Description, planting and caring for the Gloucester apple tree

Apple Gloucester is a variety of German breeding, the result of crossing varieties of Glockenapfel and Richard Delishes. This variety was bred in 1951 in Germany. The advantages of the variety can be safely attributed to the beauty and taste, as well as the keeping quality of the fruit. This variety has a good winter hardiness, but not enough frost-resistant.

Characteristics and characteristics of apple varieties Gloucester

Description of the Gloucester variety can begin with the fact that it belongs to high-yielding late-ripening apples. Since apple transportability is high in Gloucester, they are grown not only by amateur gardeners, but also by industrialists. The fruits of the tree have a round-conical appearance, with distinct edges on the top of the fruit.Apple color is yellow, has a crimson-red blush, with distinct subcutaneous spots. Fruits are smooth, shiny with dense skin. The flesh at the time of breakdown is light green, having lain down, becomes creamy, sweet, juicy. A mass of apples Gloucester reaches 200 g

Useful properties of apples Gloucester

If you just say that apples are good for the human body, it means saying nothing. The benefits of apples Gloucester for the human body is limitless. One hundred grams of fruit contains a number of micro and macro elements, vitamins, saturated and unsaturated fatty acids, organic acids. Scientists have proven that insoluble fiber found in apples promotes the removal of cholesterol from the blood, and dissolving pectin removes cholesterol from the liver. The salts of magnesium in the fruit, pectin and ascorbic acid help to prevent the development of atherosclerosis and increase immunity. The ability to normalize metabolism has made apple diets attractive. Possess apples and soothing properties, for this brew apple tea.

Selection and preparation of young seedlings for planting

When choosing Gloucester apple seedlings, you should take into account that middle-growing stocks, unlike dwarf ones, begin to bear fruit a year later (4th year after planting). The intensity of fruiting increases every year. The maximum amount of harvest can be collected after the 10th year of the seedling's life. Choosing a sapling, you must clearly understand what kind of tree you want to get - tall or short. You should not take seedlings older than two years, they take root worse.

A sign of the age of a two-year plant is 2-3 sprigs extending from the trunk. Carefully inspect the roots and trunks, they should not have layers and defects, the trunk under the bark should have a green color. The roots of the tree to be chosen should be moist, but not rotten. For the best survival of the sprout, it can be immersed in a solution of a growth stimulator for several hours. As a preventive measure for diseases, a fungicide is added to the solution. Before planting, the roots of the plant are spread out, and the damaged ones are pruned, the cut point is disinfected.Ready seedling is placed in a hole and covered with earth. The earth is well rammed and watered with the remaining solution.

Place and soil for planting apple seedlings

When choosing a place for planting seedlings, it is necessary to consider not only the fact that it should be sunny and protected from the north wind, but also that the height of the apple tree Gloucester is up to 2.5 meters, and the crown diameter is about three meters. Although apple trees are considered not fastidious to the soil, fruiting soils, as well as loamy and sandy soil, are more suitable for the comfortable growth of saplings. Acid soils with stagnant moisture will not be suitable for planting. If you decide to plant a tree in the spring, the ground should warm up slightly, but the buds should be asleep. Planting seedlings in the autumn carried out a month before the start of frost.

Site preparation and planting apple seedlings

Apple planting Gloucester is carried out in the well prepared in advance pits, the depth of which is not less than 60 centimeters, and the diameter is more than one meter. The excavated soil is mixed with organic fertilizers.

A tree is correctly planted, the root neck of which is 2–3 centimeters sticking out of the ground.If the planting of seedlings is carried out on sandy soils, the pit is prepared in layers: 10 cm layer of clay, 15 cm layer of vegetable origin, the remaining layer of soil mixed with organic matter. A planted tree must be watered abundantly and slaughtered next to a stake (the tree is tied to a peg so that it grows evenly).

Apple Gloucester Pollinators

The flowering of apple trees occurs in the middle of late and lasts a long time. The inflorescence consists of 3-4 flowers. Viability of pollen is estimated at 40-80%. With self-pollination, the yield of apple Gloucester will be no more than 17% of flowering. To obtain the highest possible yield of 26-28%, the following apple varieties should be used as pollinators: Idared, Gala, Spartan, Jonathan, James Grieve.

Gloucester Apple Tree Care Tips

Proper care of apples is the timely implementation of irrigation, fertilizing, pruning and processing chemicals. The cultivation of apple trees involves whitening in the early spring of the lower part of the trunks. Since white color reflects the sun's rays well,whitewash protects trees from overheating and sunburn.

How to conduct watering

The key to a good apple harvest is proper watering. Many people think that it is better to irrigate a little bit, but often, this is wrong.

Watering the apple trees is necessary in stages:

• the first time is watered before the bud break;
• the next stage is carried out no earlier than 3 weeks after the end of flowering;
• the third time watered before harvesting for 2 weeks;
• the last watering is winter, carried out in October in order to avoid freezing of plantations in the dry autumn.

There are three ways of irrigation: rain (fan or pistol sprinklers), surface (watering holes around the tree), drip (small diameter hose system).

Common water consumption for single irrigation:

• seedlings up to two years - 30 liters;
• trees aged 3-5 years - 50-80 liters;
• 6-10 year old trees - 120-150 liters.

What and when to feed

Planted seedlings in the first year do not require feeding. As the trees grow, the dosage of the added nutrients increases.Fertilizers are applied in a year. Top dressing and fertilizer of an apple tree can be carried out both on a leaf, and under a root.

In spring, the first feeding is done with the appearance of the first leaflets. They make nitrogen fertilizers that stimulate active growth. The following fertilizers are applied: urea 500 g or ammonium nitrate + nitroammophos 40 g each, or manure 5 buckets for digging around the trunk. During the flowering period, if the weather is dry, fertilizers are diluted in the following variants with ten liters of water:

• superphosphate 100 g + potassium sulfate - 70 g;
• urea - 300 g;
• liquid manure - 2 buckets;
• slurry - half bucket.

Up to four buckets of “cocktail” are poured under one adult tree. The next stage of fertilization on the sheet is carried out during the formation of the fruit. In ten liters of water dilute 50 g of nitrophos + 1 g of sodium humate.

In summer, it is best to top dressing by foliar, since it is the most effective way to enrich the plant with all the necessary substances in the shortest period of time. Nutrients in the form of diluted nitrogen, potassium and phosphorus are introduced every two weeks from mid-June. Spray fertilizers throughout the crown in the morning or evening in dry weather. It is necessary to plant fertilizer according to the instructions, so as not to harm the plant.

In winter, fertilizer is applied to the area around the root. For this purpose, special complex mixtures or manure are used.

How and when to trim

Gloucester varieties must be pruned each year. During pruning, dry, broken, frozen in winter and old branches are removed. To prevent the development of diseases and pests, the old bark is scraped off. Timely pruning is not only for the prevention of tree diseases, but also affects the size of the future crop.

Form an apple tree according to the rarefied-tier system:

• the seedling consists of a central trunk and side branches;
• branches claiming to be the central trunk are removed;
• the height of the trunk between the tiers of the 1-2nd tier is 70-80 centimeters, the 2-3rd tier is 35-45 centimeters;
• the number of branches in the tier: 1st - 5 branches, 2nd - 3-4 branches, 3rd - 3 branches.

To stimulate the growth of lateral shoots in the second year, the vertical stem of the tree is shortened. Subsequent pruning growth branches carry 30% of the length.

Prevention and protection of apple Gloucester from pests and diseases

Preventive methods to combat diseases and pests of apple trees carried out in early spring, using a 3% solution Bordeaux mixture. Remove the leaves of opal and treat the soil around the trees with a solution of "Nitrafen" 0.3%. After the appearance of the buds and after flowering, the tree is sprayed with 0.5% copper oxychloride or 1% Bordeaux mixture. To destroy the pests which overwintered in the land of the larvae and the spores of fungal diseases, bleach with the digging of soil is used.

Apple trees of the Gloucester variety are mainly subjected to attacks by aphids, sawflies, apple trees, moths, moths, and ticks. The surest way to combat these pests is spraying with a 0.3% solution of Karbofos, or a 3% solution of Nitrafen, or Olekuprit (400 g diluted in 10 liters of water). In order to avoid the spread of the tick, the infected branches are cut off and the sections are disinfected with garden pitch.

Apple harvest time and storage Gloucester

Gloucester apples ripening - the end of September. Since the variety belongs to the winter, in order to fully disclose the taste it needs to rest. Eat fruits start in January.If you store apples in storage, they will remain until February; when stored in the refrigerator, the shelf life is extended until May. Eat apples in the winter and early spring.