The most popular fruit tree grown in private and industrial gardens is the apple tree.
These fruits are familiar and loved by us since childhood, so growing a good fruit-bearing tree of this type of fruit is the first thing that comes to mind when we think about planting our garden.
Apples have many beneficial properties:
- They are able to prevent the negative effects of free radicals on the body;
- They are able to increase appetite if necessary, but at the same time they are introduced into the diet for weight loss;
- They are rich in vitamin C.
In order to plant and grow a healthy tree that will regularly produce a good, healthy harvest, you need to carefully study the algorithm for caring for it and learn about all the features of growing an apple tree.
Only in this case will your garden be filled with beautiful, strong, healthy, fruit-bearing apple trees.
Description of the variety
Apple Tree Legend is a variety of the latest selection, created as a result of crossing the legendary Japanese variety of Fuji apples, breaking all records for commercial qualities, and the domestic variety Brusnichnoe by Doctor of Biological Sciences, Professor V.V. Kichina.
The daughter hybrid has significantly surpassed its parents in terms of overall quality characteristics, becoming an ideal variety for cultivation.
The legend was included in the State Register in 2008, after which it began to win over professionals and amateurs in the field of fruit growing.
Advantages and disadvantages
The advantages of this variety of apples include, first of all, its following characteristics:
- Excellent frost and drought resistance;
- Easy to care for;
- Resistance to pathogens of most fungal and bacterial diseases.
It is difficult to single out any shortcomings, but we can name the annual harvest, which is irregular in terms of quantitative indicators.
Tree morphology
The Legend apple tree variety can be called medium-sized, it can reach 3 m in height , the crown is compact, thick and round, made up of medium-sized rounded shoots.
Crown of a tree with ripe fruits.
The leaves are medium-sized, ovoid in shape, deep emerald green, smooth, shiny.
Most fruits appear on ringlets.
The fruits are large, conical in shape, covered with a thin yellow-green skin, with a bright red blush throughout the apples.
The pulp is tender, dense, fine-grained, white with a delicate light green tint, sweet caramel taste with a subtle but bright aroma.
weight of Legend apples reaches 170 g, but there are also large specimens weighing up to 200 g.
Productivity
The variety is characterized by high and very high productivity. If you follow all the rules and recommended agrotechnical measures, you can get up to 100 kg of fruit from one tree.
Tasting assessment
The appearance of apples is rated by experts at 4.5 points, the taste of the fruit received 5 points in a tasting assessment - the highest result .
Winter hardiness and disease resistance
Legend exhibits amazing winter hardiness.
Young seedlings, even in the first year after planting, tolerate wintering and sudden temperature fluctuations well.
Resistance to scab is high, as is to other fungal and bacterial diseases.
Important! Resistance to a particular disease will only work if the tree receives the necessary care and attention. Any other option does not guarantee the absence of diseases!
Advantages and disadvantages of culture
While working on the creation of a hybrid, a professor from the Institute of Horticulture took into account all the shortcomings of the parent varieties and paid special attention to the positive aspects. The advantages of the Legend include the following:
- The apple tree is almost not affected by fungi and bacteria.
- Withstands severe frosts.
- It does not require special care.
- The tree has a compact size.
- Adapts to sudden changes in weather.
The disadvantage of the hybrid is that it does not produce a high yield every year. The fruits have a shorter shelf life than some other late varieties of apples.
Reviews
Ekaterina : My husband and I planted a Legend seedling two years ago, after seeing a description and a photo. We spent a long time choosing which variety would suit us and decided to go with this new one. It has taken root normally, is growing and getting stronger. We hope that this year we will be able to see the first apples - after all, according to descriptions, the Legend begins to bear fruit early.
Elena: Very tasty apples! My husband's parents have a dacha - of course they have a lot of stuff there, but recently they brought in a Legend tree and are successfully growing it. Very beautiful and tasty apples! They sit there for a long time and make the juice themselves – it’s simply delicious!
Stepan: But I’m confused by the shelf life. Kind of stupid in essence. It would be nice if it could be stored there for six months or 5 months - but 2 - 3 months, well, not very much. The taste is also average. Well, it seems to me. And the apples look beautiful, you can’t say anything. Not my kind, probably. I like sweeter ones, summer ones. And if it’s late, then you can still eat it all spring. Not for everybody, in short. There are better varieties. And tastier.
Tasting qualities and shelf life
The external quality of the fruit is assessed by specialists using a 5-point system as 4.5.
The taste qualities of this variety of fruit trees received the highest mark.
Since the described subspecies belongs to the late ones, the shelf life of such fruits is quite long.
Without losing their consumer qualities, apples can be stored for up to 3 months - if storage standards are observed. Also, these fruits have fairly high transportability.
Features of planting and care
To choose the right place to plant the Legend apple tree, you need to take into account the basic requirements that this plant places on its growing location.
The site should be located on the sunny side , without shading.
As for the soil, the best option is leached chernozems, loams or floodplain soils with groundwater no closer than 2 - 2.5 meters from the surface.
Attention! Under other conditions, a drainage device is necessary.
Dates and method of planting
Apple tree seedlings can be planted both in the fall (from the third decade of September to the beginning of October) and in the spring (from the second half of April), the exact dates depend on weather conditions .
Before starting, you need to prepare a planting hole (depth 75 - 80 cm, diameter 100 cm), remove the top fertile part of the soil, mix it with humus, thereby making the soil more aerated.
We place a peg in the middle of the hole, and place a seedling next to it, carefully deepening it with a mixture of soil and humus.
Important! Under no circumstances should the root collar be buried; it should remain above the soil at a level of 5–6 cm, taking into account subsequent shrinkage of the soil.
Then the planting is thoroughly watered. For convenience in the future, an earthen roller can be arranged along the outer edge of the root zone. It is needed so that when watering the water does not spread, but remains in the circle around the trunk.
Planting an apple tree.
Care
Growing a healthy garden plant that produces a consistently good harvest requires following the correct algorithm of basic agrotechnical measures :
- Watering - in the summer, for an adult plant, the watering norm is 4 buckets per trunk circle every two weeks ; in dry summers and during the fruiting period, the frequency of watering may increase.
- Fertilizing – for young plants, nitrogen fertilizers are applied in early spring, followed by phosphorus-potassium fertilizers in summer and autumn. Mature trees are fed during budding and flowering with mineral nutrient mixtures with a predominance of phosphorus and potassium.
- Caring for the tree trunk is an important part of caring for an apple tree. It needs regular removal of weeds and loosening to improve the quality of soil aeration.
Important! Good results are achieved by fertilizing the green mass with nutrient solutions containing microelements. It strengthens the plant’s overall immunity, increasing resistance to diseases and pests.
Pruning and crown formation
High-quality and competent pruning is important not only from an aesthetic and sanitary point of view. It affects the quantitative and qualitative indicators of the harvest .
Legends recommend pruning once a year in early spring before buds open:
- Thinning branches
- Pruning weak and damaged young shoots.
- The total portion of pruned branches should not exceed ¼ of the total crown mass.
If necessary, you can carry out sanitary pruning after harvesting, preparing the tree for winter. In this case, weak and damaged branches are removed, and the cuts are processed.
Ripening and fruiting
The legend can be attributed to early-fruiting apple trees ; the first fruits can appear two years after planting. A full harvest can be harvested in the 5th year.
Fruit ripening time and storage duration
Legend is a late variety , also called early winter, the fruits ripen at the end of September.
Apples can be stored for up to three months without harming their quality.
Productivity, fruiting and ripening of apples
The Legend subspecies is characterized by high and very high yields, provided that each of the rules for caring for this variety is followed.
So, if you follow the recommended agrotechnical steps, it is possible to harvest up to 100 kg of apples from one plant.
The legend can be classified as a fast-fruiting apple tree, since the first apples begin to form on the plant after 2 years from the moment of planting in a permanent place in the garden.
A full harvest can be obtained already in the 5th year of the plant’s life.
Also, the described variety of apple tree belongs to late ripening, otherwise – early winter.
Apples fully ripen in the last days of September.
Subspecies and options
Dwarf
Legend can be grown on a dwarf rootstock, in which case it begins to bear fruit a year earlier , the apple tree grows more compact, but the lifespan of the tree is somewhat reduced.
Columnar
The Legend apple tree on columnar rootstocks is most often cultivated in industrial gardens.
The good thing about growing this subspecies is that the plantings take up less space.
However, the formation of such a crown is a labor-intensive process.
Prevention of diseases and pests
The Legend apple tree has good immunity against diseases, but if the rules of agricultural technology are violated, it can become infected with any disease. To avoid this, you must adhere to some subtleties in growing:
- buy strong and healthy seedlings and only in specialized nurseries;
- plant strictly according to the plan so that in the future the trees do not suffer from a lack of moisture, nutrients and space;
- regularly remove weeds, weed between rows and loosen the soil superficially;
- cut out non-viable parts of the crown in a timely manner;
- systematically water and feed;
- irrigate the tree and soil with a solution of copper or iron sulfate in early spring and late autumn;
- keep the garden clean - dig, remove fallen leaves and carrion, then burn.
Growing in regions
Moscow region
The conditions of the Moscow region are excellent for cultivating this variety of apple trees without special agrotechnical measures.
In this region, more careful attention to the tree is necessary during periods of drought and return frosts in the spring.
Otherwise, the classic agricultural technology algorithm will allow you to achieve excellent results!
Legend apple tree.
Ural and Siberia
The frost resistance and unpretentiousness of the Legend variety make it possible to cultivate it quite successfully in these regions.
Leningrad region
Growing an apple tree in the Leningrad region is quite possible, provided that the planting site is carefully selected before planting - the quality of the soil is improved, and drainage is laid.
Otherwise, the Legend is unpretentious and easy to care for.
