Apple tree Lungwort: description of the variety and varieties of rootstocks, planting and growing, care

Cold climatic zone - Siberia, Urals, suitable for growing the Medunitsa apple tree, according to gardeners, it is the best summer variety of the middle zone. It is in this climatic zone that its fruits have high acidity. Lungwort has a sweet taste, not typical for apple trees in the middle lane and northern regions. More resistant to severe frosts, the Medovka variety, in contrast, has a sour taste.

Description

Depending on the rootstock, the characteristics of the variety may differ slightly. Due to this, the scatter in the descriptions of the height of the tree, the weight of the fruit, the density and structure of the pulp may vary slightly.

Appearance

The height of the tree is from 5 to 10 meters. The uncharacteristic crown shape for summer varieties is a wide pyramidal inverted shape. Skeletal branches depart from the trunk with a downward slope at an acute angle. On two-year-old seedlings, the shoots are light brown in color with ringlets.

Barrel

The height of the lungwort tree on a dwarf rootstock is 1.5-2 m. On a semi-dwarf one, the trunk reaches a height of 5 m;

Foliage

Green matte foliage, rough to the touch with a relief depressed pattern. It does not have a definite shape, there are rounded and oblong leaves of different lengths and widths. A slight yellowish hue is a natural characteristic of the variety, as well as a slight, slightly pronounced curvature of the stiff leaves.

Fruit

The summer variety of Lungwort is characterized by rounded fruits weighing up to 100 g. Apples picked at the stage of technical maturity are stored for no more than 2 weeks. Ripening is not simultaneous. The harvest of winter lungwort retains its qualities until mid-autumn. The fruits of the winter variety reach 150 g. Like the leaves, apples do not have a strict shape; among rounded apples one can find conical fruits, which is not a degeneration of the variety. Most often, the fruits are elliptical in shape when viewed from the side.

Mature apples suitable for picking are yellow-green in color with scarlet stripes. The fruit, the table maturity of which occurs while it is on the branch, may differ in the red color of a dense, smooth peel or a blush prevailing over the rest of the shades. However, the vertical stripes remain visible.

Yellow pulp has a dense, juicy structure. Tasting score 4.3 points out of 5 possible. The taste of Medunitsa apples corresponds to its name - there are honey notes in the aroma and taste.

Root

In summer varieties of lungwort on seed, columnar rootstocks, the root system is sufficiently developed to securely hold the tree even with hurricane winds. When using dwarf and semi-dwarf rootstocks, the roots of the tree are located close to the surface, which requires additional fixation of the plant with props.

During severe bad weather, the root system will not provide the tree with reliable support, storm winds can uproot the tree from the ground.

Types and variations of rootstocks and varieties

Choosing a tree according to the characteristics of the rootstock is necessary for areas with strong winds, certain soil types. Depend on the rootstock:

height of an adult plant;
its fruiting period and lifespan;
harvest ripening dates.

Depending on the characteristics of the rootstock, the stages of care will differ - fertilization, root and foliar top dressing, pruning.

Summer dessert

A tall apple tree over 5 years old annually yields over 80 kg. The weight of each fruit is from 80 to 150 g. The juicy, fragrant pulp has a creamy tint.

Winter

Winter Lungwort differs from summer varieties of the variety by the fruit ripening period, it falls on the end of September. The harvest from this tree can be stored until spring, it has a high keeping quality. The peculiarity lies in the higher content of acids in fruits, apples taste more like Honey.

Dwarf

The height of the tree is insignificant - 1.5-2 m. When planting, the minimum interval between plants is 1 m. The undersized Lungwort begins to bear fruit in the 3rd year after planting an annual seedling.When planting a 2-year-old shoot, you can try the first fruits already in the first season, but the tree is not yet gaining sufficient strength, which can affect the wintering period during severe frosts. Therefore, it is recommended to remove the ovaries in the first year.

To provide the plant with good rooting, high-quality development, a garter is needed. A he althy one with even crown development will give maximum returns for 12 seasons after first fruiting. The main disadvantage of dwarf apple trees is their short lifespan.

Semi-dwarf

Semi-dwarf rootstock will make Lungwort not so tall and bring closer the gardener's joy from getting the first harvest. The height of the tree on a semi-dwarf rootstock is 4-5 m, such a Medunitsa will begin to bear fruit in the 4-5th season. The minimum spacing between seedlings should not be less than 3 meters.

Columnar

Columnar rootstock is used when it is necessary to obtain a pyramidal dwarf plant. It is almost impossible to get such a plant from a nursery; such a graft is more often used by gardeners themselves.

Seed

An apple tree on a seed stock lives up to 90 years, it will bear fruit for more than half a century. The height of the tree reaches 5-7 meters, it will begin to bear fruit in the 5-6th season after planting in a permanent place. The distance between the planting holes of Lungwort apple trees on the seed stock is at least 4.4 m. In order for the crowns not to shade each other, the optimal distance between the holes is 6 meters.

Advantages and disadvantages of varieties

A characteristic feature of the Lungwort variety (all types) is that the fruits practically do not fall off after full ripening, they are securely held on the branches. With prolonged storage, the fruits lose their taste. Fruit ripening on one tree is uneven, from the first ripe apple to the last it can take 2-3 weeks.

An apple tree on a dwarf rootstock requires little to no thinning of branches, while a tree on a seed rootstock will require regular pruning for normal fruiting.Seed rootstocks provide fruiting for at least half a century, and dwarf trees live no more than 30 years, their fruiting period does not exceed 15 seasons.

Whatever rootstock is used, all imperfections can be corrected with the right care.

Attention! For humid areas, it is better to choose a plant on a clonal stock, it enhances the resistance of the apple tree to excessive soil moisture.

Comparisons with other varieties

When compared with the varieties Medovka, Medok and Candy, then:

In terms of disease resistance, Lungwort has the highest rate.
Better than Medok and Medovka in fruit weight.
The taste of the fruit is characterized as sweet with a touch of honey. Apples of the Medoc variety have the same description. The fruit of the Candy variety is simply called sweet, and the Medovka has a sweet and sour taste.
Compared to the same varieties, Lungweed has the highest yield with good transportability.
In terms of the shelf life of the crop - one and a half months, it is second only to Candy, the fruits of which can retain commercial qualities for 2 months.
Frost resistance is higher only in Medovka.
You can use it fresh, cook jam, jams, compotes for long-term storage from all 4 varieties listed above. Only apples of the Candy variety are suitable for drying.

Varie Benefits

Worthy competitors of Lungweed can be considered Honey Ranet and Summer Honey, but they are inferior to it in some parameters. Honey Ranet loses on such indicators as:

fruit size;
saturation of taste;
less disease resistance;
yield.

Summer Honey Lungwort is inferior in terms of transportability, but significantly wins in terms of disease resistance.

Features

Candy - a variety ripening for the apple Spas, bred by S. I. Isaev. Fruits in the 5-6th season. Frost-resistant, grows in central Russia. Productivity up to 100 kg from an adult (10-year-old) plant. The variety is self-fertile, used as a pollinator for other varieties of apple trees.

Medovka is an early maturing variety. The tree is frost-resistant, in case of damage by severe cold it quickly regenerates. Unstable productivity - a break for one season every 4-5 years, is compensated for by the high taste of the fruit. Tree height 4-4.5 m.

Medoc is a columnar tree, about 2 meters high. Ripens late August - early September. For a season from one tree you can get 15 kg of apples. Begins to bear fruit in the 2nd year.

Honey Ranet is a variety of early ripening, tree height 4-4.5 m, small apples 35-70 g, yellow color. Productivity, frost resistance are high.

Summer Honey offers Kurilovsky nursery. This variety is new for Russia, it is bred in Europe. Fruits with pale pink skin ripen by mid-August, their average weight is 230 g. The pulp is juicy, fine-grained, dense. The taste is sweet and sour.

Crown formation

The formation of the crown of apple trees depends on the height of the tree. The optimal growth of the trunk in height is 60 cm, if this level is exceeded, then the crown needs pruning. With lower growth rates of non-dwarf apple trees, fertilizing with growth regulators is necessary.

Pruning is not an obligatory step in the annual care of apple trees on dwarf and columnar rootstocks. For tall trees, it is necessary to carry out the formation of the crown by shortening the shoots.

Flowering and pollination

Lungweed is a self-fertile apple tree, but the quality of the harvest largely depends on what kind of apples are planted in the neighborhood, whether they can become pollinators for Lungwort. The best neighbors can be considered for Lungwort:

Brown Striped;
White filling;
Victory;
Chinese Belfer;
Chernenko;
Anis Sverdlovsky.

When choosing a neighborhood that has a beneficial effect on the yield of Lungwort, you need to take into account the fact that pollinating varieties should bloom with it at the same time in May.

Fruiting

Fruiting Lungwort on all types of rootstocks is consistently high (for a given tree size). If we are talking about a dwarf rootstock, then from one 2-meter tree you can get 15 kg of fruit, and from a high 7-meter tree all 80 kg.

The lower the tree should become at a late stage of development, the faster it can be harvested from the first crop. Tall plants take longer to mature, but their fruiting period is 40-50 seasons longer.

Winter hardiness

Lungwort is resistant to frost down to -40 °C and to frosts returning in spring. Successfully cultivated in the conditions of the Urals and Siberia. Growing conditions do not affect the taste of fruits.

Disease resistance

Initially, breeders were faced with the task of creating a variety resistant to scab. The goal was achieved, Lungwort turned out to be resistant to other diseases of apple crops.

Disease strains are transforming, today Lungwort is again susceptible to scab of a new generation, because it has immunity only from scab species known in the 40s of the last century.Preventive treatments for scab are necessary for Lungwort just like other varieties of apple trees.

Selection

The Lungwort apple tree was bred as a result of crossing Brown Striped and Welsey. The authorship belongs to S. I. Isaev, who has been working on improving the variety since 1935 on the basis of Moscow State University. Lomonosov. In 1944, the first harvest with characteristic honey notes was harvested from the apple tree.

The biologist was awarded the Stalin Prize for his work, but the variety Medunitsa does not appear in the State Register of Fruit Trees.

Cultivation practices

Agricultural technology for growing the Medunitsa variety largely depends on the climate of the region. This affects the timing of processing, fertilizing, pruning, planting seedlings, because the criteria are not calendar dates, but natural factors - snow melting, thawing of the earth, the onset of stable positive air temperatures.

Landing

It is recommended to plant an apple tree in the Caucasus, in central Russia and other regions where snow covers the ground with a dense carpet in winter, 15-20 days before the onset of frost. At the same time, there should be no possibility of warming, at which the movement of tree sap and swelling of the buds will begin.

If even one factor can be questioned, then planting trees should be planned for the spring. In spring, an apple tree must be planted in the Urals, Siberia, and regions of the Far East. And the landing holes need to be prepared in the fall, adding the necessary minerals and humus to them.

The depth of the hole and its distance from the neighboring one must be selected as required by the plant on the selected type of stock.

Selecting planting material

Each region has its own preferred varieties of rootstocks.Professional breeders working in nurseries of garden plants will help in choosing planting material. It is difficult to briefly describe all the nuances of the choice, choosing a plant for each specific site, taking into account the density and fertility of the soil, temperature changes during the day and year, the proximity of groundwater, the windiness of the area and other factors. Choosing a planting site

Loam is the best soil for Lungwort with sufficient drainage and abundant mineral content. On other soils, it is also necessary to provide the plant with sufficient light, access of air and nutrients to the roots, and a good outflow of excess water.

Timing

When planting seedlings in autumn, the last decade of October is recommended. In the spring, the landing time directly depends on the moment the snow melts. The earth should not be excessively moist. Although the Medunitsa variety is resistant to moisture, long-term contact with water is undesirable for the roots of the seedling. Landing sequence

Seating algorithm:

The hole is dug in width and depth twice as large as the diameter of the root system of the seedling.
At the bottom of it, a part of the soil enriched with mineral fertilizers and humus is laid out. The thickness of this layer is approximately 20 cm.
A peg is driven into the center so that its upper part protrudes above the surface.
The roots of the tree are immersed in the hole, the trunk is fixed in a vertical position, tied to a peg.
The root system is sprinkled with the remaining earth so that the root collar rises 5 cm above the ground.
The ground around the trunk is compacting.
A ditch for irrigation is made at a distance of 50-70 cm from the trunk. Its circumference should not coincide with the ends of the root system.

Growing

Cultivation of Lungwort consists of proper care - fertilizing, protective measures against diseases and pests, periodic watering, crown formation and thinning, loosening the soil to ensure soil saturation with air.

Care

Lungwort is not a demanding variety, but you still need to take care of it regularly, starting in early spring and ending in late autumn in preparation for the winter cold.

Cutting

Pruning is done in the spring before the onset of warm weather - until the moment when the juices of the tree begin to move and the buds swell. In the spring, old and frost-damaged branches are removed, for the restoration of which there is no hope. Since autumn, shoots are removed that take strength from the main trunk.

When forming the crown, Lungwort should have 5-6 main skeletal branches. Of all the processes at the pruning stage, the strongest branches are selected. When pruning, be sure to have garden pitch or water-based paint on hand to treat fresh cuts.

Care during flowering

During flowering, the apple tree requires nitrogen, it is applied with top dressing in May and early June. For young plants, urea is introduced at the same time, it is a growth activator. Urea is added in proportion with water 1 to 5. An infusion of chicken manure and nettle can be used as a nitrogen-containing liquid.

You can replace these folk remedies with Kemira Lux, used as a top dressing at the stage of bud formation.

Irrigation

For watering an adult tall apple tree, 30-40 liters of water will be required, for a young or dwarf lungwort, 10 liters is enough. The frequency of watering depends on weather conditions. Under moderately warm conditions, watering is carried out 1 time in 15 days, in a hot arid climate, irrigation can be done much more often, 2 times a week.

Pest control

In early spring, as a preventive measure, it is useful to spray an apple tree of the Lungwort variety against pests with a decoction of grassy elderberry.1 kg of leaves and flowers is poured into 10 liters of water, insisted for a day, 50 g of laundry soap are added. In spring and autumn, the trunks of apple trees turn white, this repels crawling insects.

Protection against diseases

Prevention of scab and fruit rot consists in watering the plot of land adjacent to the trunk with a 10% solution of ammonium nitrate. The tree itself is treated with a 2% solution of Bordeaux liquid. Copper sulphate is used before the kidneys swell. The dilution ratio is 100 g per 10 liters of water.

Feeding

In addition to 3-time saturation of the soil with nitrogen during the season, the apple tree needs minerals. The most relevant is the saturation of the soil with organic fertilizers - humus, slurry during spring digging.

In areas with harsh winters, dry cow pats with straw can be used to warm the soil around the root system. In spring, manure with melt water will enter the soil, enriching it with essential nutrients. Necessary top dressings

Bacterial fertilizers improve the soil, increase yields. These include:

Mineral	Organic
Nitragin	Manure
Azotobacterin	Muslim
Phosphorobacterin	Compost
	Guano

Foliar applications

Urea, superphosphates, calcium phosphate, potassium s alt are used for foliar feeding. Boron, manganese, molybdenum and other minerals should be supplied in small amounts and are also part of the foliar application.

Harvest

Due to the peculiarity of Lungwort fruits to change the taste, it should be determined whether it is so important to keep the harvest fresh, or is it better to put apples for processing. The most pronounced aroma and rich honey taste usually lasts no longer than two weeks after harvest.

Collection

Crop from the apple tree of the variety Medunitsa can be harvested in a state of technical ripeness and fully ripe. Taking into account the non-simultaneous ripening of the fruits of Lungwort, the summer variety is harvested from the last ten days of August to the last days of September. The winter variety matures 2-4 weeks later, but it is also heterogeneous in ripeness, which suggests harvesting from mid-September to late October.

Safety

Winter lungwort is stored for 3-4 months, summer varieties no more than a month.

Using fruits

Medunitsa apples are recognized as dessert apples, but despite this, they are perfect for making compotes, jams, preserves. Low acidity prevents winter preparations from fermentation. This variety is not suitable for drying.

To help the gardener

For amateur gardeners, it is not so easy to get a seedling of the Lungwort apple tree, even at an agricultural fair.And not all sellers on such impromptu trading floors deserve trust. It is better to buy varietal apple trees in professional breeding organizations, their representatives rarely export seedlings hundreds of kilometers from the nursery.

Price of seedlings

The cost of seedlings of the Medunitsa apple tree in nurseries varies from 350 to 500 rubles. This is the cost of next year, because many are already taking orders for the spring supply of seedlings.

Production regions

The regions of production of Lungweed seedlings are St. Petersburg, Moscow, the Urals, the Caucasus. Wherever the Medunitsa apple tree grows, private and public nurseries offer seedlings on rootstocks that are most suitable for the climate in the region.

Nurseries

There are apple tree nurseries in almost all regions. There are a lot of them in the central strip of Russia. Only in the Leningrad region apple trees can be bought at 33 points.

There are 91 fruit tree nurseries in Moscow and the region, 55 of them sell apple trees. The Urals and Siberia also have their own nurseries. When choosing an organization that sells seedlings, it is better to give preference to nurseries belonging to scientific agricultural institutions.