The apple tree is a tree from the Rose family with spherical sweet or sour-sweet fruits under the genus of deciduous trees, class Dicotyledonous. Apple trees have a trunk about 40 cm thick and a spreading spherical crown in height from 2 to 15 m with shortened fertile branches and elongated growth branches.

Description

The home apple tree, unlike the wild one, does not have thorns on the branches. The bark of the tree is dark gray in color. The leaves of the apple tree in nature have a naked or pubescent appearance, with remaining or falling stipules. The ovoid buds have red-brown scales, the double perianth formed from the buds occupies a central position in the bud. The apple flower is white, pink or red and grows in scutes or half-umbels of an inflorescence, 3-5 cm in diameter. Each flower has 20 to 50 stamens.

Trees bloom by late April - early May. Depending on where the apple tree grows, the flowering time is 1 to 2 weeks. Pollination in trees is cross. At the age of 4-12 years, the tree forms fruits - apples. The growing season for an apple tree begins about 20 days after the average daily air temperature becomes consistently above +5 degrees.

Apple tree has medicinal properties

Apple fruits are distinguished:

  • by color (red, yellow, green, with stripes);
  • in shape (elongated, rounded);
  • to taste (juicy, sour, sweet).

How many years does an apple tree live? The tree lives long enough, up to 100 years, and also gets along on various soils and is frost-resistant.

The homeland of the apple tree is the territory of present-day Kazakhstan. It is not just that the capital is called Almaty (translated as "father of apples"), but in the city itself a monument was erected on the Kok-Tyube mountain.

Healing properties

The fruits of apple trees are often called a natural treasure because of their content of vitamins C, B1, B2, P, E, as well as the minerals potassium, manganese and iron. Apples are used in the prevention of colds, treatment of malignant diseases and serious ailments. Thanks to potassium, blood pressure is stabilized. Thanks to calcium, tooth enamel and bone tissue are strengthened. Pectin improves complexion, prolongs freshness and youthfulness of the skin. Apples are allowed for consumption by almost everyone due to their hypoallergenicity.

How to grow a currant tree

Many people think about the question of which apples are healthier, green or red. The answer lies in the difference in the content of trace elements in both fruits. Green apples have less sugar, more iron and vitamin C than red apples.

The benefits of apples during heat treatment are not lost, due to the small loss of nutrients. Moreover, in different cultures there are a huge number of recipes containing apples among the ingredients. What can be made from apples? Anything different: juices, cider, baby puree, jam, pancakes, marshmallows, charlotte and so on and so forth.

Interesting!When growing apple trees, not only fruits are used, but also leaves, flowers and seeds.

Apple leaves contain a large amount of vitamin C. When consumed regularly, it will help to restore vitality, overcome depression and strengthen the body's defenses.

The leaves also contain:

  • copper;
  • vegetable acids;
  • iron;
  • zinc;
  • molybdenum.

Often doctors prescribe apple leaf tea to patients as an anti-inflammatory agent for upper respiratory tract diseases.

Apple tree flowers also contain a huge amount of trace elements and vitamins. Their tea is used to prevent the formation of cancer cells, and tincture as a medicine against gastrointestinal diseases.

Eating apple seeds should be treated with more caution.

The use of apple seeds should be treated more carefully. They contain a very important and rare vitamin B17. It prevents cancer cells from multiplying and reduces body fatigue. They also contain iodine, the deficiency of which leads to a deterioration in mood, decreased memory functions, headaches, and distraction of attention. Doctors recommend replenishing half of the daily intake of iodine with 5 apple seeds per day.

On a note!Since long-term storage of apple seeds is impossible, you can make a mixture of ground seeds with honey in a 1: 2 ratio and consume it 1 teaspoon per day, not exceeding the rate of 6 grains.

What can be made from apples for beauty in life - apple seeds are added to scrubs, creams and face masks, because the beneficial substances in them help smooth out wrinkles.

Contraindications and side effects

Despite the healing properties of the leaves, flowers, fruits and seeds of the apple tree, there are still contraindications.

So, fresh or pickled fruits should not be taken with diseases of the gastrointestinal tract and kidneys due to the risk of exacerbation of ulcers. In this case, it is better to eat baked fruits or choose sweet varieties of apples. To avoid fermentation in the stomach, it is best not to consume apples at night.

Infusions and decoctions from apple leaves should not be taken by people with increased blood clotting, chronic constipation and thrombophlebitis. Pregnant women should take such drinks only after consulting a doctor.

It is better to eat baked fruits

If, while consuming apple seeds, you exceed the norm, you can get poisoning. The fact is that the seeds of apples contain amigalin glycoside and, when it breaks down in the stomach, hydrocyanic acid is formed, which belongs to the strongest poisons - cyanides. However, the body is able to neutralize a small dose.

Signs of hydrocyanic acid poisoning:

  • vomiting;
  • salivation;
  • loss of consciousness;
  • sudden changes in heart rate and blood pressure;
  • Strong headache;
  • breathing problems, choking.

Important! If these symptoms are found after eating apple seeds, it is necessary to urgently flush the stomach and call an ambulance, because an overdose of hydrocyanic acid can lead to death.

If a lot of apples are consumed per day, it is worth cutting out seeds from them, eating only juicy pulp.

It should be noted that the poison is destroyed during heat treatment. For this reason, apple jams and compotes with seeds are not dangerous for the body.

Interesting facts about apples

In ancient Greece, the apple tree was considered the sacred tree of Apollo. It was from there that the English name "apple" appeared.

Cherry tree

According to archaeologists, the apple tree is the very first tree that the distant ancestors of modern man began to cultivate. Homemade apple trees are believed to have been around as early as 6500 BC.

It is interesting! Despite the fact that the average return of an apple tree is about 100 years, there are also long-lived trees. One of these was planted by the American Peter Stuvesant in his garden in Manhattan in 1647. It has survived to this day and is still bearing fruit.

There are about 7,000 apple varieties in the world, and breeders create new ones every year. However, about a hundred varieties are used for sale, the rest for technical and decorative purposes.

The total area of ​​all apple orchards on Earth is approximately 5,000,000 hectares.

The Antonovka variety comes from the city of Kursk. In honor of this, in the center of the city, you can see a two-meter monument to an apple by sculptor Vyacheslav Klykov.

An apple does not sink in water, as it is a quarter of air.

The apple does not sink in water

Apple trees can grow up to 12 m in height. For the convenience of harvesting, breeders have bred dwarf apple trees, which, like shrubs, grow no higher than 2 m.

A large amount of antioxidants, trace elements and vitamins is found in the peel of an apple.

Characteristics of species and varieties of apple trees

Sweet cherry (tree)

What cultivars are usually planted at different times of the year?

Summer varieties:

  • Grushovka;
  • Candy;
  • Lungwort.

Pear is a variety that is most often found in our time. Its fruits ripen in August. They are small in shape, rounded and somewhat flattened. The color is pale green with a pink blush of spots and stripes along the contour. The pulp is more sour, with a pleasant aroma. A noticeable harvest begins to give as early as 4 years old. The most winter-hardy variety.

The Candy variety speaks for itself. Fruits are yellow with a red tint. Ripen by mid-August. Apple trees of this variety are resistant to diseases, unpretentious in care. The variety is winter hardy.

Medunitsa is a variety of domestic selection. The apple tree begins to bear fruit at 4-5 years. The fruits are large and have a sweet taste even when unripe.

Lungwort

Autumn varieties:

  • Mac;
  • Cinnamon striped;
  • Zhigulevskoe.

Macintosh is a Canadian variety. The fruits of the apple tree are medium, yellow-green in color, with purple patterns along the contour. The flesh is white, with reddish veins. The apples have a pleasantly spicy taste. Harvested in September, and apples are stored until mid-winter. However, the variety does not tolerate frost and disease well.

Striped Cinnamon is an old variety that bears the harvest in September. The fruits have clear stripes on a reddish background. Dessert pulp, tender, gives off cinnamon. You can store these apples until January. Such a tree begins to bear fruit at 8-9 autumn. The most winter-hardy variety of all that grows in the middle lane.

Attention! Autumn apple varieties are best suited for canning.

Zhigulevskoe is a widespread variety. Fruits are red in color with stripes, cream-colored inside, coarse-grained. Sourish to taste. Yields in late August and early September. Apples can lie until December. It bears the first fruits at the age of 5. The tree is resistant to disease, but the cold harms it.

Winter varieties of apple trees:

  • Antonovka;
  • Jonathan;
  • Golden Delicious;
  • Dwarf.

The fruits of winter apple trees have a strong structure, which allows them to be well preserved for a long time.

Antonovka is an old, everyone's favorite variety. The fruits of the tree are yellowish-golden in color, crispy, with a subtle sourness. The apple tree begins to bear fruit at the age of 7.

Antonovka

The Jonathan variety has a lot of advantages. Bred in the USA, this variety can grow large-sized yellow-green mottled fruits. The tree has been yielding since 5 years.

The harvest of the Golden Delicious variety is ready for harvest in September and is stored until March. The fruits are slightly elongated-conical with a yellow-golden color, and the flesh is soft and sweet.

Dwarf varieties are grown where the garden area is not large. The tree grows no more than 4 m in height, and the first harvest yields in 3-4 years after planting.

How to grow

Scientific agricultural technology is constantly studying the process of cultivating agricultural crops. In order to grow an apple tree, you need to follow a certain procedure.

First you need to choose the right landing site. You cannot plant an apple tree in a place where an apple tree or other garden tree has already grown. There will be no benefit if you plant a young apple tree in an old garden. The reason for this: the depletion of the land from the previous trees.

Before planting, all leaves are carefully removed from the seedling without damaging the buds. The planting pit should be up to 60 cm deep, up to 125 cm in diameter. For each pit, 2-3 buckets of manure, 1 kg of superphosphate, 150 g of potassium chloride are used. If the soil is acidic, then add 1 kg of lime. All this is mixed with the ground, a mound is made, a little compacted and a seedling is placed on it, the root is distributed and all this is covered with soil by 10-15 cm, watered with 2-3 buckets of water and the pit is filled up to the top.

Before planting, all leaves are carefully removed from the seedling without damaging the buds

Important! In the first year of planting, the apple tree does not need to be fertilized. It is only important to monitor its hydration. Fertilizers are needed in the following years. They are introduced into near-trunk circles with an area wider than the crown of an apple tree.

2-3 years after planting, the tree is dug around in a ditch, up to 50 cm deep, up to 30-40 cm wide. The soil is mixed with fertilizers and brought back into the ditch. After another 2-3 years, the procedure is repeated, but the ditch is even wider than the previous one.

In autumn, organic and mineral fertilizer is applied to the trunk circles, in spring and summer nitrogen fertilizer is applied in top dressing.

Tips from experienced gardeners: is it easy to grow a columnar apple tree

The columnar apple tree has an unusual structure and grows no more than 2.5 m, width no more than 0.5 m and resembles an artisanal plant. These apple trees do not have side branches. This variety is considered early maturing.

Several decades ago, such trees were grown only in special gardens, but now they can be found in any summer cottage. Such apple trees look aesthetically pleasing, take up little space and give a good harvest. However, they need careful care, timely feeding, watering, weed removal, protection from frost.

Experienced gardeners, when describing an apple tree, highlight the following advantages of columnar apple trees:

  • high productivity;
  • compactness;
  • resistance to pests;
  • unusual appearance.

The disadvantages of this kind include:

  • high cost of seedlings;
  • fragility of the root system of the apple tree;
  • timely, constant and rather laborious care.

In view of these characteristics, columnar apples have enough advantages, however, gardeners do not recommend growing it if it is not possible to provide proper care.

Thus, when choosing an apple tree for your summer cottage, you must remember that each variety requires a special attitude towards itself. How you approach the process of growing your apple orchard will depend on how many years the apple trees live, the growing season, what kind of harvest they will give and how often.