Russian varieties of fruit trees are famous far beyond the borders of the country, since each of them has a large number of positive characteristics, and this concerns not only the taste properties of the apples themselves, but also the requirements for caring for the tree. The article will discuss one of the most successful varieties of Russian selection called Rozhdestvensky, and what exactly is it remarkable for - read on.

Description of the Christmas tree

The Rozhdestvensky apple-tree did not enter the RF State Register only in 2001, but it was bred several years earlier. The authorship of the new variety belongs to the breeders of the All-Russian NIISPK, which is one of the country's oldest institutes with a large gene pool. In this case, the Wesley variety and the hybrid form BM 41497, from which the described plant received all its best qualities, acted as the parent apple trees.

Did you know? You can determine the quality of the apple by darkening its pulp. Good fruits, without pesticides, always blacken quickly after an incision, therefore, leaving parts of the fruit on a plate, you will soon learn about its true benefits.

Apple trees of this variety are fast-growing plants, which during the first years of cultivation give an increase of 40–70 cm annually. At the age of three years, trees can reach 3-4 m, continuing to grow, but already much slower. Ten-year and older specimens usually do not exceed 5 m in height. Crohn - strong, wide-pyramidal shape, with medium leafy shoots.

Skeletal branches are strong, grow at an angle of 80 ° and are covered with gray rough skin. The remaining shoots are also thickened, brown in color, with slight pubescence and a slightly rounded section. The buds formed on them are always conical in shape, well pressed to the branches. Green and dull leaf plates are ovoid, with a slight waviness along the edge. The surface may be slightly wrinkled, has a margin.You can harvest apples already in mid-September, and these will be rounded fruits with a dense, medium thick glossy skin weighing 150-200 g each. During flowering, large umbellate inflorescences are formed on the shoots, which consist of 4-6 pale pink petals. To achieve maximum yield of trees, you will have to plant next to them representatives of other varieties, the most suitable of which will be the apple trees Melba, Antonovka, Papirovka. Without pollinators, one can hope for the formation of ovaries in no more than 5% of flowers.

The main color is yellow-green, but a blurred red blush is applied on top of it, passing through the entire circumference. The peduncle is thin and long, located slightly sloping. Under the protective coating layer sour-sweet dense pulp of a white-cream color, with a pronounced aroma, is hidden. Inside it are medium-sized brown ovoid seeds. The average sugar content of the fruit is 10.4%. Zoning of Rozhdestvenskoye variety takes place in the Central Black Earth and Central regions of the Russian Federation, but often it is grown in other areas.

Important! To extend the shelf life of the fruit, it is worth using paper, which is wrapped each of them when folding in a box.

Advantages and disadvantages of the variety

Many Russian gardeners managed to appreciate the advantages of the Rozhdestvenskoy variety, because over the years of cultivation, the plant has shown itself only on the good side and has a minimum of disadvantages.

• The following characteristics can be attributed to the list of the main advantages of the apple tree:
• complete resistance to scab - trees and fruits never get this disease;
• early maturity - the first apples can be removed from a young tree already in the fourth year of its cultivation after re-grafting;
• high productivity - on average, one tree can bring up to 110 kg of apples per season, and from 1 ha of plantings, they often harvest up to 180 centners;
• excellent keeping quality of fruits, which in the conditions of the cellar retain all their qualities until the end of January or even the beginning of February;
• high commercial quality of fruits and their excellent taste;
• universality of application - all apples are equally well suited both for fresh consumption and for a variety of processing for juices and jams.

• As for the existing disadvantages of the variety, the most noticeable are:
• tendency to shed apples during ripening;
• uneven pouring process;
• deterioration in taste toward the end of the shelf life.

Key landing features

The timing of planting seedlings of Christmas tree apples largely depends on the climatic characteristics of the selected territory. In areas with early and cold winters, spring planting is preferable, but if frost occurs only with the advent of the calendar winter, then you can plant young plants in late October or early November, immediately after the leaves fall. The place for apple trees should be well lit by sunlight and protected from the effects of cold winds.The preferred composition of the soil is sandy loam or loam, but necessarily quite loose and well permeable to moisture and air. They begin to prepare a planting pit for seedlings approximately 1.5–2 months before the intended planting, however, for the spring procedure (planting is carried out before buds open), the optimal solution would be autumn preparation. The average size of the planting pit for one seedling is 60 × 60 cm, but the depth can be increased by several tens of centimeters, depending on the size of the rhizome. First, a claydite drainage layer is laid on the bottom of the organized hole (usually 10–15 cm is sufficient) and the upper layer of the removed soil is mixed up, previously mixed with 3-4 kg of rotted manure and 200–300 g of ash.A month before planting on the site, young plants are laid out on the windowsill and cover the rhizome with a thick layer of moist gauze (constantly maintaining its moisture content). Thus, the roots are saturated with moisture and will not dry, and before the procedure itself it remains only to inspect and level them again. If rotten or shrunken roots are found during such an examination, they must be cut off by treating the section with garden varietal or growth stimulant (for example, Kornevin).

The technology for planting a seedling of the Rozhdestvensky variety consists of the same basic steps as the planting of fruit trees of other varieties, and involves the following steps:

1. Having poured a mound of fertilized earth in the center of the pit, step back from the central point 10-15 cm and drive in a one and a half meter wooden stake.
2. Next to it, place the prepared seedling and, carefully spreading the roots, gradually fill the rhizome with soil, while making sure that there is no free space between the adjacent roots.
3. Compact the soil, gently tie the sapling to the wooden support and, having formed a small depression for water along the perimeter of the trunk circle, water the planting.

Video: instructions for planting an apple tree

At the end of the procedure, you can mulch the surface with a 5-centimeter layer of peat, which will contribute to the long-term preservation of moisture and prevent the active growth of weeds.

Plant care

Upon completion of planting, a long stage of caring for the Christmas tree begins. It consists of several main actions, the main ones being systematic watering and fertilizing of growing trees, as well as timely pruning of the crown, organization of shelters for the cold season and pest control.

Important! In the first year of growing a young seedling, it is necessary to monitor the state of the upper soil layer immediately after irrigation: it should not be eroded and bare the roots, otherwise growth stoppage and impaired development of the fruit crop are possible.

Watering the apple tree

For the first time after planting, a young apple tree needs regular and plentiful watering. After 1-2 years of growing a tree, the frequency of procedures can be reduced to once a month, focusing on the amount of natural rainfall: in dry times, the number of irrigations is increased, and in the season of frequent rains they can completely stop them.Fluid injection is performed weekly by pouring at least 7–10 L of fluid into the trunk circle at a time. On average, no more than 12–15 L of fluid is consumed per adult plant. A few weeks before the ripening of the apple crop, the number of irrigation increases, but not allowing excessive stagnation of moisture in the root system of plants. High humidity often leads to decay of the root system of the apple tree and the water content of its fruits.

Fertilizer application

The quantity and type of fertilizers used directly depends on the age of the tree and the nutritional value of the substrate in the place of its growth. On loamy and sandy loam soils, with sufficient organic fertilizer at the time of planting, An approximate scheme of further feeding may look like this:

1. In the first year do not bother the apple tree with frequent fertilizers, because most often the plant has enough nutrients that were used during planting.
2. In the second year apple growing, with the advent of autumn, it is fertilized with organic compounds that are introduced into the substrate during its planned digging. In this case, approximately 10 kg of rotted manure and 200-300 g of potassium-phosphorus compounds will be consumed per 1 m² of territory. In addition, in spring, you can use nitrogen-containing fertilizing, for example, saltpeter, which is desirable to make before the flowering of trees (20-30 g per 1 m²). The depth of incorporation of nutrient mixtures is not more than 15 cm.
3. In the third year apple trees are grown in each subsequent fertilizer in the same way, only 1.5 m should be retreated from the trunk and the fertilizer placement depth should be increased to 30–50 cm, depending on the size of the tree.

If possible, to fertilize the garden, you can use complex mineral fertilizers for fruit trees that already contain everything that this type of vegetation needs. There are a lot of manufacturers of such formulations, so you can buy the right fertilizer in any locality

Crown pruning

Pruning of the crown of the Christmas tree variety is carried out in several stages. In the autumn period, we are talking more about the sanitary cleaning of damaged and shrunken branches, and with the advent of spring, you can do shaping actions, thereby contributing to the external attractiveness of the tree. To form the crown, it is necessary to pre-select the main skeletal shoots (it is desirable that they are arranged in a circle at an angle of 45 °), having calculated everything so that the future trunk is 0.2-0.3 m above the branches of the highest tier.The branches of the second level should remain at a distance of 0.4-0.5 m from the base of the skeletal branches, but all curves and incorrectly growing specimens (looking down or horizontally) must be completely removed. Regardless of the type of procedure, no more than 30% of all growing shoots can be cut at a time, necessarily covering large sections with garden varieties. Together with excess vegetation, it is advisable to remove moss and lichen located on the trunk, as they often become the site of development of pathogens.

Did you know? The oldest apple tree grows In the USA in Manhattan. A young seedling was planted there back in 1647, and the tree grown from it still bears fruit.

Cold preparation

The apple tree variety Rozhdestvensky has good frost resistance, therefore, in the Central regions of the country, adult trees do not shelter for the winter. The experiments carried out by scientists proved that the seedling of this apple tree can tolerate freezing up to –40 ° C, while maintaining viability. They will serve as good protection against rodents and prevent damage to the bark with its further drying.When cultivated in the northern regions with significant winter depressions, it is worth mulching the trunk circle with a 10-cm layer of straw or peat, whitening the trunk first and wrapping it with roofing material, capron or fine mesh

Diseases and Pests

Scab - not the only problem of apple trees, so the high resistance of the Rozhdestvensky variety to this ailment does not yet mean the absence of other diseases and signs of pest damage. Of the latter, ticks, bark beetles, and scale insects have the greatest activity against plants, which, penetrating into the cortex, are very difficult to excrete. In the fight against most typical pests, solutions of Karbofos or other insecticidal preparations with a similar effect will help.

To prevent the occurrence of problems, it is worth observing the rules of crop rotation, controlling the soil moisture level and not zealous with fertilizers. To protect the apple trees from pests that damage the buds, buds and leaves of the fruit crop (the most common are aphids, moths, leafworms), trees should be treated with Chlorofos solution before the trees bloom. All damaged parts of the apple tree must be cut off in a timely manner, preventing the spread of diseases in the garden.

An approximate scheme of preventive treatments for Christmas apples looks like this:

1. With the advent of spring (before the swelling of the buds), you need to spray the trees with a solution of copper sulfate and insecticidal fungus “DNOC”, which will help prevent the defeat of the plantings by pests.
2. After the formation of leaves, the crown is treated from the moth, weevils, aphids and ticks using Nitrofen, Urea, or Bordeaux mixture.
3. During budding of apple trees, Chlorophos and Benzophosphate will be effective as a preventive measure.
4. After flowering, it is worth using Chlorophos and Benzophosphate.

Whatever drug you choose for the prevention or treatment of apple trees, at least 10 days must elapse between spraying the plants. During the formation and active growth of the apples themselves, Match, Topaz and Bordeaux mix are considered an acceptable option for insecticidal compositions. To prevent the development and spread of wintering insects will help drugs "Carbamide" and "Iron sulfate", the processing of which is usually performed shortly after the leaves fall.

Harvesting and Storage

The harvest of apples of this variety is started in early or mid-September, when the fruits reach full removable maturity. Unlike some other varieties, Rozhdestvenskoe does not require a long period of curing and can be eaten immediately after harvesting, revealing all its qualities to the maximum.

For harvesting, choose only a calm day without precipitation, so that all apples removed are completely dry. The fruit stems should not be torn off, and it is better to sort the apples themselves before laying them in the cellar by size and ripeness, removing the damaged or damaged fruits. Whenever possible, apples cool or at least try to ventilate them in the fresh air, avoiding moisture: in 2-3 weeks, defective fruits will appear that should be removed immediately so that the rot does not spread.For long-term storage, healthy specimens are wrapped in soft paper and, placed in boxes with the stalk up, carried in a store with a temperature in the range + 1 ... + 2 ° С. It is these values ​​that are considered ideal for a comfortable finding of Christmas apples and the long-term preservation of all their properties.

In general, the described variety can be considered as one of the most suitable options for growing in most of Russia and the near abroad: trees are relatively unpretentious in care and always gladden with stable crops of tasty and juicy fruits of universal purpose.