Lizard apple tree: variety description, planting, care

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This article presents the apple-tree Medunitsa: a description of one of the sweetest varieties, its history, the rules for selecting a variety and planting.

Lizard apple: description of the rules for the selection of varieties

Before planting an apple tree in your area, you need to choose the right variety. This is practically the most important task for a person who decides to grow it. The varieties of apple trees are simply impossible to count, and gardeners plant no more than five varieties on their site. It is best to plant already proven varieties on the site, because a new, unfamiliar variety may not suit the taste and disappoint. And you will know this only after a few years, when it begins to bear fruit. For that, if you choose a proven variety that you already know, you will look forward to the appearance of the harvest and you will definitely be satisfied. One of these varieties is Medunitsa.
Lungwort is one of the best summer apple trees and is very popular among gardeners due to its early maturity and its large, sweet apples. It bears fruit very well in large quantities.

Lungwort apple tree: description of the history of the variety

This variety, a breeder, a biologist, began to breed back in 1930. This scientist was S.I. Isaev. thanks to this man, we have about 40 different varieties of apple trees. He bred many winter-hardy varieties that are well resistant to disease. The lungwort is a cross between Welsey and Cinnamon striped. And this variety got its name from one famous flower, which would be one of the earliest, and bloomed immediately after the snow melted. And also the name is associated with the personal life of the professor, "medunitsa" as the scientist called his beloved wife. Thanks to this particular variety, the scientist received the Stalin Prize.

Apple tree Medunitsa: features

This variety has its own differences from others. The structure of the tree and its fruits have distinctive features. And thanks to the taste of the fruit, this variety has always been very popular among gardeners.
Medunitsa is a tall tree growing up to 7 meters in height. The tree itself is quite lush and has the shape of a pyramid. The tree itself is very broad and has a lot of foliage. This variety is capable of forming shoots, but this does not happen very often. This tree is always well developed and requires the most careful pruning, this is simply necessary in order for it to develop correctly, and the apples sang evenly. The leaves of this apple tree are light green, but often yellow, and the shoots are light brown. The fruits of the lungwort are medium in size, round in shape. Each apple weighs 150 grams. When the apples are fully ripe, they turn yellow-green with orange-red stripes. Sometimes they can be pale pink on one side, but bright stripes are still visible. Very rarely, when fully ripe, an apple can turn red completely. The taste of this apple gives off honey, very sweet, and there is practically no acid in it. On a five-point scale, the taste of this apple is estimated at almost five points. The apple itself is dense and very juicy, with a slight honey aroma. This variety is also popular because it can grow even in colder climates.This apple variety can be considered simply unique, it does not matter what climate it grows in, whether it is hot or cold, but this does not affect the sweet taste of apples at all.

Apple tree Medunitsa: description, photo of fruiting

If this variety is grown on a seed stock, then it begins to bear fruit already in the fifth year of life. Moreover, for the next 50 years, the tree bears fruit absolutely every year without interruption. Harvesting begins from the second half of August to early September. Under natural conditions, in the absence of pruning, or its improper implementation, apples begin to sing unevenly, due to the fact that there is a lot of foliage, and many fruits do not receive the sun at all. But a huge plus is that even fully ripe ones very rarely crumble, and often they weigh on the branches until they are collected.
The lungwort itself is a self-fertile variety, but it is still desirable to plant another tree of a different variety next to it, and you need to select such a variety so that they bloom at the same time. But the fruits can ripen at completely different times. The lungwort blooms from late May to mid-June, but there are individual changes depending on the climate in which this variety grows.
The best varieties that should be planted next to the lungwort: striped cinnamon, victory, Sverdlovsky anise, golden or kerr.
The harvest of lungwort gives a large, and it can be harvested when it is fully ripe and ripe. This is due to the fact that the apples do not crumble. And these apples can be stored for up to 4 months, and they do not change their presentation. But another feature of the variety is that, depending on the shelf life, apples can change their taste. And the very noticeable aroma of honey disappears after 2-3 weeks of storage. Another advantage of this variety is frost resistance, and it is for it that many value it very much. The tree practically does not suffer from frosts and repeated spring frosts and does not change its characteristics. As you know, this variety has a very strong immunity, in principle, it was for this that this variety was bred, so that it would not succumb to various diseases, for this the professor did a lot of work. After all, it was precisely the good resistance to diseases that stood before the scientist, and he achieved it brilliantly. In the description of this variety, one of the main points is that it does not get sick with the most common disease among apple trees - scab. But over time, this disease has developed new strains, so the prevention of this disease, but still worth carrying out, because resistance to new strains is no longer guaranteed. And the prevention of this disease is very simple:
you need to carry out a planned, rejuvenating pruning in order for the tree to develop correctly, and the fruits ripen evenly.
Every year it is necessary for the harvest to be uniform.
Fresh harvest should be kept for as long as possible, and it is advisable to pick apples from the tree on time.

Proper care of the wood so that it does not lose its characteristics and taste

All indicators of taste and development can easily change, and not for the better if you choose a seedling on the wrong, clonal rootstock. So the choice of a quality seedling is very important, and you only need to buy it in a trusted place so that the wrong plant is not sold to you.
When choosing a seedling, the most attention should be paid to the rootstock. After all, your future plant and its harvest directly depends on this. Specifically, the height of your apple tree, its size and appearance depends on the stock.
Time of flowering, fruit formation and ripening.

Terms of fruiting, life. Planting scheme and combination with other varieties

A tree lives on a seed stock for at least 50 years, and bears fruit every year without interruption from the age of five. some specimens can live up to 90 years, but this is very rare, and in order for a tree to grow for so many years, it needs special care and proper pruning. The tree on this rootstock grows up to 7 meters in height, begins to bear fruit in the fifth year of life, and the distance between trees should be at least 4 meters. And given that the crown of this tree is very lush, the best distance between plantings will be 5 meters or more.
The stock is also semi-dwarf.On such a rootstock, lungwort is very convenient for pruning and harvesting, because the growth of the tree will be much lower, only 4 meters, and accordingly, it will be much easier to care for. And such a tree will begin to bear fruit earlier, by about 3 years of life. And the distance between trees is reduced to three meters. On a semi-dwarf rootstock, this variety can easily grow close to groundwater. He easily tolerates waterlogging and diseases associated with it. Dwarf and columnar stock. The apple tree on this rootstock will grow small, as if decorative, which is very convenient in its maintenance. Due to this, it will be very simple and convenient to cut it, but this does not affect the number of fruits. Such a tree grows in height only up to 2 meters. Begins to bear fruit as early as 3 years of age. And you can plant trees between each other with a distance of only 1 meter. A feature for which dwarf trees love is that they take up much less space, it is easier to care for them, and they yield almost the same yield as large trees. Such a tree can begin to bloom in general already in the second year of life, but if you want it to develop correctly, it is best to break off all the ovaries, of course this is a very painstaking work, but it is worth it. Caring for a dwarf apple tree is slightly different from caring for a large tree. For example, a dwarf needs a garter or supports so that its branches do not break under the weight of the fruit. But their root system is not deep, and is located almost on the surface of the earth.
But the disadvantage of such a tree is that they do not live more than 12 years. And the columnar lungwort includes such varieties as Currency, Yesenia, Moscow necklace - these varieties have a ready-made form, and you do not need to create it, you just need to maintain it. This is what distinguishes the columnar stock from the rest. The summer jellyfish variety has become so popular over time that different varieties of this variety have appeared. And among these options, winter lungwort has gained its popularity. And the biggest advantage of this variety was that flowering and, accordingly, ripens much later than the summer variety, and the fruits are easily preserved until spring, retaining their external attractiveness. But in winter lungwort there is much more acid than in the summer version. The rules for planting seedlings of this variety are no different from planting other apple trees, and the only difference that must be observed is the timing of planting and proper preparation of the site.

Lungwort apple tree photo, description of planting

Salat it either in early spring almost immediately after the snow melts, or in late autumn before frosts. In Siberia and the Urals, it is still best to choose spring for planting. Then, over the summer, it will have time to take root and the young, not yet strong roots will not be damaged by the first frost. And if in winter there is little snow in your region, then it is also better to choose spring for planting. When planting, the snow should have completely melted, and the ground should thaw at least 0.5 meters. But if, nevertheless, your choice of planting is autumn, then at least three weeks should remain before frost. But if you plant it too early, and it is still warm, then the seedling will have time to sprout, but they will still freeze at the first freeze. The place for planting a tree must be chosen carefully. moreover, the entire planting process consists of several stages. Initially, they begin to prepare the place half a year before planting the seedling. You need to dig a hole, it should be at least half a meter in diameter, and the same depth. The soil must be mixed with fertilizers, and half of the pit must be refilled with this mixture. In the center of the pit, a stake is driven in, to which, after tying, a seedling is tied, for stability. The seedling also sits in the center of the pit, next to the stake. It is necessary to install the seedling carefully so as not to damage the roots, fill the hole completely with a mixture of soil and fertilizer.And only after that, the seedling should be well watered with warm water. It is better not to crush the earth, but to leave it as it is after it has been poured into the hole, otherwise the roots of the plant can be easily damaged.

Care

The whole care of the apple tree is the correct pruning of the crown, timely fertilizing and protection from various diseases, although they practically do not appear in this variety. The first year after planting the tree, practically no care is needed. The only thing that matters at this time is watering. At first, it is carried out only at the moment of complete drying of the earth. And from the second month, the seedling is watered once a week, about 10-15 liters at a time. But in the second year, you can start pruning so that the crown is formed correctly. Moreover, you can shape the crown of the virgin yourself, choosing such a shape as far as you have enough imagination. The lungwort itself very quickly overgrows, therefore, for preventive purposes, pruning is carried out not only in spring, but also in autumn. They remove all damaged, diseased and just extra branches.
With spring pruning, at the same time, the crown is thinned out, and the tree receives full sunlight from all sides. In summer, young shoots pinch and remove excess branches if they cast a strong shadow. The number of fruit set must be monitored every year, and the excess must be removed without regret. Top dressing is also applied twice a year, in spring and autumn. In the spring, in order for the greenery to be larger and to better set the fruits, the tree needs more nitrogen. And in the fall, to prepare for winter, more phosphorus and potassium are introduced into the ground, but the dosage must be observed, because the excess of these substances will definitely not benefit your tree. A very important role is also played by post-harvest care; next to the trunk, you need to remove all vegetation and excess layers. And also do not dig deep into the ground around the tree to protect it from winter frosts. Likewise, in the fall, for the winter and spring, for the summer, the tree trunk must be whitewashed. Also, in the spring, to prevent infections and pests, the tree should be well sprayed with any preparations that contain copper.
Here are perhaps all the rules for choosing a seedling, planting, maintaining and caring for an apple tree of the lungwort variety. If you decide to plant an apple tree in your garden, then first of all pay attention to this particular variety. See all its pros and cons. Although there are many more of the former.

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