Apple Melba: description and characteristics of the variety, ripening time, pollinators and care

Apples are the most beloved and common fruit grown by gardeners. In a huge variety of apple varieties, Melba is especially distinguished. The Melba apple tree gives such juicy, fragrant, sweet apples, the taste of which you will not confuse with any other. And for many of our compatriots, it has become the taste of their childhood.

The world learned about Melba apples thanks to breeders from Canada, who bred it at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries and gave the new variety the name of the famous opera diva from Australia, Nelly Melba. Very soon, Europeans were already landing them, and a little later, Melba was recognized in Russia.

For several decades it has remained incredibly popular, and even gave life to many apple hybrids.

Description and characteristics of the variety

Great yields and excellent taste are the very characteristics that distinguish apples of this unusual variety. For those who grow them, it is very important to know that Melba is afraid of frost. This means that winter temperatures should not fall too low, below -30 ℃. Such extreme conditions will require additional protective measures from the grower.

Height

This variety of apple trees is classified as medium-sized. The tree does not grow above three meters, rarely four. On a dwarf rootstock - up to 2.

If you provide good care, the Melba apple tree will survive:

• up to 55 years - on seed stock;
• 20 - semi-dwarf;
• under 15 - dwarf.

Crown width

In an adult tree, it is sprawling, rounded, slightly elongated upwards, reaches 7 meters in diameter, strongly leafy. This applies to Melba on a seed rootstock. In semi-dwarf - crown up to 2 meters wide, and in dwarf species - up to 1.5 meters.

Tasting evaluation

Usually the average size of the Melba fruit is 120-150 grams, but you can also find larger ones. They have a dense, but not at all rough skin, smooth and tender. Its red stripes and sweet and sour taste are easy to recognize.

Average grade - 4.4 (on a five-point scale).

Self-fertility

Melba apple tree is a self-fertile variety, but it is better if pollinating apple trees grow nearby.

Winter hardiness

Melba shows average winter hardiness, and even at -30 ℃ it is able to bring good yields, although additional protection measures will be required, as this threatens to freeze flower buds and shoots.

And if you still want to grow an apple tree of this variety even in such conditions, it is recommended to grow Melba on a dwarf rootstock.

As a way out, container planting is often used when there is a suitable room for storage in winter conditions. In winter, you can also cover with non-woven fabric folded in several layers.

Only the Melba apple variety grows and bears fruit much more successfully in regions located to the south.

Pollinator varieties

The greatest effect is achieved when apple varieties act as pollinators:

• Antonovka;
• Borovinka;
• Chinese Bellefleur;
• Quinty;
• Suyslepske;
• Stark airlist.

Beginning of fruiting

As for the ripening period, the apple tree regularly bears fruit, on average, from the 4th year, and through:

• 4-6 years - on seed stock;
• 3-4 years - semi-dwarf;
• 3rd year - dwarf species.

Melba blooms in early spring. And at the end of summer, from the second half of August and then another month and a half, you can take the fruits. The yield of this variety of apple trees is high. At first, the crops are harvested annually, from the 8th year - even plentifully, but after 12 years, an alternation is observed: the apple tree bears fruit for a year, the year - without apples.

Cost of a seedling

Prices (in rubles) for seedlings in different regions of Russia vary:

Seedling age, years345 Moscow and St. Petersburg10002500 Vologda Temryuk of the Krasnodar Territory Yekaterinburg

		6000
320	650	…
220	450	…
300	600	…

Pros and cons

Apple Melba is highly popular, and all thanks to its merits. So, for a variety it is characteristic:

• first harvest in just 4 years;
• apples are strong and durable, and therefore transportable;
• excellently stored;
• high yield;
• wide opportunities for recycling.

However, this variety is not ideal. There are quite significant drawbacks:

• lack of scab resistance;
• poor frost resistance.

Gardeners have been successfully fighting with them for a long time. So it is enough to properly care for the apple tree, and it will delight with high yields for many years.

Fit features

Melba is classified as a centenarian. It is not uncommon for her to live 70-80 years.

According to legend, the Melba apple tree, which was planted back in 1647, still bears fruit in Manhattan today.

In order for a tree to live and give its apples for many, many years, you need to know when, where and how to plant it and, of course, how to take care of it.

Date and place

Experienced gardeners call early spring the best time for planting, when the buds have not yet begun to bloom, or the period from mid-September to early October, when the tree will throw off its leaves.

In both cases, being late can have very unpleasant consequences. Fall planting is preferred. When a seedling is dug up, its roots are inevitably damaged, and during the winter they have time to recover. So in the spring the tree is already able to provide itself with nutrients in full. It is important to remember that from planting to the first autumn frosts should not be less than a month.

But if your winters are cold and the temperature is below -20 °, it is better to plant an apple tree of this variety in the spring.

When choosing a place to plant a seedling, please note: no groundwater close to the surface. The risk is too high that the roots will be washed in the spring, as a result, the tree will soon die. Gardeners often dig channels specifically to remove excess moisture.

But it is better to plant apple trees on a natural hill, in a place closed from gusts of wind.

Loam is the best soil for Melba. Clay or swampy - the choice is not the best. When the acidity level does not reach the norm, the earth should be fertilized by adding dolomite flour or slaked lime (500 grams per 1 square meter).

Seedling selection

Selected for planting only strong and he althy trees that meet the following parameters:

• age - 1-2 years old;
• from half a meter to 80 centimeters in length;
• presence of 2-3 side shoots,
• well-formed root system.

Two days before planting a seedling, its roots should be dipped in water, and immediately before planting, dip into a clay mash, after getting rid of the leaves (cut them off).

Preparing for landing

A pit should be prepared 2 weeks before planting:

• deep - up to 80 centimeters;
• wide - up to 1 meter.

Cut off a 30cm layer of turf. The same amount of sand, peat, humus is taken, mixed with 1 kilogram of ash, plus 200 grams of potassium sulfate, 400 grams of double superphosphate.

Drainage of 20 cm thickness should be laid out at the bottom of the formed pit. Its role will be performed by any of the following materials:

• broken brick;
• coarse river sand;
• small gravel;
• nutshell.

If the groundwater level rises, this layer will protect the root system of the tree from decay.

Planting a seedling

The soil mixture, which was prepared in advance, must be poured into a hole and form a hill, 20 centimeters in height is enough. From its northern side, it is necessary to drive in a wooden peg, so that it rises 70 centimeters above the ground. It will serve as a support.

Melba's sapling is placed directly on the hill, and the roots are carefully straightened, after which they can be covered with earth. It is recommended to shake the tree a little, as there should not be any voids between the roots.

Now you can trample down the soil, and around the seedling itself, with a radius of half a meter, form a roller from the ground with a height of 10-15 centimeters.

It remains to tie the tree to a peg, pour 2 buckets of water over it and cover the trampled soil with a layer of needles, dry grass or peat.

Rules for plant care

To take care of Melba means to perform a standard set of actions, in which not only watering with top dressing and pruning. It includes preparation for winter, as well as prevention and control of diseases and pests.

Irrigation

From spring, when buds appear on the tree, and until the first autumn month, the apple tree should be watered once a month. If the tree is not yet bearing fruit, 2 buckets of water at a time is enough. With the appearance of fruits, 4 buckets are already required.

Preliminarily, the tree is surrounded by a roller with a radius of half a meter in order to pour water into the formed circle. After that, the soil is leveled and covered with mulch.

Feeding

If the land in which the Melba seedlings are planted is fertile, then you do not have to feed them immediately.

But next year this procedure cannot be avoided. At the beginning of May, a solution of urea is introduced into the soil for the first time (half a kilo of the product per 10 liters of water); once again the procedure will have to be repeated in the first summer days.

By the end of July, it's time to add dissolved chicken manure (for 12 liters of water - 1 part of manure). It can also be a solution of cow dung (1 part per 8 liters of water).

When you dig up the ground at the beginning of autumn, at the same time you should add:

• potassium sulfate (50 grams);
• superphosphate (100 grams);
• wood ash (0.7 kilograms);
• compost humus or peat.

Cutting

The next year after planting, you should prune the young Melba apple tree. And it is recommended to do this before the buds hatch.

Over the next 3 years, the crown is formed at the tree. At the same time, a third is cut off from the central branch. As for the shoots on the main branches, they should have 3 buds intact, and on all the others, only one remains. Those that grow crooked or touch each other are removed.

In the future, damaged, improperly growing, dry branches should be pruned.

Important to know! Places of cuts must be treated with garden pitch.

Preparing for winter

Melba variety is unpretentious, if not for one of its features. We must always remember that these apple trees do not tolerate extreme cold and frost. Therefore, their preparation for winter must be carried out especially carefully. Various measures are being taken:

1. White the trunk and lower branches.
2. Additionally insulate by wrapping the trunk with 3-4 layers of burlap or tarpaulin, and laying straw between the layers. The structure should be strengthened more securely.
3. Cover the apple tree with a snowdrift.

Diseases and pests

Let's talk about what threatens these fruit trees.

Melba's diseases and how to deal with them

All plants get sick, the Melba apple tree is no exception.

1. Scab.

Lack of resistance to this infection gardeners call the main drawback of this variety. It all starts with the appearance of brown spots on the leaves, and ends with cracks in the fruits and dark gray spots.

Control methods: in the spring, spray with a solution of Oxyhom or Horus, prepared in strict accordance with the provisions of the instructions.

2. Powdery mildew.

Due to the plaque that covers the tree, the access of oxygen to the leaves is closed. They do not receive moisture, even the fruits fail to start.

Control methods: Topaz spray blooming leaves, copper chloride - after flowering.

3. Fruit rot.

Appears on apples as brown spots and whitish growths. Infected fruits should be destroyed immediately.

Control methods: spray three times:

• as soon as the leaves bloom - Soon;
• as soon as it blooms - Horus;
• 3 weeks before harvest - Fundazol.

Apple pests and their control

The very names of the most common pests speak eloquently of their dangerous impact. And the most common are:

1. Apple leaflet.

You can expect a lot of trouble from this little butterfly. She lays her eggs on young leaves, causing them to curl. Newly hatched caterpillars are able to eat a leaf to the veins.

From one apple tree to another they move too fast. So it will be necessary to process, along with the diseased, all the surrounding trees.

You can physically destroy leaf rollers, for which:

• burn the rolled leaves;
• attract birds to the garden;
• create special traps.

There are folk recipes. Someone uses an infusion of tobacco, someone helps a decoction of potatoes or tomato tops.

But if the damage is significant, only chemistry will help.

2. Apple codling moth.

Their butterflies choose flower buds to lay their eggs. A caterpillar is born and breaks out, gnawing out a seed, very quickly occupies an apple in the neighborhood.

You can use a sticky belt. Put on an apple tree, it will become a trap for pests.

If you clean the bark (twice a year - in spring and autumn), you can get rid of the remaining cocoons in it.

You can resort to the "help" of insects that are at war with the stalks, planting more flowering plants on the site to attract them. And it is very good if tomatoes grow nearby. The stalk does not like their smell.

3. Apple scale insect.

Food for this pest is apple juice.As soon as it populates, small dark growths are observed on the bark. The insect is unusually tenacious, its eggs survive calmly in frost at 30 ℃, and a strong shell makes the scale insect not particularly sensitive to the influence of various chemicals. If you do not want the growth of the apple tree to stop, you will have to chemically treat the apple tree with copper sulfate in the fall, and with Nitrafen in the spring.

You can make a solution of tar soap and ash and wash the trunk and branches of an apple tree with it.

4. Apple beetle.

These bugs in the bud lay their larvae, thereby practically destroying it. Spraying with a solution of chlorophos helps well.

Sticky films are used to cleanse the bark. Whitewashing apple trees with a solution of slaked lime works well (1.5-2 kilograms per 10 liters of water).

Harvest and storage of crops

The end of August is harvest time. It is not uncommon when the collection is delayed for the September days. Moreover, it is recommended to do this in dry weather, if you collect after rain, you will not be able to save them. If:

• pick fruit without waiting for full ripening;
• avoid falling apples, damage to the skin when picking;
• put in a wooden container in 2-3 layers, wrapped in paper or shifting with wood shavings so that the fruits do not touch each other;

then, by providing a temperature of -1- +7 °C in the storage, you can store them without problems until the beginning or middle of January.

Melba apple tree is widely known for its incredible taste. There are many apple varieties that ripen at different times and differ from one another in taste characteristics.But true apple connoisseurs will not stop growing Melba.

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