All about the columnar pear

It is unlikely that it will be possible to find a personal plot or cottage without fruit trees. As a rule, pears and apple trees are integral attributes of such properties. But, unfortunately, the size of the plots does not always allow growing large specimens. It is for this reason that many gardeners are trying to learn everything about the columnar pear, the main feature of which is its compactness.

First of all, it should be noted that, regardless of the variety, any columnar pear is a dwarf tree (decorative or fruit). This culture grows and blooms in the same way as its tall counterparts, differing from them by and large only in size and crown contour. Analyzing the main features of columnar specimens, it is worth highlighting the following important points.

• We are talking about deciduous, dwarf trees.
• Columnar varieties grow to a maximum height of 2.5 m, while ordinary pears reach a mark of 5 m.The average indicator of the plants in question is about 1.5 m.
• Outwardly, the trees resemble columns, which determined their name.
• One of the distinguishing features is a rather thick barrel.
• An important advantage is its compactness, which is important for small areas.
• The branches of a columnar pear do not grow, but are located along the trunk. This allows trees to be planted as close as possible to each other.
• The leaves of pears are usually large and have a dark green color, as well as a glossy surface. They often grow directly on the trunk.
• In spring, the trees are covered with white and very fragrant flowers, which are collected in umbrellas.
• The fruits themselves ripen on small branches located literally throughout the tree.
• In terms of pear size, dwarf varieties significantly outperform ordinary ones. The weight of some fruits of summer varieties reaches 0.4 kg.

However, today, not all gardeners, including experienced ones, are familiar with the features, as well as the advantages and equally significant disadvantages of columnar pears. Caring for these plants is almost identical to regular (large) varieties, but it has its own nuances.

The main advantages of the described type of garden trees can be confidently attributed to the following characteristics:

• compactness;
• record yield (up to 8 kg or more from one tree);
• the overwhelming majority of varieties bring a good harvest already in the second year of life;
• rather large size of the fruits themselves and outstanding taste;
• resistance to disease and pest attacks;
• ease of care;
• many varieties are favorably distinguished by their frost resistance;
• seedlings of columnar pears take root very well and quickly, without being demanding on the composition and quality of the soil.

Naturally, columnar varieties also have certain disadvantages that you need to pay attention to. We are talking, in particular, about a relatively short period of fruiting of dwarf trees, most often no more than 10 years. Such pears cannot boast of a long lifespan.

It should be noted that experts are constantly working on expanding the list of varieties of the described type of fruit trees. As a result, gardeners are given the opportunity to choose the best option, for example, for the Leningrad Region, the Moscow Region and any other region. At the same time, the existing varieties are divided into early autumn and late autumn, summer-autumn and winter. At the moment, the following most popular varieties can be distinguished.

• "Carmen" - a dessert variety of a columnar pear with red-burgundy fruits weighing up to 200-250 g. The main advantages are high yield and juiciness of fruits.

• "Decor" - low (up to 2 meters) trees with yellow-green fruits of the correct pear-shaped shape and weighing up to 200 g. Pears have white and juicy and sweet flesh with a slight sourness.

• "Honey" Is a popular summer variety that bears the harvest in August, which accounts for the massive harvest of fruits. Fruits are oval in shape with a yellow-green peel and an orange side, weighing 400 g.

• "Night-Werth" - a variety of dwarf pear, characterized by rather large and weighty (up to 250 g) fruits. The yellow-green peel has a pink tint on one side.

• "Sunremy" Is a columnar variety that bears harvest in late autumn (October-November). Large fruits are greenish in color with a light, uniform blush and often weigh up to 400 g.

• "Severyanka" Is a fast-growing, early variety that is especially popular with gardeners. Greenish-yellow pears of medium size with pinkish veins are juicy and taste good. The crop is harvested from late July to early August.

• "Sapphire" - a kind of dwarf pear with a tree height of 1.5-2 m, characterized by medium frost resistance. With proper care and high-quality preparation for winter, it is successfully cultivated in the Central zone of the Russian Federation. Trees bear fruit three years after planting, and the harvest ripens in early or closer to mid-September.

• "Tenderness" - dwarf trees up to 2.5 meters high with elongated, pear-shaped fruits. With good care and favorable climatic conditions, their weight can reach 400 g. The harvest takes place in the first autumn month.

• "Autumn Dream" - a variety, in many respects similar to the columnar pear "Severyanka", but with small fruits weighing within 80 g. Distinctive features - yellow-green peel and semi-oily pulp structure.

• "Pavlovskaya" - a popular hybrid variety of a dwarf pear, bearing fruit in the second year of life. Fruits are large enough (up to 250 g), ripening by mid-September. The variety is characterized by high productivity and unpretentiousness.

• "Favorite of Yakovlev" - a pear that stands out against the background of many others with large and bright fruits. Fruit weight of regular pear-shaped with a slightly bumpy surface and dull green skin reaches 250 g. Fruit fully ripens towards the end of September.

• "Bogatyr" - one of the most popular varieties of dwarf pear today. Large fruits have an elongated shape, and one pear weighs up to 300 g. The aesthetics of fruits is determined by their golden skin.

• "Sweet beauty" - an early variety, which is harvested from late July to early August. The trees are characterized by unpretentiousness and good resistance to frost, as well as to various diseases. The first fruits weighing up to 250 g appear three years after the pear is planted.

• "White-red" Is another early variety of compact fruit trees. It is worth noting that representatives of this variety take up not so little space, and the first crop from them is harvested in the second year of the plant's life.

• "G-322" - a popular hybrid, for full growth and abundant fruiting of which the presence of pollinators is not required. This self-fertile tree bears harvest in the second year after planting.

As practice shows, it is better to start planting seedlings in the ground not in the fall, but in the spring. This approach will allow the young to get stronger and, therefore, to spend the winter painlessly. A few days before planting itself, it is important to pay attention to the preparation of the holes, while determining the distance between future trees. Experienced gardeners and experts advise placing seedlings at intervals of 0.5 m, while the recommended distance between rows is from 1 to 1.5 m. Such a scheme will provide uniform lighting and air access.

The planting process itself includes the following steps.

1. Dig large enough holes (0.8x0.6 m). It is necessary to take into account the peculiarities of the root system of the planting material.
2. Spill wells abundantly (8 to 10 liters of water each).
3. Add a mixture of humus and sand (2-3 buckets per hole).
4. Mix the previously extracted soil with mineral additives.
5. Spread the roots thoroughly and gently and soak them.
6. Fill about a third of the earth at the bottom of the pit and place a seedling in it.
7. Fill in the remaining soil by hand compacting with little force.
8. Shed the planted tree abundantly.
9. Install the support.

Particular attention should be paid to watering columnar pears, regardless of their variety. In the first year of life, watering the trees is required at least twice a week, and it is recommended to do this before lunch. Of course, in drought conditions, the amount of watering must be increased. Each tree uses on average 5 to 8 liters of water at a time. However, excessive soil moisture is unacceptable.

Another important point is that the vast majority of dwarf pears are self-fertile. Based on this, these trees require pollinators. Their functions are performed by other columnar or full-sized fruit trees planted nearby.

In this case, we are talking about the formation of the crown of trees and ensuring their full development. The more shoots are removed, the better the remaining ones will grow and grow stronger.

In the first year after the planting of the columnar pear is carried out, it is necessary to carefully remove all inflorescences, which stimulates the rooting of the seedling and helps to restore its strength. For the next season, provided that the tree is strong enough, you can leave up to 10 ovaries. Then, every year, the number of future fruits is gradually increased.

Periodically loosening the soil around the pear is an integral part of tree care. Performing such procedures is required with the utmost care, especially when it comes to seedlings. It is necessary to remember about the risks of damaging the root system.

In parallel, it is important to regularly remove all weeds.

The first time it will be necessary to feed the trees in the spring, namely after the first real leaves appear on the young. The next two dressings are carried out at intervals of 14 days. When nutrients are introduced until mid-summer, urea is replaced with mullein or manure solution (slurry) at the rate of 1 liter per tree.If poultry manure is used (0.5 liters per seedling), then it must first be fermented for at least 14 days.

With the onset of autumn, to create favorable conditions, mineral supplements are used, which contain potassium and phosphorus.

Even taking into account the fact that most varieties of the described fruit trees are characterized by frost resistance, in some regions it is strongly recommended to competently prepare them for wintering. This is especially true when it comes to young animals. It is worth highlighting a number of the most important actions.

1. Fallen leaves along with dried fruits must be removed and disposed of, which will help get rid of pathogenic bacteria and pests that can comfortably winter in such conditions.
2. Before winter, tree trunks are whitewashed with water emulsion solutions with the addition of chalk or lime. In this way, effective protection of the crust from the formation of cracks, which often becomes a consequence of temperature fluctuations, is ensured.
3. Barrel section covered with sawdust or straw, the layer thickness of which is at least 20 cm.

For young columnar pears during the first years after planting, the insulation of the apical buds will be relevant.

Dwarf pears can be divided into seed and grafted pears. The first ones are bred in a natural way, while the second breeding option involves grafting seedlings to quince or irga. This procedure has the following features.

1. You can inoculate in a lateral incision or split, as well as behind the bark.
2. Scion cuttings are required, the length of which reaches from 0.7 to 0.8 m7. They have been prepared since winter and kept cool.
3. Each fruit branch of the stock is cut to 40 cm.
4. The grafting sites should be carefully wrapped and then a layer of garden varnish should be applied.

The survival rate occurs in about 20-30 days.

Another way is grafting, providing for the timely procurement of the necessary material. We are talking about green cuttings up to 30 cm in size, with at least five leaves and at least two internodes. The workpieces, carefully processed from below, are dipped into the root-forming solution for two days.

Caring for columnar pears, like other fruit trees, is aimed, among other things, at pest control and disease prevention. Today's gardeners face the following most common challenges.

• Rust - a dangerous fungal disease in which red or orange areas appear on the foliage.
• Scab - a disease that can affect both leaves and young shoots and even fruits. The pathogen overwinters in fallen leaves and bark of infected shoots.
• Fruit rot - brown areas on the fruit, instead of which, over time, growths with fungal spores form.
• Powdery mildew - an infection, a symptom of which is the appearance of a characteristic plaque on annual growths. As a result, growth retardation and deformation of the shoots occur.
• Aphids (umbrella and green) - a pest that causes pear leaves to curl along the central vein.
• Fruit gall midge - a pest dangerous for the ovaries of flowers, capable of causing irreparable damage to most of the future fruits.

First of all, it should be noted that the features of harvesting fruits and their subsequent use, as well as storage, directly depend on the variety of columnar pear. In general terms, fruits harvested at their technical maturity stage are kept fresh, while more mature specimens are sent for processing.

Speaking about different varieties, it is worth noting that, for example, ripe fruits of "Severyanka" are stored for no more than two weeks. If the harvest is harvested earlier, then the fruit may well lie for up to one and a half to two months.