Full characteristics and description of the columnar pear variety Honey, planting and care

The Honey pear variety has long been known to gardeners. Small trees produce up to 35 kilograms of fruit per season. The fruits of the Honey Pear are juicy, sweet and large. The branches are abundantly strewn with ripening fruits and bend under their weight. By the end of September the fruits ripen and have to be picked by hand. To ensure a high yield in early spring, the tree must be fed with organic matter, and before flowering begins, it must be treated with fungicides and insecticides.

Detailed description and characteristics of the variety

In the sixties of the last century, the Honey pear was bred at the Crimean horticultural station. The first name is Crimean Honey. A new type of pear was obtained by free pollination of the famous French variety - Bere Bosc.

It is advisable to grow honey in regions with a warm climate. With proper shelter for the winter, this variety can grow in central Russia. Pear is a cold-resistant crop that tolerates short-term frosts of 20 degrees.

A tree with a pyramidal, not very dense crown, “stretches” up to 2.15 meters in height. The fruits ripen in autumn (late September). Fruiting usually occurs in 3-5 years. Honey is considered a partially self-fertile crop. For better pollination, it is recommended to plant at least two pollinating trees nearby, for example, the Chudesnitsa variety, Bere Bosk.

For pollinators, the flowering and fruit ripening periods must coincide.

Medova’s fruits are not small, weighing 345-525 grams. The shape of the fruit is pear-shaped, uneven, and sometimes lumpy. A ripe pear has a yellowish-green color with a light brown outer blush. On its smooth thin skin, gray-green, tiny dots are visible. The pulp is sweetish, with a honey flavor, melts in the mouth. The fruits contain a high percentage of sugar and vitamin C.

Pear is juicy, tender, aromatic, slightly oily, with cream-colored flesh. Ripe fruits do not fall off the branches; they have to be picked by hand. Pears ripen towards the end of September. From one small tree it is possible to collect up to 37 kilograms of sweet fruit.

About twenty years ago, a columnar variety of Medova was developed. Its fruit tastes no different from the main variety. The columnar pear has a straight trunk up to 1.95 meters high, no spreading crown, all branches are pressed to the main trunk.

Productivity is 15-25 kilograms per tree. Several subspecies of columnar pear have been developed. The fruits of different varieties ripen at different times - from August to October. There are autumn and summer varieties of honey pear.

The main pros and cons of Honey pear

Positive qualities of culture:

• precociousness (fruiting in the 3rd year);
• compact type of tree;
• annual, consistently high harvest;
• wonderful taste and product characteristics of ripe pears;
• possibility of long-term storage of the harvested crop;
• ease of care;
• good immunity to many diseases.

Flaws:

• low frost resistance;
• fruits of different sizes at the time of ripening;
• the need for crown formation.

Subspecies of the proposed variety

Several columnar varieties have been bred based on Honey. All subspecies are assigned the labeling class “G”. The columnar tree has no horizontally extending branches, it grows up to 1.95 meters in height, all its branches are pressed against the main trunk. Columnar pear does not require crown formation.

Subspecies of columnar pear:

• G1 - winter variety, fruits - yellowish, lumpy, weighing up to 245 grams;
• G2 - late autumn variety, fruits - yellowish-green, with an orange-brown blush, lumpy, weighing up to 205 grams;
• G3 - early autumn variety, fruits - bright yellow, weighing up to 405 grams;
• G4 - autumn variety, fruits - large, wide, weighing up to 305 grams;
• G5 is a late-summer variety, the fruits are yellowish-brown, weighing up to 245 grams.

Features of growing crops

You can plant a pear in your garden plot. First you need to buy a 1-2 year old seedling from the nursery.

Disembarkation dates

The tree can be planted in early spring (April) - before the buds open, or in the fall (September-October) - a month before the arrival of frost. In regions with cool winters, autumn planting is practiced. In cold climate zones, it is better to plant pears in spring. After all, if a planted tree does not have time to take root before the onset of frost, it will die. For spring planting, preparatory work is carried out in the fall. For autumn, on the contrary, in spring.

Selection of location

The pear tree does not tolerate transplantation; it is recommended to immediately plant the tree in a permanent place. An area well lit by the sun and protected from the cold north wind is suitable. It is undesirable to plant a tree in a swampy area, as severe waterlogging will cause the roots to rot.

The Honey variety does not tolerate acidic soils. Before planting, the soil needs to be limed, diluted with peat and sand, add 1-2 buckets of humus, 200 grams of wood ash, 100 grams of potassium sulfate and superphosphate.

Seedling preparation

Seedlings only 1-2 years old are suitable for planting. After all, the older the tree, the worse it takes root. The maximum age of a seedling is 3 years. Young trees have a better ability to adapt. An annual seedling should have a height of 0.95 meters and a trunk thickness of 12 millimeters. There should be no branches on the young tree.

A two-year-old seedling has a length of -1.65 meters and 3-5 branches. There should be buds from the middle of the trunk to the very top. The root system can consist of three main and many small roots, and be developed, elastic, and healthy. Do not have swelling or growths.The length of the roots is 22-30 centimeters. Before planting, the seedling can be placed in a bucket of water and Kornevin or Heteroauxin for 23 hours.

Planting process

For a pear, you must first (a month before planting) prepare a hole 0.95 meters deep and 60-80 centimeters wide. The excavated soil is diluted with peat and sand, and organic and mineral substances are also added. Then the soil is poured back into the hole in a mound, a seedling is placed on top, the roots are straightened, and sprinkled with the remaining soil.

The root collar should be 5-6.5 centimeters above the soil level. The soil around the tree is lightly compacted and watered with water (1.5-2 buckets).

Before planting, you can insert a peg into the very center of the hole to support and protect the young thin seedling.

Pollinators

Honey is a partially self-fertile variety. To obtain a high yield, it is recommended to plant 2-3 pollinators near this tree. Suitable varieties: Chudesnitsa, Tavricheskaya, Bore Bosk, Bere Ardapon. For pollinators, the periods of flowering and fruit ripening must coincide.

Recommendations for caring for wood

The pear requires watering, timely fertilizing, sanitary pruning and crown formation. It is advisable to insulate the tree for the winter.

Watering frequency and hole care

Immediately after planting, the tree is watered every week. Settled rainwater is used for irrigation. Pour 1-2 buckets of water under the root. An adult pear is watered in dry and hot weather, during the period of flowering and ovary formation. After watering, the soil is loosened, the soil crust is broken, and weeds are removed. In order to retain moisture longer, the soil surface can be mulched with sawdust or peat or hay. In rainy weather, do not water the pear tree.

Trimming

It is recommended to prune in the spring (March) - before the sap begins to flow. Trees are pruned for the first time only in the second year after planting. The central trunk and side branches are slightly shortened (by a third of the length). At first, you need to leave 2-3 main (skeletal) branches on the tree, over the years their number increases to 5-6. The branches that thicken the crown are cut into rings. In the fall, after the leaves fall, the tree is sanitary pruned. Cut off diseased and broken branches. The cut areas are treated with copper sulfate and garden pitch.

First flowering

All flowers of a young seedling planted in the spring must be plucked off so that the nutrients are used for the formation of new branches and leaves, and not for the development of fruits. For the next season, you can leave half of the blooming flowers and a few ovaries.

Preparing for winter

Before the onset of cold weather (in November), the pear needs to be whitened with lime, fed with organic and mineral substances, watered well (2 buckets of water), and insulated before frost. Good winter hardiness is facilitated by the application of potassium-phosphorus fertilizers. The tree trunk circle can be mulched with humus mixed with peat and covered with spruce branches. The trunk itself can be wrapped in burlap and agrofibre. In winter, you need to add more snow to the tree all the time.

Top dressing and effective fertilizers

The pear can be fed in the second year after planting. In spring, the crop is fertilized with humus (1.5-2 kilograms per tree). Before flowering, the pear is fed with potassium chloride and superphosphate (35 grams of the substance is diluted with ten liters of water). It is useful to fertilize the tree with nitroammophos (50 grams per ten liters of liquid).

In summer, during loosening, 210 grams of wood ash can be added to the tree trunk circle.Before wintering, the tree is fertilized with potassium sulfate and superphosphate. For the winter, it is advisable to mulch the tree trunk circle with peat and humus.

Diseases, main pests and the best methods to combat them

Common tree diseases: scab (brown spots on leaves), rust (bright orange spots on leaf blades), fruit rot (rotting fruit). The pear will hurt less if you take a number of preventive measures in early spring.

Before the buds open, the tree should be whitened with lime or Bordeaux mixture, and the tree trunk should be watered with a solution of copper sulfate. In the spring, foliage is sprayed with a fungicide solution (Skor, Horus, Dnok). Leaf treatments are carried out before flowering, every 10-14 days. Fungicidal preparations are diluted with water according to the instructions; infection control agents can be alternated. Affected leaves and rotting fruits must be plucked and destroyed.

In summer, pears are often attacked by copperheads, aphids, and pear moths. To combat insects, catching belts are installed on the trunk, and the soil in the circle around the trunk is dug up and watered with insecticides. Before and after flowering, the foliage is sprayed with solutions of insecticides (Aktara, Fitoverm, Aktellik, Agravertin).

Harvesting and storing pear harvest

Pears are harvested at the moment of technical ripeness. The fruits ripen towards the end of September. Its fruits do not fall off; they have to be collected manually, along with the stalk. A ripe fruit should have juicy, sweet, cream-colored flesh and a yellowish-brown skin. The collected pears are placed in boxes and stored in a cool, dry room, at an air temperature of 1-5 degrees Celsius.

Healthy, whole fruit can last until January. Honey pears are consumed fresh, jams are prepared from the fruits, and juices are made.This variety is not suitable for freezing.