Sapphire Pear

The variety of fruit trees of low stature, which are hung with delicious fruits "from head to toe", never ceases to amaze even experienced gardeners. And the Sapphire pear is a perfect example of any gardening print publication.

Pear Sapphire: variety description and characteristics

Sapphire pear: photo of the variety

Pear Sapphire is the oldest columnar pear variety. The species is a compact tree that grows up to two to three meters, it is columnar, the column is the middle conductor, which is overgrown with shortened fruit twigs. The leaves are large, with roundness. Flowering begins on May 1-10, fruits ripen by the 15th of September. Like all columnar forms, the Sapphire pear variety is fast-growing, its fruiting begins from the third year.

Do not listen to what the sellers tell you, always remember that true columnar varieties are always grafted only on specialized dwarf rootstocks.

If a tree is grafted onto an irga, quince or a pear tree, then what you expect will not work, as a result, the pear will not form well and will give few fruits.

Pear Sapphire: features of the variety

The columnar sapphire pear has its own characteristic feature - the fruits are not uniform in weight, and this is very noticeable. Fruits are very small (fifty to seventy grams) and very large (up to three hundred and fifty grams). The main color is green-yellowish, the blush on the sunny side is pink-burgundy. The fruit is presented in the form of a standard pear. The inner content is creamy white, juicy, sweet and sour at technical ripeness, which comes by the first October numbers.

Pear Sapphire: the advantages and disadvantages of the variety

Sapphire pear: photo of the variety

Advantages columnar sapphire pear:

• The pear does not reach a height of more than two and a half meters, therefore, it is easier to care for the tree and collect fruits.
• Sapphire pear is immune to the most common disease of all fruit plants - scab, in addition, it will never be hit by a bacterial burn.
• Fruiting begins from the third year of the tree's development.
• If you take proper care of the pear, then by the sixth year of the tree's development, you can get the maximum yield from it - ten to fifteen kg.
• Sapphire pear grows in a minimal area, therefore it is ideal for small garden plots of intensive cultivation.

Minuses Sapphire pear varieties:

• Sapphire pear does not live forever, their average life expectancy is ten years, the maximum is fifteen years. From the eighth year, the yield indicator has been decreasing.
• You can eat the fruits fourteen days after harvest, but they will not be stored for long. Moreover, with a delay in harvesting the fruits, their taste will begin to deteriorate, despite the fact that the fruits themselves can remain on the branches for a rather long time.
• The Achilles heel of all columnar pears is the bottom of the trunk, the place of grafting. It is required to very carefully plant the planting material, making it a solid support.
• Resistance to the winter season, in particular to frost, is indicated in the description at a temperature level of minus twenty-five degrees, this is not enough for most of the regions of middle latitudes, for this reason, the pear tree-column needs to be covered for wintering.
• Sapphire Pear is unable to pollinate on its own, so it needs helpers for pollination.

Cultivation rules

Pear Sapphire loves quiet areas, which are protected from the north by a wall of any building from strong, harsh winds.As a rule, three to four trees are planted in a row along the fence, or a hedge is erected, which separates the garden from the garden.

It is pointless to plant one pear tree-column, since it does not pollinate on its own, in addition, when planting in this way, the site looks unattractive.

Sapphire pear: planting varieties

Sapphire pear: photo of the variety

The cultivation of any vegetation begins from the moment of its purchase, in this regard, you first need to purchase healthy planting material in a time-tested nursery, in a reliable online store with a good reputation or from a professional gardener. And the column varieties are chosen even more carefully, it is required to scrupulously double-check all the information that is available.

• Planting principles.

Pear varieties of the columnar type, as a rule, are planted in trenches dug fifty cm deep, the interval between seedlings is sixty cm.A drainage layer is laid at the bottom of the pit, which includes expanded clay or broken brick, and on top of it is covered with a nutrient substrate containing humus, peat and sand, in equal amounts.

The soil for planting is thoroughly moistened to an earthen slurry, the seedlings are placed in a trench, while their roots are straightened. Nutrient soil is poured on top to the height of the root collar, then it is compacted around the trunks, watering is carried out from a watering can. It is recommended to immediately cover the topsoil to maintain a constant moisture level.

If you deepen the root collar during planting, this will significantly delay fruiting.

Sapphire pear: variety care

• Watering and fertilizing.

The root system of the columnar pear lies closer to the surface soil layer compared to the roots of conventional varieties, for this reason it must be regularly watered abundantly. Adult pears are watered twice every thirty days, four to six buckets of water are consumed per square of the trunk circle. Young pear trees need to be irrigated much more often, because lack of water can slow down the growth and development of the tree.

It is possible to harvest a generous harvest if you intensively feed the pear throughout the growing season. Each gardener has individual fertilization methods, tested in practice for many years, but gardeners without experience can follow the feeding rules given below.

Apply nitrogen-containing fertilizer to the trunk circle, it can be urea or ammonium nitrate. The dosage is fifty grams per pear. Top dressing is done early in the spring when the buds swell.

After three weeks, nitroammophoska is applied, while the surface of the soil is slightly loosened. The dosage is up to sixty grams per tree.

After three to four weeks, nitroammofoska is applied for the second time, the dosage is the same.

At the height of the summer season, the tree needs phosphorus, for this purpose, liquid superphosphate is introduced into the trunk circle (half a tablespoon under the tree).

In the first autumn days, spraying on the leaves with a solution of potassium monophosphate or add potassium salt to the trunk circle according to the recipe.

If you mulch the soil for wintering with humus or compost fertilizer, then this will protect the root system from freezing, and it will also be a good feeding of the plant in early spring.

• Circumcision.

Columnar pear trees, when grown well, do not need to be pruned at all. It is only required to timely pinch unnecessary lateral shoots before they become lignified. Fruit branches, as a rule, are shortened by only two to three cm.

An important goal when planting a column tree and when transferring it to the winter season is to preserve the apical bud. If it breaks off or freezes, then a lateral shoot is selected, which is suitable for replacing the middle conductor after it has been cut.Early in the spring, as a rule, sanitary pruning is carried out without fail, while thin, broken or frozen branches are removed.

• Whitewash.

Whitewashing the trunks of pear trees and trees of other crops every year in autumn is not just a tribute to tradition, but also a very effective agricultural technique that will allow vegetation to endure wintering well. If you add additional ingredients to the whitewash content, this will protect the trees from mice, hares and harmful insects.

Two kg of lime is diluted in water, the solution should resemble liquid sour cream, copper sulphate (fifty grams), wood glue (0.5 pack), red hot pepper (one or two packs) are added to it, it will scare off various pests with its "aroma". Also, an ampoule of any broad-spectrum insecticidal preparation is broken into the solution. The trunk is whitewashed, the optimal time for this is November, a clear day. Wood glue will make the mortar more durable than the mixture without it.

• How to prepare a tree for the winter season.

The main stage of preparation of the columnar type pear tree for the winter season is to make the last potassium-containing autumn top dressing in time. Since potassium will accelerate the maturation of young shoots and the apical bud, which is responsible for ensuring that the crown is properly formed. The best fertilizer for this is potassium monophosphate, which is applied by spraying.

The middle conductor of the variety needs to be covered for the winter; the shelter can be made using different methods. The first method: the trunk is wrapped in synthetic tights, which are filled with sawdust, the bottom of the trunk is covered with spruce branches. The surface layer of the trunk circle is tightened with geotextiles or mulching with dry humus is carried out.

• Sapphire pear pollinators.

In order to get a generous and high-quality harvest, two pear trees should grow in the garden, blooming almost simultaneously, because the Sapphire variety of columnar pear is unable to pollinate on its own. Versatile varieties for pollination: "Yakovleva's favorite", "Lada", "Chizhovskaya". The Sapphire pear variety can well pollinate the honey column pear. You can plant alternately, in one row. To increase the yield, it is advisable to additionally spray pears that bloom with honey or sweet water to attract beneficial insects for pollination.

Yield indicator

Sapphire pear: photo of the variety

You can get a generous harvest of the Sapphire pear variety if you follow the rules below.

At least two different pear varieties grow on the garden plot.

Formation of the tree-column is correct.

Watering and fertilizing are carried out systematically, following the scheme.

A tree of the columnar type is fully capable of preserving fruit buds in the winter season, this will almost not be possible if the plant is not covered.

The latter - if you purchased a really columnar pear tree, and not a fake.

If all the requirements are met, the highest yield indicator from an adult pear will turn out to be within twelve to fifteen kg. In the first years after planting a tree at a young age, the number of future fruits is normalized, in 1 year of flowering three or four ovaries are left. In the second year, two ovaries are left in each bunch, in the future, look at the state of health of the variety.

Diseases and harmful insects

Sapphire's columnar pear is immune to scab, fire blight and powdery mildew. But it is still recommended to treat trees early in the spring for prophylaxis with agents containing copper before the buds bloom.

Insects can harm the variety, for example, moths, leaf rollers, aphids, gall mites.If the first enemies or traces of their presence are found, urgent measures are required - to spray the plants with the necessary insecticidal and acaricidal preparations. Carefully you need to use funds during flowering and fruiting, it is required to maintain strict control of the waiting time, do not use pesticides for a short time before harvesting the fruits.

Pear Sapphire: reviews of gardeners

Sapphire pear: photo of the variety

Tamara Vasilievna, 66 years old, Rostov region: “When I looked at the characteristics and photos of the columnar sapphire pear in the beautiful catalog of a popular manufacturer, not a trace of doubt remained. The cost, of course, is high, but I was more worried about the fact that I want to plant a real pear-column in my garden. I was lucky and the seedling was delivered in excellent condition. We landed in the second spring month; by the last summer days it grew a little. For wintering, the trunk was wrapped with ribbons of non-woven material, the next spring season the first pear blossoming occurred. I decided to leave 1 ovary to test the variety. The characteristic was confirmed. Next year I am expecting a good harvest. I do not regret a bit that I bought the column. "

Semenov I.P., 66 years old, Voronezh region: “The first time I bought a pear-column at a local bazaar. It turned out, do not understand that, it is definitely not the variety that I wanted to buy. The next time I was looking for a good nursery for a long time, I went to dig it myself, there I was offered the Saphira pear variety, I was told that this is the oldest Russian columnar variety. I planted it in the fall, I doubted that suddenly it would not endure the winter, and it happened - the apical bud froze. I shoveled through a cloud of material with photographs, characteristics of the variety, with reviews to find out how to fix the error. And I will tell you, thanks to my invaluable experience, I realized that these columns are not worth such labor costs. I recommend planting time-tested pears that are easily formed, and they will not need shelter for the winter. "

Summary

Pear Sapphire will surprise you with excellent health, high yield and excellent taste of ripe fruits, if you create good growing conditions for it and properly care for it.