Apple trees, commonly cultivated as fruit plants, also have attractive ornamental varieties.Paradise ornamental apple treeproduces beautiful colorful flowers and small, colorful fruit, called heavenly apples. These trees can be successfully planted in home gardens and in urban greenery. See whatcultivating apple trees of paradisewhich are decorativevarieties of heaven apple treesis worth choosing for your garden, and how it looks correctcutting ornamental apple trees
Flower apple tree (Malus floribunda)
What does an ornamental paradise apple tree look like?
The Paradise apple has numerous decorative values , predisposing it to ornamental plantings. As a result of various breeding works related to obtaining the most beautiful and valuable forms, as many as several hundredhybrid varieties of ornamental apple trees have been obtainedThey may differ in color, shape and size of flowers and fruit, color of leaves, habit, and susceptibility to disease. Most often these are plants sold in a stump form (grafted on a trunk), which can reach several meters in height, with initially spherical crowns, with time more and more extensive and irregular.
In spring, usually in May,the apple trees are decorated with flowers , which can be white, pink to dark carmine. The leaves of these plants are also attractive (especially in pink or carmine-flowering varieties), which are dark purple at the beginning of the season, dark green or less intensely purple in summer, and may turn orange in the fall.However,the main attraction of the heavenly apple trees are their small, usually spherical fruit , i.e. the heavenly apples. They ripen from September to October and may persist on trees long after the leaves have fallen.These ornamental apple trees should be planted as solitaire , e.g. by the sidewalk or garden paths. They also work well in combination with lower deciduous shrubs.
Heavenly apples are an additional attraction of the decorative apple tree
Paradise ornamental apple tree - varieties
When choosing aapple tree variety for the gardenit is worth paying attention to the ornamental qualities of the trees and the usefulness of the fruit for preserves. Little paradise apples are valued not only for their taste but also for appearance, they look great when dipped in syrups or compotes. However, if the plant is planted by a road, path or sidewalk, you have to be aware that fruit falling in large numbers in late autumn will, unfortunately, also litter the passage (a problem that often occurs in urban green areas).In such situations, theornamental apple cultivars with very little or no fruit , such as the cultivar 'Spring Snow', may turn out to be valuable. Many varieties perfectly withstand urban conditions and air pollution, which is important for owners of home gardens in cities.
Decorative apple tree 'Roy alty' is decorated with purple-red leaves
However, the most important factor to consider isthe resistance of the apple variety you choose to diseasessuch as apple scab, powdery mildew or fire blight. Due to the widespread occurrence of these diseases in our country, high susceptibility to themexcludes the possibility of cultivating some varieties of ornamental apple
Among thecultivars of the paradise apple trees resistant to diseases , with an upright habit, you can choose 'Dolgo' (blooms white, red fruit) and 'Golden Hornet' (light pink flowers, yellow fruit).More spreading crowns are formed by the following varieties: 'Ola' (recommended Polish variety, pink flowers, purple-red fruit), 'Professor Sprenger' (pinkish flowers, orange-red fruit) or 'Red Sentinel' (light pink flowers, red fruit), forming a spherical crown. When looking for plants with poor growth, it is worth paying attention to the variety Malus toringo 'Tina' with red flowers and fruits.
Decorative apple tree 'Golden Hornet' bears yellow fruit
It is also worth noting thatsuccesses in obtaining new varieties of ornamental apple trees also have Polish growersApart from the aforementioned 'Ola' variety, also 'Kobendza' carmine, red fruit) and 'Makowiecki' (pink-red flowers, purple-red fruit). However, let's avoid the ornamental apple variety 'Fryderyk Chopin', which is very susceptible to scab, and unfortunately sometimes offered for sale.
When going shopping, let's also ask aboutthe rootstock on which the plant is grafted , because the strength of the tree's growth depends on it.For small gardens, choose plants grafted on dwarf and semi-dwarf rootstocks, but remember that they are less viable than plants grafted on vigorous rootstocks and we must provide them with better soil conditions.
Paradise ornamental apple tree - cultivation
Most varieties of ornamental apple treessold in our country are frost-resistant enough. These plants require well-sunny locations, which contributes to the proper flowering and fruiting. In shaded positions, plants will become ill more often and will also lose leaves and fruit prematurely. The soil requirements are not too high and most varieties easily adapt to different soil conditions. However, ifwe want to provide the best possible growth conditions for the apple tree , make sure that the soil is fertile, sandy loam or loamy (preferably heavy soils), acidic (pH 5-6.5) and moderately moist.
Paradise ornamental apple tree - cut
Many ornamental apple trees form nice, shapely crowns on their own and do not require pruning. Possiblecutting ornamental apple treesshould be limited to removing long shoots growing vertically (i.e. wolves) and shoots growing out of the rootstock. You can also loosen the inside of the crown or correct excessive growth. Pruning ornamental apple trees should be carried out in spring, not later than at the beginning of June, because then the trees form buds for the next year and pruning at a later date reduces the flowering of the next year.
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