Columnar Apple Trees. 3.25.19

Northpole, 19 years old.  3.25.19

I've been growing a Northpole™ columnar apple for about 18 years.  In 2012 I added columnar Scarlet Sentinel™ and Golden™ Sentinel.   This year, I also added columnar  Urban Apples®, "Tasty Red®" and "Golden Treat®".  Next door to my old place in Vancouver is a gigantic old apple tree that gets no maintenance and has a high insect and disease load, so the Northpole™ suffers from that contagion.  Even so, they are a nice McIntosh-like apple.  Last year I had a few dozen nice, crisp, juicy, good looking, tasty apples from that tree, suitable for fresh eating, apple sauce, and pies.   The tree does require some pruning to keep it the right shape and size.  That pruning is not a challenge unless I let it go a few years.

Nurseries have been promoting columnar apple trees for a generation now.  Columnar apple trees are not a pruning technique, but rather the way that those trees tend to grow naturally. The gene for the columnar shape (Co/co)  is known, and causes thick stems, short internodes, and reduced side branches.  The columnar form is dominant, meaning that if the columnar and normal genes are both present, the tree will still be columnar.  However, there are other controlling factors, and in one study of tree and spur shapes, involving 28,000 apple seedlings, 44% of seedlings that were grown from columnar x columnar trees had a columnar shape.

Columnar apple trees look cool in the photos, and the concept is interesting.  A columnar tree takes up much less garden floor space compared to a mid range semi-dwarf tree, but about like a micro-mini apple on M27.  However, unlike the mini apples, the columnar trees can grow taller, for a bigger crop. Some articles propose that columnar trees could be advantageous in commercial orchards, due to the ability to plant them close together and not have to prune as much.  Height and shape depend on vigor, rootstock, and pruning.  Several can be planted as columnar accent trees in a yard, or in a row as a hedge, looking very nice when in bloom and fruit, and even when leafless.

Almost all columnar apple trees are descended from a single sport mutation found in 1961, on one McIntosh apple tree in Vancouver, Canada.  That sport mutation was commercialized and sold as "McIntosh Wijcik."   If crossed with any other apple variety, you should get roughly one half columnar and roughly one half normal progeny.  The actual percentage will depend on whether the columnar parent has one or two copies of the columnar gene.  The columnar mutation has been traced to a single gene. First generation hybrids have 50% McIntosh in their makeup. In subsequent generations the McIntosh DNA dilutes out, but if you keep only the columnar progeny, they will all have columnar shape regardless of what the apple looks like.

Northpole, 19 years old.  3.25.19

Since columnar apple trees are all descended from a single sport on a single tree, they all have at least a little McIntosh in their ancestry.  However, if they are out-crossed for a few generations, the 2nd generation is 50% McIntosh, the 3rd generation is 25% McIntosh, and the 4th generation is 12.5% McIntosh.  And so on.  Little information is readily available regarding how many generations most columnar trees are, from their original Macintosh progenitor.  In theory, you could make a very flavorful, disease resistant columnar apple tree cultivar if you are so motivated, young, live long enough, and use promising parents. For example, using one of the PRI disease resistant varieties as a parent, or  possibly one of the disease resistant redflesh apples, could result in unique and good tasting, disease resistant columnar apple trees.

Some other names for Columnar apple trees include Colonnade®, Ballerina®, and Urban Apple® trees.

For example, the Ballerina® series, from Orange Pippin and originating in the UK, descend from Wijick. They appear to be trademarked, I'm not sure about patent.   Examples are Flamenco® and "Samba® "protected varieties.  Samba® is described as a cross of Flamenco® x Fallstaff® and has side shoots which can become vertical".  From the internet catalog description, I'm not convinced that Samba® is truly a columnar variety.

Each columnar apple tree series has its own selections, such as a red variety, a green one, and a yellow one.   For example, the "Urban Apples®" developed in Czechoslovakia by Dr Jaroslav Tupy, include those three colors and a "blush" color.  I'm not sure about the protected status of these trees, for home grafters.  I spent a lot of time looking for patent information for that series, but found patent only on "Blushing Delight®" under the name "Moonlight®" (cross between Goldstar and Telamon).  Patent info.   I found trademark notations for the others (Tasty Red®, Golden Treat®, and Tasty Green®) which does not restrict propagation but prevents you from calling the propagated trees by the trademarked names.  I don't know the best solution for that issue - maybe (and I'm not a patent or trademark lawyer) call one something like "Red Lancelot" and note "compare to Scarlett Sentinel™ as an example?

One columnar apple progeny was Golden Sentinel™. That was being trialed in 1996 in Canada - where Wijcik originated- but I think NorthPole™ is older. I am pretty sure my North Pole tree is at least 19 years old, and I doubt it was one of the earliest ones.  Scarlett Sentinel™ looks to be progeny of the same parents as Golden Sentinel, just a different sibling.  According to the Canadian Food Inspection Agency, "'Golden Sentinel' originated from a cross made in 1986 at the Agriculture & Agri-Food Canada, in Summerland, British Columbia. The cross was 'Discovery' x 8C-17-36. 8C-17-36 originated from a Wijcik Spur MacIntosh x Delicious cross."

Regarding Scarlett Sentinel™, the same Canadian reference states "'Scarlett Sentinel' originated from a cross made in 1986 at the Agriculture & Agri-Food Canada, in Summerland, British Columbia. The cross was 'Discovery' x 8C-17-36. 8C-17-36 originated from a Wijcik Spur MacIntosh x Delicious cross.

Both Scarlett Sentinel™ and Golden Sentinel™ are protected in Canada until  2020-03-04, but I could not find that these trees are patented in the USA.  Due to uncertainty, I have not shared scion for these two cultivars.

Orange Pippin describes "Discovery", one of the parents of the Sentinel trees, as one of the most important English apples, a hybrid between Worcester Permain and an unknown parent, possibly "Beauty of Bath".  That makes both Scarlet Sentinel and Golden Sentinel hybrids with solid apple parentage - (Macintosh (Wijcyk) x Delicious) x (Worcester Pearmain x unknown). 

Examples of crosses with Wijcik or its progeny - again, actually McIntosh, include:

Obelisk® - "Developed in UK at East Malling, (Cox's Orange Pippin x Court Pendu Plat) x Wijcik
(U.S. Plant Pat. No. 4,382).  Patent for Obelisk expired 2014-01-10.  "attractive small to medium sized fruit having a yellow ground color with a high degree of somewhat striped rich maroon red overcolor that commonly can be cold-stored until approximately April while present in an ambient atmosphere".  In the patent information, Obelisk® was to be marketed under the "Flamenco®" name.

Rosalee® "a cross between ‘Aneta’ (female parent, unpatented) and ‘Maypole’ (male parent, U.S. Plant Pat. No. 6,184). and which has V_f-resistance against scab, Telemon "Wijcik variety (U.S. Plant Pat. No. 4,382) of McIntosh apple tree, and the Golden Delicious apple tree.", patent expires 2033-05-16

Dalitron® -  Parents listed as ‘Golden Delicious’ and pollen parent ‘Pilot’.  Patent expires 2024-11-13

Hercules® The female parent (i.e., the seed parent) was the Wijcik variety (U.S. Plant Pat. No. 4,382) and the male parent (i.e., pollen parent) was the Greensleeves variety (non-patented in the United States),  Patent expired 2014-01-10.  Also known as "Charlotte".

Maypole®  An ornamental crabapple.  The parents of the new variety were the Wijcik variety (U.S. Plant Pat. No. 4,382 vs. 6184) of McIntosh apple tree, and Malus Baskatong.  The patent for Maypole expired 2006-04-15.

Goldlane®. An apple tree devoloped in Czech Republic by, and patented by, Jaroslav Tupy et al, who developed the Urban Apple series.   Scab resistant.  Patent expires 2029-01-07.
Bolero (Tuscan).  US Plant Patent 6225

Telamon® (U.S. Plant Pat. No. 6,224)   Telemon is also known as "Waltz®" US Plant Patent Number 6,224.  Patent expired 2006-04-15.  A UK, East Malling cross, Golden Delicious x Wijcik.  "medium-sized asymmetric generally round-conical fruit havig a yellow-green skin coloration bearing a substantial quantity of red flush.

Trajan®.  Also a UK, East Malling cross, parentage Golden Delicious x Wijcik.  (U.S. Plant Pat. No. 6,226)  The patent for Trajan expired 2006-04-15.  "medium-sized asymmetric generally round-conical fruit having a yellow-green skin coloration with a red flush having prominent lenticels".

Jefgreen® - a colmunar, cold hardy, flowering crabapple  USPP23863P2 expires 2032-02-10

There are also two columnar mutations known from the cultivar "Cripps Pink®" that are not derived from McIntosh Wijcik but rather are spontaneous mutations directly from Cripps Pink® and are patented.  One is "Pink Chief®" (US Patent PP27187P3, expires in 2034), while the other is ‘PLFOG99’ (syn. ‘Pink Belle®’, U.S. Plant Pat. No. 21,555).   Since these are two spontaneous mutations of Cripps Pink®, maybe that variety has some genetic instability, or maybe the columnar mutations will be more commonly found in the future for other cultivars.


(Part of this post is derived from info that I posted previously on GardenWeb in a different way.  I am adding significantly to that info and providing references here.  Patent information and links are provided so that it's as clear as I can make it, as to what varieties are or are not patented.  It can be confusing because some cultivars are actually renamed versions of others.)  Since I've become more interested in columnar apples, I plan to post photos of the trees as the bloom and produce this year, and better reviews of the trees and apples from my own orchard and yard.  For any one interested in the patent and trademark info, please know that I am an amateur, so propagate at your own risk.  I don't have nursery sources for the older columnar varieties but would like to find some.)

Edit:  I removed Antietam Blush, which is bred from McIntosh Wijcik but in the videos and internet information, I don't see that it is columnar

Bearded Irises Growing Nicely. 3.25.15

"Blatant" Bearded Irises, first growth.  3.29.19

Unlabeled Bearded Irises in Border.  3.24.19

 The bearded irises are growing very nicely.   Looking back through photos, they did better in the past than I gave them credit  for, but when I was ill I could not care for them, so they became almost too weed-filled to clean up.  Also in previous years I may have given them too much nitrogen, leading to soft rot and other diseases.

I'm cautiously optimistic, for that problem not a problem, or being much of one, this time.  I have not used fertilizers with much nitrogen - some minimal osmokote or similar labeled 5:10:10.  And during the winter, a light coating of the surrounding soil with wood ashes.  The bearded irises in the border along the woods did not get ashes or any other fertilizer.  That will gice some comparison.

Of the new ones, "Blatant" was planted last, late fall / early winter. I did not give it much of a chance, and doubt very much it will bloom this spring.  Still, nice to see both rhizomes survived and they hive nice thick looking leaves starting to grow.

Unlabeled Bearded Irises in Border.  3.24.19

"Blatant" is classified as a reblooner, meaning some will bloom i  summer or fall.  They are reportedly much more vigorous than once-yearly bloomers.  So I can anticipate good growth this year.  Other rebloomers I bought, "My Friend Jonathan" and "His Royal Highness" are very vigorous in my garden, while "I'm Back" and "Again and Again" are showing good vigor.  Those were planted a bit later than the others.

Anyway so fare I'm happy with almost all of them and their growth so far.  I'm optimistic that a lot of the new ones, and maybe most of the better looking plants of the "rescues" will bloom in May.

Main Bearded  Iris Bed.  3.24.15

Asian Plums are Blooming. 3.24.15

Crimson Sentry Plum.  3.24.19

Flavor Supreme Pluot.  3.24.19

Hollywood Plum (cutting grown).  3.24.29

Most of the Asian Plums are in almost full bloom. Pictured ate:

Crimson Sentry.  I need to check pn the name. Ornamental and fastigiate.  I like the flavor of the plums although there isn't much flesh and they are small.  It is usually first to bloom.  I like it as a potential pollinizer for early blooming plums.

Multigraft.  Branch in bloom is Hollywood..  3.24.19

Nadia Cherry Plum Hybrid.  3.24.19

Flavor Supreme (or Flavor King?).  Second year, blooming now.

Hollywood.  Full bloom.  A few years from growing from a cutting.

Methley and Shiro not open yet, not pictured.  Starting to bloom.

Seedling, grafted onto Hanska, was first.  I've been cutting blooming branches from Cromson Sentry and Hollywood and placing them among the branches for pollination.  This tree just got new grafts of Black Ice and Beauty plums.

 None of the Euro plums are blooming yet.

This Year's Orchard Additions & Changes. 3.19.19

During the winter, I ordered some new fruit trees, scion, and rootstocks.  Some varieties were lost in 2018 as well.  Plus I like to experiment.  Despite saying I want and need to slow down and have less to take care of, which is true, I still find it hard not to try new things.  These changes are already in place, with plantings spread out over the past 3 months and grafting spread out over e past 3 weeks.

 New trees.

Persimmons - Coffeecake (Nishimura Wase) and Chocolate (Maru).  These are planted at te opposite end of the property from my other persimmons  to redice pollination of those (Saijo, Nikita's Gift, Yates).

Shan  Xha (Chinese Haw, Da Mian  Qui)  Red Sun

Jujubes - Li and Winter Delight.

Apples - Redlove (TM) Era (R) Redflesh Apple, Columnar "Urban" Apples Tasty Red and Golden Treat.

Figs - I planted Lampeira Preta from my friend Ram. This tree is fenced and in my main fig row, should do great there.

Grafts onto Existing Trees

Plums - Beauty, Black Ice

Kiwi - Hayward Fuzzy (to pollinate female Kiwi)

Quince - I made a multigraft from the resurgent growth of my young quince tree that I ran over with a lawn mower by accident, in 2017, I think.  Smyrna, Aromatnaya, Crimea, Limon.

Apples - I added grafts of Prima, Honeycrisp, Bill's Redflesh, William's Pride.

Pear - Rajah Asian Pear.  This will replace the last major branch of Maxie Pear, which was hard and not flavorful.  There are still some spurs and small branches remaining in case it is better thisyear.

I grafted some scion from my Northpole onto purchased Bud-9.  Some of these might be container trees.

The new apple trees went into a protected bed, so other than more watering the first year, no extra care or protection needed.  The Jujubes went into one deer cage alreadynset up and mulched.  The persimmons got temporary small cages but I need to make larger cages.  Those come from fencing I just removed from another garden.  The new grafts won't need care beyond normal puttering, removing binding when appropriate, and pruning / tying that I do for the trees anyway.  The auince may need a larger cage, but wasn't much harassed by herbivores this year despite being taller than its existing short cage.

So despite a long list of changes now, during the off season, I dont think much extra care will be needed during the main grow seasons.

Trees that died - Sweet Treat Pluerry, American Plum grown from seed.  I think both died due to canker.

More Grafting. Making Small Dwarf Columnar Apple Trees. 3.18.19

I decided to try grafting Northpole apple onto a more dwarfing rootstock. I like this apple for fresh eating, pies, and apple sauce. However, my tree is too vigorous.  I don't know what rootstock it is on, but I'm guessing it isnt very dwarfing.

I supect that the tables describing how dwarfing a rootstock is, are not quite appropriate for columnar trees.  I think the dwarfing effect may reduce total scion biomass, which would mean smaller conventional varieties compared to columnar types, which are sort of 1 or 2-dimensional, almost, compared to conventional variety's 3-dimensional shape.  I decided to try Bud-9 which is among the more dwarfing types.

My existing Northpole needed some corrective pruning, I removed all of the vigorous shoots, leaving flowering spurs in place.  That was fairly drastic.  We'll see if the tree blooms and produces this year.

Meanwhile, I selected shoot tips to graft onto Bud-9 rootstock, which I boight mail order from Burnt Ridge nursery.  I used whip-and-tongue grafting method, with 1/2 inch strips cut from freezer bags as the binder, then parafilm to wrap the rest of the graft to reduce the risk of dehydration.  I planted these in potting soil in 1/2 gallon nursery pots and watered well.

Planting More Potatoes. 3.12.19

 I planted another row of potatoes.  I may not be allowing them to grow long enough stems while chitting, but I think they will be OK.  The other uncertainty is with timing.  I need to check the ground temperature.  However, this is actually later than last year so, again, I think it is OK.

This time I planted some Red Norland.  Good for potato salad , new potatoes, and potato soup. 

I also added some organic 5-10-10 to the bottom of the trench, and hoed it into the underlying soil using a narrow garden rake / hoe.  I have not fertilized potatoes in the past.  I did so this time, after reading that yield and size might be improved.

Last year, this bed contained zinnias and cosmos.  The previous year, it was sweetcorn and onions.  Before that, it was a large, impenetrable blackberry bramble of uncertain age.  So no potatoes have grown in this bed before, which is a good thing.

I like the trenches better than planting more shallowly and hilling up.  I think the hills dry out more quickly, and I don't want to water more than I need to. 

Grafting. 3.12.19

This is the first step of wrapping the graft with plastic strip.  Knot tied.

The strip is flattened, wrapped tightly up, then down, and tied again.

Finally, the scion is wrapped to avoid dehydration.  I used parafilm this time.

Today I grafted new scions onto a number of pre-existing apple trees.  I'm comfortable with whip and tongue grafting, so that's what I do.  These trees are young but starting to have some size.  They are dwarf or semidwarf size trees.    For one, a large, mature  branch of Pristine broke due to graft failure, so I'm not grafting Pristine back onto that tree.  There is a small "water sprout" branch near that location, so I grafted a new variety to that branch as a replacement ("Bob's red flesh, a small apple with red flesh throughout).

I thought I would show my current method.  It's much easier than the older methods that involved grafting wax and string, or sticky tape.  I use strips, about 3/4 inch wide, cut from gallon-size "Ziplock" plastic freezer bags.  After experimenting with stretching, I can get a good firm tight binding, without breaking the strips.

The cutting and fitting of the scion and understock is as usual.  I didn't do as fine a job as last year, but apple is fairly forgiving, so I think they should take.  Once the whip and tongue graft scion and understock are fitted together, I tie a strip of plastic strip below the graft, with one end being short and the other long.

Then I flatten the strip, and wrap up, then down the graft.  I pull the plastic strip as firm as I can, without stretching to the yield point where it loses it's stretch and tears.

Then I tie the end of the strip back to the original knot.

I wrap the scion with either a thinner plastic strip, or this time, parafilm.  The goal there is to prevent dehydration but allow the buds to grow

This method gave 100% take last year.  I'm hoping for a good result this year too.

I grafted -

That "Bill's Red Flesh".

A local crab apple variety from an HOS member, "Hi Jack".

Pristine.

I also bought some Bud-9 rootstock at the HOS show, and grafted Northpole apple onto that rootstock.  I want to see if I can better limit the height, and make a much more compact columnar apple tree than I have with the original Northpole.


And quince varieties, to the quince tree that I'm reworking, adding Limon and Crimea Quince cultivars.

Also, onto a plum branch, I added one branch from an ornamental, fastigiate red plum (Scarlet Sentry?) from elsewhere in the yard, for pollination purposes.  That goes both ways - I'm curious to see if those plums are larger or better set, when pollinated by more proximal plum varieties.

New Fruit Trees. Persimmons and Columnar Apples. 3.10.19

Yesterday I receive my order from Raintree, which I planted today.

Two columnar apples:  Tasty Red and Golden Treat.  I think the names detract a little from the trees' attractiveness, because the names are sort of nondescript marketing efforts.  Even so, these are considered disease resistant, they fit in the space I have for them, and I hope to taste-test them in a year or two.

Columnar apples have very stout stems.  It's interesting.

I also planted two persimmon trees. which are pollination partners:  Chocolate and Coffeecake.  Spicy flavored Asian (Kaki) persimmons.  These are far enough from my Saijo and Nikita's Gift, I am hoping they won't pillinate - I want those two to remain seedless. 

There was also a "bonus free gift" in the box, a Triple Crown Blackberry.  It's a giid variety.  I planted that too..

Home Orchard Society Scion Exchange. 3.10.19

 Today was the Home Orchard Society scion exchange.  Hundreds of varieties, apples more than others but zillions of pears and grapes, as well as a few others.  I brought some scion from my apple trees and another member from my area, gave away some scion to other members, and gave away the extra fig trees that I've been nurturing for the past year.

 I did pick up some scions to graft, nothing major.  A male fuzzy kiwi, some quince, a couple of other things I will document when they are grafted.


Overall very nice.  I'm not looking to add a lot of varieties now, just fine tuning my orchard, improving where I see a chance to make things better.  Still, it's a lot of fun, and I love grafting.

Plus, I bought some Bud-9 Apple rootstock.  Bud-9 is very dwarfing, somewhat fireblight resistant, precocious, and hardy.  I want to create some new columnar apple trees (Northpole) that are easier to maintain ar a small size. I have already grafted and planted those.

Early Grafting. 3.9.19

Quince Grafts.  Smyrna.  3.9.19

Today I did the first grafts of the year.  First, I grafted Smyrna quince onto a multitrunk quince that arose after I accidentally mowed over an Aromatnaya quince tree, 2 years ago.  I can't tell if the regrowth is from above or below the graft (oops) .  I was able to purchase some Smyrna scion (Burnt Ridge), so that is what I went with.

I'm reworking the vigorous Chehalis branch on a multigraft tree.  None of the Chehalis apples have been good, so far - cracked, mottled, bad spits, not much taste on the parts that were not discolored.  Yet, it's the most vigorous branch on the tree.

So, I'm reworking that branch with some other varieties.  The first is Pristine.  I salvaged the scion from a Pristine branch that had graft failure and broke off.

My grafting technique is rusty.  Plus, these are small caliper scions.  We'll see how they do.  These are all whip & tongue.  Apple is usually quite forgiving.  I used 1/2 inch wide strips, cut from freezer zip-lock bags, to firmly tie and splint the grafts.  Last year, that method had 100% success rate for me.  To cover the scion and it's cut end, I used 1/4 inch Parafilm.  I think thinner plastic might have bedn as good, but wanted to try it.

Apple Grafts.  Pristine.  3.9.19

Now it's wait and see.  I have a bunch more grafts to do in weeks to follow.