Apple tree Asterisk: description, photos, reviews of the tree

The golden autumn is changing beyond recognition beyond recognition the gardens that are dying, coloring the once juicy-green foliage of fruit trees in bright orange-yellow tones. In this autumnal palette of thinning crowns, the bright red stars reveal the sides of crimson-red apples. This is the fruit of the so-called winter varieties, loved by domestic gardeners for unpretentious care, excellent taste and good preservation. One of these late varieties is the apple tree Zvezdochka, a photo of which will illustrate our publication. Let's talk about this entertaining culture, long fond of Russian gardeners.

History of breeding

The product of the Michurin Research Institute of Genetics and Selection of Fruit Plants of this species is apple. The Zvezdochka variety was obtained by the breeder SF. Chernenko and was the result of his many years of research. Derived by crossing Anis with Pepinka of Lithuania, this variety received corresponding "parental" qualities, expressed in good commercial properties of fruits, but low frost resistance. Therefore, the species is zoned for regions with a temperate climate and mild winters: Central, Volga-Vyatka, Middle Volga, etc. Zvezdochka is also adapting well in the southern regions; northern territories are not suitable for this culture, since the severe winter conditions.

Apple tree Asterisk: description, photos, reviews

So the apple tree was named because of the peculiarities of the structure of the fetus from the side of the peduncle, which is caused by a slight ribbing, but it refers to the tall-growing fruit trees. Young plants build up a beautiful round crown supported by powerful skeletal branches, in the case of age specimens the crown is more spreader, and the subordinate branches of the main conductors visibly subside. Such changes in the appearance of culture occur with harvests increasing year by year, which the variety is famous for.

The leaves of the tree are matte-green, small, oval with thin stipules and slightly serrate margin. The shoots of this year are strongly pubescent, long and thin, painted in brown-terracotta tones. Gardeners, cultivating the crop, emphasize not only her enviable crops, but also excellent decorativeness. The apple tree looks so good. Variety Zvezdochka, whose photo will introduce the reader to this curious culture, can be called popular.

Fruit

Apple tree Asterisk, the description of which is presented in the article, gives small (from 80-90 to 150-170 gr.), Rounded, with slightly noticeable ribbing, ruddy fruit. At the time of maturation, apples blush, becoming covered with a gentle blush, gaining intensity of a purple color by the time of full maturity. Smooth fruits all over the surface are generously covered with a protective wax coating. The pulp of apples is remarkable: fine-grained, juicy, sweet and sour-tasting pleasant soft green color. In some fruits, the color of the pulp varies from green tones in the center to pinkish ones near the peel.

Advantages of the variety

Apple Tree Asterisk (reviews of summer residents emphasize this) - a culture of late maturation, which comes closer to winter. But harvesting begins in September, without waiting for the arrival of real cold. Before eating, apples lie on maturation for 3-4 weeks. The main advantages of the variety are:

• Annual high yields;
• Excellent dessert taste of apples;
• The possibility of long-term storage. In the conditions of a cellar or a specialized fruit storage, apples are successfully preserved in March;
• High resistance of plants to traditional species diseases, for example, scab;
• Good tolerance of trimming.

An asterisk is an apple tree, the description of which would be incomplete without ascertaining not only the merits, but also the shortcomings present in the variety. Such a minus is the grinding of fruits in age trees. However, the correct formation of the crown and sanitary trim will help to avoid this, or at least significantly slow down the process.

Features of the variety

Apple tree Asterisk, the description, the photo of which is presented in the article, is an excellent pollinator for many winter varieties: Antonovka, Ladoga, Bogatyr and others. All of them, including Zvezdochka, are cross-pollinated near each other, increasing the tying of fruits and, accordingly, increasing the yield. Fruit-bearing tree begins 5-6 years after planting. To accelerate fructification for 1-2 years can be, planting a seedling on a dwarfish rootstock. The yield of the variety is impressive: from 50 to 100 kg per season. Note, however, that the number of fruits can vary depending on the weather conditions, in different years it varies considerably.

In order to maintain a good yield of the tree, every year they carry out mandatory pruning, reduce the thickening of the crown and increase the access of the sun rays that are so necessary for the ripening fruit.

Planting: Preparation of seedlings

To grow an apple tree is easy even for a beginner gardener. Buying a seedling Zvezdochki, you should contact a specialized nursery for the producers with a good reputation and high rating. Purchases of planting material from untested vendors often result in disappointment and loss of time.

The root system of the seedling should be examined, the decayed and broken roots should be removed, dipped into a so-called chatterbox - saturated aqueous clay solution before planting. Covering the roots of the clay will prevent access to the air to the roots and will not cause decay.

Selection of a site for planting

An apple tree needs good lighting, so the approach to choosing a place to grow this fruit tree should be serious. It is necessary to take into account all conditions for the qualitative development of culture. So, choose a sunny and open place with fertile, friable, air-permeable soils without the close standing of underground water. The southern and south-western sides of the site are more appealing to a culture such as the apple tree Zvezdochka. Description, photos, reviews of gardeners confirm the importance of choosing a landing site. Failure to comply with the above factors will lead to improper seedling development, slowing fruit formation and crop losses.

Another condition that requires strict implementation, is compliance with the timing of planting. The optimal time for this procedure is spring. Plant the plant in late April or May, when the danger of returning frosts will come to naught, and the sun will begin to warm up the earth well. Autumn planting by knowledgeable gardeners is not welcome, since not all young plants tolerate winter colds. But if you plant a tree for some reason, fall, then it should be done 1-1.5 months before the onset of severe colds, since the young plant needs to settle down.

Preparing a landing pit

The site is carefully dug, the weeds and fragments of their roots are removed, a pit is cleared with a size of 0.4 * 0.4m. A third of the pit is filled with a mixture of humus, ash, garden soil and superphosphate (30-40gr), pouring it with a slide. Seedling is placed on top of the embankment, spread out roots and covered with earth. The root neck of the tree should rise above the ground level by 5-6 cm. The soil is rammed and lavished generously. It is necessary to ensure access of moisture to the roots, for which an earthen roller, which holds water, is made along the circumference of the trunks. The entire period of rooting, about a month and a half, the plant should not be short of water. For winter, the tree is covered with special covering materials or spruce lapnik.

Apple tree care: main activities

Experienced summer residents note the unpretentiousness of this fruit tree, emphasize the simplicity of caring operations. Like many fruit-bearing cultures, the apple tree Zvezdochka (description, photos, reviews of gardeners confirm this) is evidenced by the rapid growth of shoots for timely watering, regular weeding, loosening of soil in the trunks and occasional feeding with high-quality organic and mineral complex fertilizers.

Pour the apple tree moderately, it overloads the moisture excessively. But they are always guided by the weather in the region: in a hot time watered more abundantly, in rainy years - less. The ground in the trunk circles periodically loosen and remove the weed grass, thus increasing the aeration of the soil and stimulating the development of the root system.

Need a tree and fertilizing. The first in the season is spent in the spring: more often use humus or reparted manure, which is made in the amount of 10-12 kg per square meter. In autumn, after harvesting, the culture is fed with phosphorus-potash complexes that help the tree survive the winter. It is important not to overfeed the culture, surpluses of fertilizers have a disastrous effect on it. Therefore, in regions with fertile soils it is not customary to fertilize Zvezdochka more than once every 2-3 years.

And a few words about trimming. The necessity of carrying them out has already been mentioned above, but we add only that the best time for these procedures is early spring, when the tree has not yet awakened. In late autumn, pruning is not carried out.

We acquainted the reader with an interesting and unpretentious culture, such as the apple tree Zvezdochka. Description, photos, reviews of summer residents, not by hearsay familiar with the cultivation of this fruit tree - is this not an excuse to try to grow a magnificent apple tree?