Later varieties of apples, such as 'Elstar', 'Gloster', 'Jonagold', 'Melarose', 'Idared', 'Koksa', can be stored until March or even longer. Unfortunately, it is much more difficult with pears, although some winter varieties can survive in good conditions for up to three months.
Checking the condition of the fruit will be much easier if we put them in one layer on a mesh or a special grate. When browsing the stocks, first of all choose fruits with spots on the skin, soft and wilting. It is worth remembering that apples or pears stored for too long lose their aroma, taste and many nutritional values.
With the new season's harvest in mind, we can also take a look at how fruit trees look at the end of winter.
Numerous vertical shoots grow on the thickest, main branches of many apple and pear trees. Initially, they only release leaves, so they are removed when cut through the shadows. However, it is worth keeping some of them. Already in the next season, flowers will appear on them, and the weight of the future fruit will cause these branches to deviate from the vertical. When a new side shoot grows on the shoot, cut off the older one at its base. On apple trees, such a cut is best done after the third fruiting, that is, in the fourth year after the appearance of the shoot. We shorten fruiting pear shoots for the first time after 5-6 years.
On the trunks of grafted trees, wild shoots growing from the rootstock below the grafting site often appear, which, even in older trees, are visible as a thickening or a clear line. These suckers have bark and leaves other than the crown of the tree.They do not bloom or bear fruit, but take away some of the energy from the plant. Therefore, wild shoots should be removed as soon as possible. We cut them close to the trunk with a sharp knife or pruner so that the wounds heal quickly.
