Description of the best varieties of columnar pear, planting, cultivation and care

Until recently, the largest, juiciest, aromatic pears grew only in warm regions. Thanks to breeding work to improve varieties, residents of the northern regions also have the opportunity to grow pears in their garden plots. Fruits in the dense crowns of tall varieties do not have time to ripen in a temperate continental climate due to the lack of sunny days. Things would be somewhat different with columnar pears, whose fruits are exposed to the sun's rays.

Description and history of selection of columnar pears

For the first time, the pear, which is mistakenly called columnar, was bred by English breeders just over 30 years ago. Varieties of dwarf plants with a rounded crown turned out to be not winter-hardy. Contrary to the expectations of scientists, plants froze even in the Krasnodar Territory, as Mikhail Vitalievich Kachalkin, Candidate of Biological Sciences, author of 13 varieties of columnar apple trees, who has been working for many years on breeding pear trees in the nursery, spoke about in his interview.

In Russia, 3 scientific institutions are working on this issue. According to the scientist, at the moment there is not a single variety of columnar pear in the world; sellers pass it off as a dwarf plant. This trick works for unscrupulous sellers due to the fact that the one-year-old shoot really looks like a column.

At the age of two, there are more branches, the fruits ripen on the ringlets, and not on the trunk, as would happen on a columnar tree.

The advantage of low-growing (dwarf fruit trees) is that with proper pruning of the branches, formation of the crown like a column, the fruits of winter-hardy varieties suitable for growing in temperate climatic zones receive their full portion of heat and light. Among the varieties that can conventionally be called columnar, several varieties of low-growing pears that are most suitable for resistance to diseases and frost, and unpretentious in care, have been selected for cultivation in temperate and harsh northern climates.

The best varieties

Low-growing trees, densely strewn with large pears during the fruiting period, are a real decoration for a personal plot. When purchasing pear seedlings in nurseries of research institutes and universities, most often you will not be able to see a colorful label; instead, the seedling will have a tag with a marking, for example, g (pear) 322.

G-322

This variety can be purchased from retail distributors under different names, since selection has not yet been completed, and names have not been assigned to the intermediate experiment on breeding a columnar variety. Despite this, the G-322 variety is recognized as one of the best for cultivation in central Russia - the Moscow region, the north-west of the Leningrad region and the Baltic states.

The name can be deciphered: “G” - pear. The first number of the marking contains the main characteristics of the variety; if the first number is Z, then this is a seedling:

• early autumn variety;
• with frost resistance up to -25 °C;
• harvest dates in September-October;
• large (≈ 400 g) yellow fruits;
• The pulp of its pears is sweet and tender.

The numbers following these data are simply the number of the experiment to improve the qualities of the main variety. A beautiful name can only replace the last numbers, but not the main characteristics of the variety.

Dwarf pear Dalicor

In addition to the name Dalikor, the label will contain generalized characteristics corresponding to the G-4 varieties. They will not give a complete understanding of what the gardener will receive.The dwarf (columnar) pear variety Dalikor meets the following parameters:

• the maximum height of an adult tree trunk is 2 m;
• using pruning, a column with flattened upper branches is formed;
• tree life span - 10 years;
• fruit weight from 300 to 500 g;
• fruiting is abundant;
• the fruit pulp is homogeneous, tender, without granules, not tart;
• The plant is resistant to diseases and damage from insect pests.

Dalikor is an autumn ripening variety with high keeping quality. Wide, juicy fruits with a taste of buttercream, if stored correctly, will decorate the New Year's table. It is extremely rare to preserve them for longer.

Doyen do Comis

In terms of taste, the Doyen do Comis variety is recognized as the best among mid-season varieties for temperate latitudes. It is difficult to make this dwarf tree resemble columnar plants, but this is not the only disadvantage. The main unpleasant moments in growing are:

• the need for proximity of pollinating varieties, despite the fact that the variety itself is also self-fertile;
• the need to normalize the harvest by removing excess ovaries during the fertile season;
• The variety is characterized by spontaneous shedding of some fruits in June.

All these shortcomings are compensated by the taste of juicy, thin-skinned, large fruits. For your information: The variety number of Pýrus communis Doyen do Komis is 590.

The best varieties of pears for the Moscow region

Despite the small size of the plant itself, dwarf pears produce decent yields. Some of the varieties common in the Moscow region can be stored at positive (stable) temperatures for 5-6 months, others are characterized by increased immunity to diseases. According to various criteria, the best varieties for the Moscow region are:

1. Dalikor - 35-40 kg, 70-80 fruits per tree.
2. Decora has a high immunity to sporiosis and monisia, is characterized by high winter hardiness, the variety is self-fertile, does not require cross-pollination and special selection of soil for planting.
3. Carmen is a great variety for pear lovers with a flavor similar to Williams. Advantages: resistance to scab, high taste, adaptability in any soil. Disadvantages: low frost resistance and yield.
4. The favorite of Academician Yakovlev - yield up to 50 kg, fruiting later (4-5th season), fruit weight 200-400 g, taste similar to quince. To increase the yield of a self-fertile variety, pollinators are needed - Daughter of Blankov and Esperen.
5. Honey - up to 80 kg of harvest, consisting of yellow fruits weighing 400-500 g, but it is not possible to keep the fruits fresh for more than 2 months. The variety is unpretentious in care; it is not afraid of either drought or frost. There are also no special requirements for the soil. The tree begins to bear fruit in the 3rd season.
6. Dream of Autumn is a variety with fruits whose weight varies from 200 to 400 g. Fruiting occurs in the 5th year after planting in a permanent place. Well suited for making preserves, jams, compotes. Despite the tenderness of the pulp, the juice content is moderate.
7. Sapphire is highly resistant to sudden temperature changes, which does not affect the taste and yield of the variety, and high immunity to diseases. Fruiting in the 3rd year. The peculiarity is that the fruits are recommended to be collected from the tree at the stage of technical maturity, and they can be eaten in 2-3 weeks. The maximum shelf life is until the first ten days of December.
8. Severyanka is a variety that begins to bear fruit in the Moscow region in the 2nd year after planting.A slightly stronger tree produces stable yields of up to 60 kg per plant. Harvesting occurs at the beginning of September, ripe fruits fall off, and the taste of Severyanka is sickly sweet.

Each columnar pear variety has its own advantages and disadvantages, which must be taken into account when choosing seedlings. Varieties grown in the Moscow region are suitable for the regions of central Russia.

For the Urals, winter-hardy pears of early ripening should be chosen as cover crops, with a minimum growing season, which is dictated by a hot but very short summer.

One of the original varieties of frost-resistant dwarf pear trees that gives the fastest results and richest harvests is Pavlovskaya. She is unpretentious in care. The first large, juicy, yellow (with bright taste and aroma) fruits will delight the gardener the very next season after planting. Minimum care, disease resistance, large fruits with an original taste are the main advantages of the Pavlovskaya variety.

Advantages and disadvantages

The advantages of dwarf pear varieties are:

• small area for growing;
• unpretentiousness of seedlings to soil acidity and density;
• rapid onset of fruiting time;
• large yields in relation to the area occupied by the plant;
• several possible methods of reproduction;
• the ease of preserving trees in winter, which gives the plants a small height.

The main disadvantage of dwarf trees over true columnar trees is the mandatory annual formation of the crown, which prevents its branching and thickening, which would lead to a lack of sunlight for the fruit.

Common methods of reproduction

As a rule, the very first seedling of a certain variety appears on the site from the nursery.The advantage of a dwarf tree over a columnar tree is that, in addition to grafting, it can be propagated by cuttings. Due to the complexity of the process for independent long-term germination, amateur gardeners practically do not use the method of seed propagation, and not all varieties of columnar pears can be grown in this way.

Vaccination

Irga and quince are the best rootstocks for columnar pear grafting. For this operation, it is better to choose the time in late April - early May. Cloudy weather is the most favorable for this type of work.

Attention! Strong, 70-80 cm shoots are harvested in winter.

There are three types of vaccination:

• for the bark;
• in a side cut;
• into cleft

For work you will need a disinfected sharp knife or pruning shears, garden pitch, and garter materials:

1. Preparation of the rootstock: all branches are shortened to 40 cm or removed.
2. The cut on the shoot is made at an acute angle so that it has the maximum area of ​​​​contact with the wood of the rootstock.
3. A deep cut is made in the wood of the rootstock.
4. The cut of the varietal shoot is combined with the open wound of the rootstock, fixed with a bandage, electrical tape, or wire over cotton fabric.
5. The grafting site is treated on all sides with garden varnish.

The approximate time for healing and unification of the rootstock with the grafting trunk is 3-4 weeks.

By cuttings

When using garden plantings for propagation, special attention must be paid to the selection of planting material - each cutting 25-30 cm long should have 5 fresh leaves and 2 internodes. In order for the shoots to grow roots faster, they must be placed in water with “Kornevin” dissolved in it, a composition that accelerates root growth.

After planting, the 3 largest leaves are pinched off the cuttings, and the plant is covered with a jar while rooting.

Conditions for planting dwarf trees

The health of a tree, its productivity, immunity to certain strains of diseases are programmed not only during selection, but during the process of planting, choosing the optimal location, selecting a favorable neighborhood with other garden and vegetable crops, and preparing the soil.

Selection of seedlings and varieties

When purchasing a seedling, you need to pay attention to the following factors that indicate the health of the plant:

• Evenness of the bark without bumps or damage.
• The root system should not contain signs of rotting, dry, dying areas, damage to the rhizome - cuts.
• A young (one-year-old seedling) in most varieties has a greenish tint to the bark - this is the best planting material in terms of survival rate.

Choosing a young healthy seedling is 50% success. The main thing is that its adaptability to new growing conditions is the highest, and this is possible when purchasing a plant bred specifically for specific climatic conditions. The following markings will help you understand this:

1. G-1 are winter varieties (late ripening). They are suitable for warm and temperate latitudes.
2. G-2 are frost-resistant varieties bred for cultivation in Siberia and the Urals.
3. G-3 - early autumn varieties with a good frost resistance coefficient, suitable for planting in areas with hot, long summers and harsh winters - a temperate continental climate.
4. G-4 differs from G-3 varieties in taste.
5. G-5 - late summer varieties adapted to the conditions of the Urals.

Although plant labeling is not as poetic as variety names, it is more informative.The presence of markings on the label of a seedling allows the gardener to understand the characteristics of the variety without a register of garden trees, especially since not all varieties are included there.

Choosing a landing site

Large space for columnar pears is not needed; for one plant you need to allocate 60 cm² personal space, which should not be shaded by the crowns of taller trees or buildings, but it should not be an area open to all winds.

Soil selection and preparation

The pear is an unpretentious plant in terms of soil selection. Like any fruit plant, it requires nutrients; organic fertilizers will provide them. When preparing a planting hole, you should not neglect enriching the soil by adding humus to it.

Distance between trees

The planting scheme for columnar pears looks like this:

• Hole dimensions: depth - 80 cm, width - 60 cm.
• The distance between holes in a row is 50 cm.
• The distance between rows is 100-150 cm.

If these planting parameters are observed, there will be enough light for low-growing plants and full air circulation will be ensured.

Features of the root system

Considering that the roots of a dwarf plant do not go deep into the ground, but are located almost parallel to the top layer of soil, weak sandy soils are strengthened by sphagnum. This moss multiplies quickly, strengthening the soil. When planting in sandy and loamy soils, such measures are not required.

Columnar pear planting technology

The planting pattern above is used when setting up an orchard with plants of approximately the same height. If it is necessary to plant one seedling among giant trees, one should take into account not the distance from the trunk of a nearby growing plant, but the dimensions of its crown.A short pear tree will be uncomfortable in its shade, which will affect the health and productivity of the young tree.

Proper care

The yield and health of the tree depend on proper care. That's right, it doesn't mean abundantly! All stages of care must be carried out in a timely manner and without much fanaticism. Excess fertilizers contribute to the growth of the trunk and leaf mass, but the yield may be zero. Neglecting preventive spraying with insecticides will result in a serious disease even for a plant with high immunity. If pruning is not carried out on time, it will turn a columnar tree into a simple dwarf tree with a dense, rounded crown.

How should you prune a pear tree?

Pruning pears in autumn - this is a mandatory stage necessary for the formation of the crown. In order for a dwarf pear to have the maximum advantages of a columnar plant, it is necessary to trim the shoots so that in the fall only 2 eyes remain on them.

In spring and summer, only shoots affected by disease or frost are removed, since the annual increase in branch mass is insignificant.

Loosening and mulching

These two stages are directly related to each other. Loosening is carried out immediately after removing the mulch from the soil in the spring and after harvesting, before preparing the plants for the winter period. It is necessary to loosen so that sufficient quantities of air and water reach the roots of the plant, and mulch is necessary to protect the root system: from frost - in winter, from pests, excessive drying out or excessive moisture - in summer.

Let's move on to fertilizers

Nitrogen is a fundamental element for the development of a plant, painlessly overcoming all stages of the growing season, up to the fruit gaining the maximum possible weight for the variety. Nitrogen-containing fertilizers are applied before flowering and during the formation of fruit ovaries.When it comes to the need to apply potassium, phosphate fertilizers and other microelements, you should be guided by the condition of the pear foliage.

Preparing for winter

The preparatory stage begins immediately after the completion of the harvest; the mulch layer is removed from the ground along with fallen leaves, fruits, insect larvae, and pathogenic microflora. To protect against insects that have chosen the tree bark as a wintering shelter, the trunk must be covered with a layer of lime whitewash.

Pear varieties that are not the most frost-resistant need to be wrapped in polyethylene and burlap. A 10 cm layer of fresh (insulating) mulch - peat mixed with sawdust or straw - is placed on the loosened soil above the root system. If a severe winter is predicted, you can additionally cover the ground with spruce branches.

Disease and pest control

It is easier to prevent a disease than to treat it. The main preventive action is the early spring spraying of fruit trees with insecticides, which is a good measure to combat aphids, pear suckers and mites. Tobacco and lemon balm planted nearby will help in the fight against many diseases of pears.

Features of cultivation in different regions of Russia

The main features when growing columnar pear trees in different climatic conditions are the timing of preventive protective measures, the thickness of the mulching layer and the covering material of the plant itself.

If, due to weather conditions in the Moscow region, spraying of pears is recommended in the last ten days of April, then in the Krasnodar Territory this stage of care will occur at the beginning of the month.For adult plants of frost-resistant varieties of pears in the Moscow region, you don’t need to wrap the tree in burlap, but for Siberia and the Urals it’s all varieties of dwarf pears are considered covering, requiring mandatory insulation.

Harvest and storage

Harvested at the stage of technical maturity can be kept fresh, and more mature fruits can be processed for production of marmalades, jellies, compotes, candied fruits and other sweets.