Prostrate Cultivation of Fruit Trees

Prostrate Cultivation of Fruit Trees 

a method for growing large-fruited varieties of apples, pears, and plums in a prostrate position in the severe climate of the Urals and Siberia and for growing heat-loving strains and varieties in the central region of the European USSR. The crowns of the trees are flattened and spread out close to the ground, where they receive more heat in summer and are covered by snow in winter.

There are several variations of the method. In one variation a year-old sapling is planted at an angle of 30°–45° to the ground surface. It grows at this angle throughout its life, reaching a height of 1.5 m. In winter the branches are bent to the ground and covered with soil, plant matter, and snow. A second variation of the method entails bending the skeletal part of the tree close to the ground and allowing the branches to grow vertically. In a third variation, the tree trunk is very short (from 20 to 30 cm in height), the crown is situated from 30 to 60 cm above the ground surface, and the branches extend from the trunk at right angles. This variation is well suited to areas with a deep snow cover. A fourth variation may be used for trees planted at an angle or vertically. If planted at an angle, the trunk is bent down almost to the ground surface and secured in that position. If planted vertically, the trunk is cut down almost to the base, and the low-growing branches, seemingly without a trunk, give the impression of a melon plant.

Care of the trees includes pruning branches that do not bear fruit, thin branches, and branches that do not form part of the crown. The trunk and branches are protected against sunscald. The trees are covered in winter.

Fruit trees grown in a prostrate position begin to bear fruit early. They are most often used for the Borovinka, common Anto-novka, Naliv Belyi, Anise, Slavianka, and other varieties of apple, for the Liubskaia cherry, and for the Opata plum.

REFERENCE

Kiziurin, A. D. Kustovidnosteliushchiisia metod sibirskogo plodovodstva. [Omsk] 1963.

E. V. KOLESNIKOV