Today we talk about a very famous variety of apples for planting in the middle lane, which is called "Hero".
Let's try to get acquainted in detail with the fruits, tree, features of planting and caring for a young seedling.
After all, this variety of apples is famous not only for the high taste of its fruits, but for their suitability for all types of home canning, urinating or squeezing the juice.
Apple tree "Bogatyr" - bogatyr harvest. Features variety.
As mentioned above, the variety is known and popular due to the quality of its fruits and excellent yields. "Bogatyr" refers to late or winter varieties, maturity of the fruits occurs only in late autumn.
This variety is the result of breeding "Antonovka" and "Reneta Landsberg", which carried out S.F. Chernenko. Thanks relatively quick ripening of fruits and other advantages, these apples deservedly occupy a special place both in industrial gardens and in personal plots of amateur gardeners.
"Heroic" fruits
As such, they have the full right to be called, since at the rate of they usually are from medium to very large (about 150 grams). The shape of a ripe fruit is flat-round, which is drawn in a small cone to the calyx. The surface of the apple is smooth, but its ribs are clearly visible. The color of ripened apples when breaking off is light-green, which, upon further storage, turns yellow.
From exposure to sunlight on one side of the fruit can appear a bright red "blush" with blurred outlines, which, however, can be traced strokes and stripes. Despite the fact that the skin is mostly smooth, in the funnel and around it there are corking, roughness.
The stem can be short with a thickening at the place of attachment to the fetus, or it can be long, but medium in thickness. The fruit funnel, although narrow, is rather deep. The cup is closed, located in a saucer with ribbed edges. Small and funnel-shaped in the fruit of this variety is the underbone tube, which has a short cylindrical end. There is no axial cavity.
Pulp ripe apples white color. The structure is dense, fine-grained. Taste very nice, sweet and sour.
Ripe apples are different. large amounts of ascorbic acidwhich is included in their chemical composition. Per 100 grams of pulp accounts for 12.9 mg of this vitamin.
Shape and type of wood
When planting seedlings, the gardener's particular attention should be given to the question of the shape and type of the tree, since it will depend on this at what distance from each other to plant the seedlings. So, the tree "Heroes" refers to vigorous type. The crown is very sprawling, which is why it is quite rare. The lowest branches of the crown can actually decompose at a right angle to the trunk. Those branches that grow higher are located at an angle of 45 °.
On branched kolchatka who reach the age of 3-4 years, the fruits begin to ripen. However, it is worth noting that sometimes the tree begins to bear fruit on the wood of two years of age.
What is different shoots "Heroes"?
It is worth noting that formed on the young tree shoots have a red-brown color. In shape, they are curved and long. On the shoot an oval and large kidney is pressed.
The leaves are dark green in color, oval. Also, around the circumference of the leaves have crenate serrations. Himself sheet highly thick and thick, straight in the middle, but at the edges bent to the top.
The scape is at an angle to the shoot, this angle can be up to 45 °. Stipule missing.
The flowers have a white and pink color. Small in size, in shape - almost flat. Stigma rises above the anthers about 2-3 millimeters.
What are the advantages of this variety?
The advantages of this variety, to which particular attention should be paid to gardeners, should be attributed to actually huge storage time dangling fruitswhich can be up to 257 days. At the same time, the fruits are excellent for sale, since their marketability is 89%. It is also noted that among all fruits most, up to 61%, are apples of the first and second grade.
Young tree begins to bear fruit at the age of 6-7 years, while the volume of harvest is increasing rapidly. So, on average, one tree at the age of 9-14 years old can yield up to 57 kilograms. However, already in 12-17 years the fecundity of the same tree can reach 80 kilograms. Thus, the virtue of the variety is abundance of fruiting and annual crops.
Ripe fruits are recommended for use both fresh, and in the form of juices, compotes and preserves.
The "Bogatyr" plus is also its excellent ecological adaptability. Variety resistant to scab.
But there are drawbacks to the "Bogatyr"
It is virtually impossible to affect all the advantages that this variety owns, but it is necessary to take into account such a minus as average fitness for low temperatures. That is, you will have to be very attentive to the tree and to care for it, so as not to artificially reduce this resistance to the lowest level. To do this, carefully read the following features of care for the brand "Hero".
Gardeners call another disadvantage of the variety lack of colorHowever, for experienced consumers or for those who are going to process the fruit, this minus is not significant.
It is also very interesting to learn about the varieties of columnar apple trees for the Moscow region.
Details about planting apple seedlings
Like any plant, this variety has its own requirements for the choice of soil type and fertilizer necessary for growth. Therefore, to be able to grow a good tree and get a great harvest - carefully read this section.
Choosing the time of year and preparing a pit for planting
Landing can be done both in spring and autumn - before the onset of frost. When you start digging a hole for a seedling, keep in mind that a mixture of fertilizer will be loaded on its bottom. Therefore, the depth of the pit should be about 70-80 centimeters, and the width - more than one meter. In the fall planting, the pit is prepared about a month or two before the immediate landing, and for the spring - even in the fall.
However, digging a hole, try to learn everything about the soil and the depth of the groundwater. After all, they can destroy your seedling if they approach very close to its roots. To avoid this, it is recommended dig up special groove, in which excessive amounts of groundwater will be displayed. Another option is to choose a landing site on small elevations or hills. This makes it possible to increase the yield of the tree.
Pay attention to the type of soil
When choosing a place for planting, you should also consider that for the Bogatyr apple variety loamy soils are best suited. Consequently, having chosen the ideal soil for a sapling, you will not even need to fertilize it during the first years of sapling growth. At the same time, the harvest will simply amaze you from year to year (unless of course you are a caring owner for your tree).
If there is a lot of clay in the soil, then before planting the seedling add to it a mixture of peat, river sand and compost. Such a mixture will provide the root system of the tree with oxygen. A large amount of peat, compost and humus should be used when planting a tree in sandy soils.
Take into account the required distance between the trees
Paying attention to the fact that the tree "Heroes" tall, then the distance between the rows should be about 4-5 metersthat will allow the branches to calmly disintegrate and not to cling to the branches of neighboring trees.
If you are concerned that while the seedlings are small, there is a lot of free space between them - feel free to use it for planting vegetables that do not have a deep root system. It can be cabbage, and beans, and even radish.
However, it is worth refuse planting corn or sunflowerbecause they will compete with your seedlings for nutrients.
Caring for the "Warrior"
On the features of care, which should be noted, we talked a lot above. Therefore, we will not make large digressions, immediately to the specifics.
Early spring care
With the onset of the first heat do the image of branches: we cut off all old and damaged. It should also tame a little all remaining. Thus, by limiting the growth of the tree, we achieve a more intensive growth of buds.
Circumcisions are also subject to cutting off, on which last year’s buds with inflorescences remained. Young shoots and inflorescences without them will allow you to get a sufficiently large crop. Important also to cut off those branches that are trying to compete with a treetop, and those that do not grow outward, but inside the crown.
Features of care in the second half of spring
During this period it is recommended to carry out spraying, the number of which should be up to two.
In order to maximize the prevention of pests, the first spraying is carried out even before bud break or already in the process of blooming. It is important that the temperature in this period is already above zero, and does not fall below 0. A mixture of such preparations as Inta-Vir, Strobe, Fury is used. When using them carefully read the instructions.
Second spraying has the same goals as the first but already held during the appearance of the buds.
Do not forget to feed our "Heroes". For this, urea or nitrate is most commonly used. Important for apple growth are such trace elements as solution of boric acid and copper sulfate.
For a mature fruiting apple tree, it is important to get nitrogen as a fertilizer (before putting it into the soil, you should mow the grass around the tree).
Summer period
Do not forget that around the apple tree about a diameter of one meter should dig a small depth of the moat. In the summer, it will serve as a place for watering the tree. Watering follows exercise regularlyespecially during periods of drought.
The first period of autumn
In the period of September-October is whiten the bottom of the tree trunk. It will be protect him from various kinds of pests and diseases. Wounds that remain on the tree from circumcision or from other injuries should be treated with iron red lead.
End of autumn
With the first frost should proceed to fertilize the soil around the trunk of a tree. Why is it done so late? First, in order not to cause additional growth of the tree, which may cause frost damage to it. Secondly - in this way we will contribute to the winter hardiness of the roots of the apple tree, avoiding the freezing of the soil.
For autumn fertilizers use: compost, ash, mixtures of superphosphates with potassium, sodium chloride and sodium chloride.. Fertilizers are laid out around the perimeter of the circle, which is limited to the irrigation ditch. In snowy winters, you can also additionally gather snow under the trunk of an apple tree, but in spring you will have to ensure that no ice cover forms on its surface.
Be attentive to your garden, and he will surely thank you for the lush harvests of the Bogatyr apples.
