies from 200 to 400 g. Fruiting in the 5th year after planting in a permanent place. Well suited for making preserves, jams, compotes. Despite the tenderness of the pulp, the juice content is moderate.
7. Sapphire is highly resistant to sudden changes in temperature, which does not affect the taste and yield of the variety, high immunity to diseases. Fruiting in the 3rd year. The peculiarity lies in the fact that it is recommended to collect the fruits from the tree at the stage of technical maturity, while they can be eaten in 2-3 weeks. The maximum storage period is until the first decade of December.
8. Severyanka - a variety that begins to bear fruit in the Moscow region in the 2nd year after planting. A slightly stronger tree gives stable yields of up to 60 kg per plant. Harvesting takes place at the beginning of September, ripe fruits fall, the taste of Severyanka is sugary-sweet.

Each columnar pear variety has its advantages and disadvantages, which must be taken into account when choosing seedlings. Varieties grown in the Moscow region are suitable for the regions of central Russia.

For the Urals, winter-hardy pears of early ripening should be chosen as covering crops, with a minimum growing season, which is dictated by hot, but very short summers.

One of the original varieties of frost-resistant dwarf pear trees, giving the fastest results and richest yields, is Pavlovskaya. She is unpretentious in care. The first large, juicy, yellow (with bright taste and aroma) fruits will delight the gardener the very next season after planting. Minimum care, disease resistance, large fruits with an original taste - the main advantages of the Pavlovskaya variety.

Pros and cons

The benefits of dwarf pear varieties are:

• small footage of growing area;
• unpretentiousness of seedlings to acidity and soil density;
• fast onset of fruiting;
• large yields in relation to the area occupied by the plant;
• several possible ways of reproduction;
• Easy to preserve trees in the winter, which gives a small plant height.

The main disadvantage of dwarf trees over true columnar ones is the mandatory annual formation of the crown, which prevents its branching, thickening, which would lead to a lack of sunlight for fruits.

Common breeding methods

As a rule, the very first seedling of a certain variety appears on the site from the nursery. The advantage of a dwarf tree over a columnar tree is that, in addition to grafting, it can be propagated by cuttings.Due to the complexity of the process for independent multi-year germination, amateur gardeners practically do not use the seed propagation method, and not all varieties of columnar pears can be grown in this way.

Inoculation

Irga and quince are the best rootstocks for grafting a columnar pear. For this operation, it is better to choose the time in late April - early May. Cloudy weather is the most favorable for this type of work.

Attention! Strong, 70-80 cm shoots are harvested in winter.

There are three types of vaccination:

• for bark;
• side cut;
• split.

For work you will need a decontaminated sharp knife or pruner, garden pitch, garter materials:

1. Preparation of the rootstock: all branches are shortened to 40 cm or removed.
2. The cut on the shoot is made at an acute angle so that it has the maximum area of contact with the rootstock wood.
3. A deep cut is made in the wood of the rootstock.
4. The cut of the varietal shoot is combined with the open wound of the rootstock, fixed with a bandage, electrical tape, wire over cotton fabric.
5. The grafting site is treated with garden pitch from all sides.

Approximate time of healing and unity of the rootstock with the graft stem is 3-4 weeks.

By cuttings

When using garden plantings for propagation, special attention must be paid to the selection of planting material - each cutting 25-30 cm long should have 5 fresh leaves and 2 internodes. In order for the shoots to give roots faster, they must be placed in water with "Kornevin" dissolved in it - a composition that accelerates root growth.

After planting, the 3 largest leaves are pinched on the cuttings, the plant is covered with a jar for rooting.

Conditions for planting dwarf trees

The he alth of a tree, its productivity, immunity to certain strains of diseases are programmed not only during selection, but in the process of planting, choosing the best place, selecting a favorable neighborhood with other horticultural and horticultural crops, preparing the soil.

Selection of seedlings and varieties

When buying a seedling, you need to pay attention to the following factors indicating the he alth of the plant:

• Evenness of the bark without bumps and damage.
• The root system should not contain signs of decay, dry, dying areas, damage to the rhizome - cuts.
• Young (annual seedling) in most varieties has a greenish tint of bark - this is the best planting material in terms of survival.

Choosing a young he althy seedling is 50% success. The main thing is that its adaptability to new growing conditions be the highest, and this is possible when buying a plant bred specifically for specific climatic conditions. Marking will help to understand this:

1. G-1 - these are winter varieties (late ripening). They are suitable for warm and temperate latitudes.
2. G-2 are frost-resistant varieties bred for cultivation in Siberia and the Urals.
3. G-3 - early autumn varieties with good frost resistance, suitable for planting in areas with hot long summers and harsh winters - temperate continental climate.
4. G-4 differs from G-3 varieties in taste.
5. G-5 - late summer varieties adapted to the conditions of the Urals.

Let the labeling of plants be not as poetic as the names of the variety, but it is more informative. The presence of markings on the seedling label allows the gardener to understand the characteristics of the variety without the register of garden trees, especially since not all varieties are introduced there.

Choosing a landing site

Large space for columnar pears is not needed, for one plant it is necessary to allocate 60 cm^{2 personal space, which should not be shaded by the crowns of taller trees, buildings, but also open to everyone winds should not be a site.}

Selection and soil preparation

Pear in terms of soil selection, the plant is unpretentious. Like any fruit plant, it needs nutrients, organic fertilizers will provide them. When preparing a planting hole, do not neglect the enrichment of the soil by introducing humus into it.

Distance between trees

The scheme for planting columnar pears looks like this:

• Dimensions of the hole: depth - 80 cm, width - 60 cm.
• The distance between holes in a row is 50 cm.
• Row spacing - 100-150 cm.

If these planting parameters are observed, low-growing plants will have enough light, and full air circulation will be provided.

Features of the root system

Given that the roots of a dwarf plant do not go deep into the ground, but are located almost parallel to the topsoil, weak sandy soils are enhanced by sphagnum. This moss multiplies quickly, strengthening the soil. When planting in sandy and loamy soils, such measures are not required.

Pear planting technology

The planting diagram above is used when setting up an orchard with plants of approximately the same height. If it is necessary to plant one seedling among giant trees, one should take into account not the distance from the trunk of a nearby growing plant, but the dimensions of its crown. A short-growing pear will be uncomfortable in its shade, which will affect the he alth and yield of a young tree.

Proper care

The yield and he alth of the tree depends on the correct care. That's right, it doesn't mean too much! All stages of care should be carried out in a timely manner and without much fanaticism. Excess fertilizer contributes to the growth of the trunk and leaf mass, but the yield may be zero. Neglect of preventive spraying with insecticides will result in a serious disease even for a plant with high immunity. Untimely pruning will turn a columnar tree into a simple dwarf tree with a dense rounded crown.

How to properly trim a pear?

Pruning a pear in autumn is a mandatory step necessary for crown formation. In order for the dwarf pear to have the maximum advantages of a columnar plant, it is necessary to cut the shoots so that only 2 eyes remain on them from autumn.

In spring and summer, only shoots affected by disease or frost are removed, since the annual increase in branch mass is negligible.

Loosening and mulching

These two stages are directly related. Loosening is done immediately after harvesting the mulch from the soil in the spring and after harvesting, before preparing the plants for the winter period. Loosening is necessary so that air and water get to the roots of the plant in sufficient quantities, and mulching is necessary to protect the root system: from frost - in winter, from pests, excessive drying or excessive moisture - in summer.

Let's move on to fertilizers

Nitrogen is a fundamental element for the development of a plant, painless overcoming of all stages of the growing season, up to the set of fruits of the maximum possible weight for a variety. Nitrogen-containing fertilizers are applied before flowering and during the formation of fruit ovaries. If you need to apply potash, phosphate fertilizers and other trace elements, you should be guided by the state of pear foliage.

Preparing for winter

The beginning of the preparatory stage comes immediately after the completion of the harvest, the mulch layer is removed from the ground along with fallen leaves, fruits, insect larvae, pathogenic microflora. To protect against insects that have chosen the bark of a tree as a refuge for wintering, the trunk must be covered with a layer of lime whitewash.

Not the most frost-resistant varieties of pears should be wrapped in polyethylene and burlap. On loosened soil above the root system, a 10 cm layer of fresh (insulating) mulch is laid - peat mixed with sawdust or straw. With a forecasted harsh winter, you can additionally cover the ground with spruce branches.

Disease and pest control

It is easier to prevent a disease than to treat it. The main preventive action is the early spring spraying of fruit trees with insecticides, which is a good measure to combat aphids, pear suckers and mites.In the fight against many diseases of pears, tobacco and lemon balm planted nearby will help.

Features of cultivation in different regions of Russia

The main features when growing columnar pear trees in different climatic conditions are the timing of preventive protection measures, the thickness of the mulching layer and the covering material of the plant itself.

If the spraying of pears due to weather conditions in the Moscow region is recommended in the last ten days of April, then in the Krasnodar Territory this stage of care will take place at the beginning of the month. For adult plants of frost-resistant varieties of pears in the Moscow region, you can not use wrapping a tree in burlap, then for Siberia and the Urals, all varieties of dwarf pears are considered covering, requiring mandatory warming.

Harvest and storage of crops

Crop harvested at the stage of technical maturity can be kept fresh, and more mature fruits can be processed for processing - making marmalades, jellies, compotes, candied fruits and other sweets.

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