Apple Tree Seedlings (14 Photos): How To Choose The Right One For Planting In Spring? What Do Annual Seedlings Look Like At 3 Years Old? How Old Should They Be?

2024 Author: Beatrice Philips | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 05:33

High-quality apple tree seedlings are the dream of many gardeners. How to choose plant material that will quickly take root, be healthy and give a bountiful harvest - you will find the answer to this question below.

Species overview

On sale you can find two types of apple tree seedlings: with an open, bare root and seedlings in containers. The first type attracts potential buyers with a lower cost, but it, as a rule, is less accepted in a new place, since after digging the tree roots dry quickly and are susceptible to all kinds of damage during transportation. You don't have to face such troubles if you choose plants with closed roots. The seedling is removed from the ground just before planting.

It is also worth saying that today seedlings can be grown in two ways:

• budding;
• graft.

Usually those with a closed root system, they are from winter grafting, with budding, planting material is often sold with an open root system

Seedlings that were grown with winter grafting develop a year faster than the second species. Biennial plants are usually sold with budding.

How to choose the right one?

Suitable seedlings for planting in spring differ in some features that allow you to assess their condition and health . First of all, the gardener must assess the general condition of the plant. Its height, size, weight. The branches of such seedlings should not be dried out or damaged. At the inspection stage, it will also be necessary to exclude any symptoms of disease or pest damage. From all seedlings, samples that are proportionally developed should be selected, as they are easier to receive and form.

Strong shoots, large leaves and roots are signs of good, healthy seedlings. It is better to always buy such planting material from specialized nurseries. If the seedlings that the gardener chose for further cultivation differ in at least one of the following characteristics, it is better to refuse to buy them:

• dry root system;
• damaged or dry aboveground part;
• few shoots or buds;
• differs in smaller size from the rest of the seedlings;
• visible signs of the presence of pests, for example, insects visible to the naked eye, drooping, deformed leaves and shoots, gnawed buds, there are cobwebs or scraps resembling cotton wool on the leaves;
• visible symptoms of disease infection - these include round yellow spots on the leaves, watery, brown spots, white bloom, spots at the base of the shoot.

It is not difficult to understand whether you are buying a healthy tree, you should focus on the following signs:

• there must be at least three large roots and many small ones, without frost holes and other defects;
• the leaf plates are clean, without traces of insects or signs of infection;
• the bark is even, without swelling and spots;
• the vaccination site is clearly visible;
• the stem is clean, without outgrowths and swellings.

Rhizome

When buying a seedling, you always need to assess the condition of the root system . It is more difficult to understand the situation when we are dealing with material in containers. In this case, we check if the clod of earth and the roots are not overdried, do not disintegrate and do not grow through the holes in the bottom of the container, then everything is fine. The root system should be well formed, with a lot of fibrillation. All shoots are brown even shade, no dark or any other spots, growths.

The root system of a high-quality apple tree seedling is developed, moist and flexible. The main root is 40 cm long, with several powerful tines . If it is cut off, growth retardation is possible, the tree will become weak and painful. Without soil, the root system of an apple tree cannot live longer than 2 weeks; it dries up with prolonged storage. Such a tree is unlikely to take root in the future.

If the plant is in a container, remove it from there - the shape of the container, which the roots have taken, should remain intact, and the roots should be well intertwined.

If the soil falls apart, it means that the plant has recently been placed in a pot. You should not take such a seedling.

Age

When examining young seedlings in a nursery, one should pay attention to their age, height, trunk thickness and degree of branching. The older the apple seedling you buy, the faster you will get the first harvest . Typically, stores offer biennial samples and seedlings that are 3 years old. Annual trees can be purchased from nurseries and from hands.

It is difficult to say how old an apple tree must be so that it can be successfully planted in a summer cottage. It is rather a question of the correct choice of planting material and subsequent care for it.

Correctly developed seedlings should be 120-150 cm high, have a smooth bark without spots, a trunk with a diameter of at least 10-12 mm (should be measured 15-20 cm above the grafting site) and at least 3-5 side shoots.

One- and two-year-old apple trees are better rooted. Annuals have only a stem without branching, and biennial trees have two or three branches. Annual seedlings with a developed root system take root more often than two-year old ones. The stem should be smooth, free from damage, and have live buds. If the seal is 7 cm from the root collar, this is the graft site. The twigs should be flexible.

Appearance

A healthy tree looks alive, the foliage is bright, juicy, the trunk is evenly colored . If the greenery hangs lifelessly, there are injuries, wounds, fungus, then such a seedling is dangerous for the garden, since not only will it not survive, but will also infect other trees.

You should always consider on which rootstock the seedling was grown. It is imperative that the stem is measured 5 cm higher than the grafting. If this is a vigorous tree, then this indicator will be 1-1, 2 cm, for medium-sized ones - 1-1, 1 cm, and for low-growing ones - only 0.9-1 cm.

The height of the seedling is measured from the growth line. A regular ruler is taken. If the plant is healthy, then its growth should be 110-130 cm in strong-growing, 100-120 cm in medium-sized ones, and from 100 to 110 cm in low-growing ones.

We pay attention to the side branches, which should be from 3 to 5, if less, then such a seedling is not suitable for planting

Another trick - when evaluating the appearance, we examine the first fork and the distance from the ground to it. If it is below 40 cm, it will have to be cut in the future. Usually it should be at a distance of 40 to 60 cm.

How not to be confused with other cultures?

As strange as it sounds, but sometimes even an experienced grower can confuse an apple tree sapling with the same pear or plum … The most difficult thing is to understand where is the apple tree and where is the pear, since the color of the bark of young trees is the same and slightly different. In this case, all attention will need to be directed to the kidneys. In a pear, they have a sharper shape than in an apple tree. They seem to stick up, while in the apple tree they are round and densely lie at the base.

It is even more difficult with cherries, as it can be confused with wild animals. The apple tree has a plentiful and thick edge on the buds, and they themselves are larger in size. In cherries, they are round and slightly behind the shoot. The color of the bark can only be taken into account if the apple tree is varietal, since then its shade will be light. Wildlife has a brick-brown color of bark, branches are in relation to the trunk at an angle of 90 degrees.

If it is required to distinguish a plum from an apple tree, then all attention is to the edge of the bud, since it is absent in the first tree. Moreover, the first bud of an apple tree adheres more closely to the shoot.

Sometimes it is necessary to distinguish a cultivated apple tree not from other fruit trees, but from its wild counterpart. Experienced growers have deduced several signs to rely on, but in most cases, you will need to inspect the mother tree .… Wild apple seedlings have thorns, which are absent in cultivated varieties. There are other signs as well.

Fork tree

You can immediately understand that there is a wild game in front of you by the absence of a trunk . If you look closely at the seedling, then where it is usually located, and this is directly near the ground, there are several trunks. Sometimes their number reaches 5 pieces. Any varietal apple tree seedling has a well-defined bole, the formation of which occurs throughout the entire time the tree is growing.

If it is not there, then there is only one explanation: it could have been cut down or it dried out, and therefore the formation of coppice shoots began. They can quickly reach the size of a full-fledged tree, so it is difficult to notice the substitution.

Tree trail

You can identify the wild by the remaining hemp . If the trunk began to form from such a stump, then a cutting from the overgrowth that was below the graft sprouted. Before that, the tree was varietal, but after the shoot was removed, the shoots began to actively develop. If you dig a seedling next to it, then it is worth inspecting the mother tree.

Single-barreled wild

Sometimes a tree develops with one trunk, the stem and branches, which are called skeletal, are ideally located, but at the same time such a seedling is still considered wild. This is because it developed from a growth that was previously cut off and only one shoot was left, which later turned into a standard tree.