The Giant Champion apple tree or simply “Champion” is in great demand in Poland and Germany. Basically, everyone is attracted by the wonderful taste and attractive color of the fruit. In addition, this variety has a number of other advantages. Most often, Champion apples are exported to us from Poland. From there they are imported to other European countries. Increasingly, this variety is found on the plots of Russian gardeners, where “Champion” apples grow and develop no less productively. This article will discuss the description of the champion apple tree variety, photos and reviews.
Description of the Champion apple tree variety
The Champion apple tree is a medium-sized variety. An adult tree reaches a height of up to 4 m. The oval, ovoid crown is formed by densely leafy, moderately developed shoots extending from the trunk at an angle of 50-70 °. In spring, the tree is covered with numerous flowers, and in autumn, juicy orange-red fruits appear.
Main differences of the variety:
- The Champion apple tree is a fast-growing variety. The first fruits are harvested 3 years after planting. If the Champion variety was grafted onto a dwarf rootstock, then the harvest appears the next year.
- Champion is an early winter variety; technical maturity occurs in mid-September.
- The Champion variety has average frost resistance, so in regions with little snow and cold winters, it is necessary to cover not only the trunk, but also the base branches.
- The champion rarely suffers from powdery mildew and is moderately resistant to scab. To avoid serious problems, preventive measures are necessary.
- Before planting a seedling, the gardener must understand that the plant grows in one place for about 100 years. Therefore, you need to properly prepare and choose a place.
Growing in regions
Regardless of the region, apple trees of this variety are recommended to be planted on the south side of the site; it is advisable to take care of protection from the winds.
Attention! Long-term fruiting is affected by swampy soil.
Moscow region
Here, growing the Champion variety is quite successful , but you have to resort to additional measures to be on the safe side: for the winter, the tree trunk must be wrapped in burlap, roofing felt or other insulating materials. Young seedlings and old trees are more susceptible to freezing, so wrapping one- or two-year-old plantings is simply necessary.
Southern Urals
In the Southern Urals, the Champion variety of all subspecies grows without additional means of protection , but the further north you go, the more problematic it is to preserve the tree. Ural gardeners have included in the top ten most popular varieties.
The Champion apple tree is successfully grown in the Southern Urals.
Ukraine
In Ukraine, Champion is also at the peak of popularity. The growing conditions are close in characteristics to the basic breeding conditions due to being at the same latitude with Poland, therefore all clones and subspecies of the variety successfully bear fruit.
Belarus
In Belarus, apples of Polish varieties have taken root, are grown in nurseries and are distributed throughout the surrounding regions. The Champion variety is also an honored leader among amateur and professional gardeners.
Variety varieties
After the Champion apple tree was bred, scientists decided to improve the variety. As a result of painstaking work, the Champion had several doubles. These include Champion Renault, Arno, Giant, dwarf, semi-dwarf and columnar species.
Apple Giant Champion
The description of the Champion Giant apple tree variety is very similar to the parent one. The tree is medium-sized, forms an ovoid crown. With proper care, the fruit reaches up to 0.5 kg in weight. The variety is resistant to minor drought and has immunity to diseases. The apple tree has a high yield, which is why the Champion Giant variety is grown on an industrial scale.
Apple tree Champion Renault
The Champion Reno variety has good cold resistance and can withstand frosts down to -30°C without shelter. The description of the Champion Reno apple tree shows the advantages of the variety. In mid-September, the densely leafy wide crown forms bright fruits weighing up to 160 g. The pulp is dense, juicy with a dessert taste. The apple tree was bred by crossing the Novakovsky and Reitman species.
Apple tree Champion Arno
Champion Arno is a tall variety. At the beginning of autumn, large bright apples ripen on the tree. The fruits of the Arno variety contain a lot of sugar, making them sweet, but not cloying. Since the tree is not capable of fully pollinating on its own, pollinating varieties must be nearby.
History of selection
This variety of apple tree was bred in 1970 at the experimental station in Holovousy (Czech Republic) by breeders who crossed the widely cultivated Golden Delicious in the world and Renet Orange Cox. The resulting “Champion” quickly gained popularity in the industrial fruit market of Western Europe, in particular Poland and Germany, as well as the eastern part of the continent.
In the photo - “Golden Delicious” (left) and “Renet Orange Cox” (right), which served as the initial forms when creating a hybrid variety
Currently, Poland remains the main exporter of “Champion” to European countries.
Despite the abundant and regular yield, high marketable and consumer qualities of the fruit, the variety has not yet received official registration in the State Register of the Russian Federation. Over the past decades, tests of this apple tree have been regularly carried out in regions with warm climates. Due to low winter hardiness, “Champion” demonstrates the best results in the North Caucasus region and Central Russia , in natural zones of forest-steppe and steppe, southern Polesie in Ukraine, and in most regions of Belarus.
In the post-Soviet space, various nurseries and agricultural companies sell planting material for the Champion apple tree.
Many sellers distribute seedlings under all sorts of names, for example “Champion Renault”, “Champion Arno”, “Champion Red”, etc., passing them off as clones of a given variety with improved characteristics - sweeter taste, intense color, large apple size.
It is important to understand that promising advertising descriptions in real life most often disappoint gardeners. Don’t rely on nurseries that are far away and markets where you can buy a “pig in a poke.” The productivity of trees and the quality indicators of fruits, like any other crop, in practice depend on the soil and climatic characteristics of the region, weather factors and competent agricultural technology.
You can learn more about the features of “Champion” and its clones in a video prepared by specialists from one of the Belarusian fruit plant nurseries:
Pros and cons of the variety
The Champion apple tree, like other varieties, has its positive and negative qualities. The advantages include:
- beautiful appearance and aromatic juicy pulp;
- precociousness;
- high and stable yield;
- drought resistance;
- immunity to diseases.
The Champion apple tree has few disadvantages, but they do exist:
- average cold resistance;
- partial self-pollination;
- without proper care, a bacterial burn appears.
Care
Proper care will help you grow a healthy tree that will delight you with its appearance and good harvests.
Watering
An adult Champion apple tree can tolerate a short-term lack of moisture, but a long period of drought greatly harms the tree. Young trees planted in spring need to be watered more often than older plants. This is necessary for the normal development of the root system. Be sure to include one watering per week in your watering schedule. But be sure to take into account natural precipitation, because stagnation of water in the roots can be harmful.
Young plants should be watered more often than older ones
For an adult Champion, 4-5 moisturizers per season are enough. Each tree needs 20–30 liters of water. Watering is best done in the evening. With age, the number of waterings is reduced, but the amount of liquid is increased, adding 1 bucket of water for each year of life.
To ensure that water is evenly absorbed and moisturizes the soil to the proper depth, it is best to divide the process into 2 steps - morning and evening.
Periods when the apple tree needs moisture:
- before flowering begins;
- after flowering;
- until the first fall of the ovary;
- during the period of fruit filling.
Planting and caring for an apple tree
To grow a rich harvest, you must initially choose the right seedling and prepare the planting site. Timely care also plays an important role, which includes watering, fertilizing and pruning.
Selection and preparation of a landing site
The Champion apple tree grows in one place for about 100 years. Therefore, the choice of site must be approached with all responsibility.
The planting area should be well lit and located on the south, southwest or southeast side. To prevent the apple tree from being damaged by strong winds, it is better to plant it next to buildings or a solid, high fence.
Advice! When grown in the shade, the Champion apple tree will produce a small harvest of sour and small fruits.
The champion grows well on light, nutritious soil. The variety will not develop on acidic, cold, swampy soil with groundwater depths of less than 1.5 m.
Before planting, the area is cleared of stones, weeds and other plant debris. The soil is prepared in September, regardless of planting time.
- To plant an apple tree, the hole must be 60 cm deep and half a meter in diameter.
- The excavated soil is mixed with rotted humus, superphosphate, potassium chloride and wood ash. If the soil is heavy, you can add river sand. Mix everything thoroughly.
- Fill the planting hole with the prepared soil and spill it generously.
- In a month, the soil will be enriched with mineral and organic fertilizers and will be ready to accept a young seedling.
Seedling preparation
It is better to purchase high-quality apple tree seedlings from trusted suppliers or nurseries. In order for the plant to take root safely and begin to grow and develop intensively, it is necessary to adhere to certain recommendations:
- Buy 2-year-old seedlings. The age of a tree can be determined by the number of branches: annual plants do not have them, 2-year-old seedlings have 3-5 formed branches.
- The trunk must be straight, without mechanical damage or signs of infection.
- The bark is elastic and non-wrinkled. When purchasing, you need to carefully separate a piece of bark; healthy tissue should have a bright green color.
- A healthy seedling has a developed, fibrous root system, with three main branched roots.
- You should not purchase a young tree if the roots have lost their elasticity, there are breakages and signs of rot, growths and swellings.
- The grafting site should not have swelling or damage.
Important! If a seedling with an open root system is purchased, then before planting the roots are shortened by 10 cm.
Planting a Champion apple tree
The Champion apple tree can be planted in spring and autumn. Spring planting is carried out from late April to mid-May, before sap flow begins. Over the summer period, the seedling will take root, grow stronger and easily withstand the winter cold.
Autumn planting is done a month before the onset of frost. In 30 days, the plant will take root safely and overwinter under cover.
Planting technology:
- Before planting, bare-rooted seedlings are soaked for 24 hours in warm water.
- The soil is removed from the prepared planting site, leaving only a small mound.
- The root system of the seedling is carefully straightened.
- The prepared plant is placed on a mound so that the roots are freely located on the sides of the mound.
- The hole is gradually filled with fertile soil, compacting each layer to avoid the appearance of an air cushion.
- The top layer is shed generously and mulched.
- To prevent the young plant from becoming deformed during intensive growth, it is tied to a support.
Important! For a properly planted seedling, the root collar should rise 5 cm above the ground surface.
To facilitate care and harvesting, the distance between trees should be at least 2 m.
To obtain a generous harvest, you must follow the rules of care, which include regular watering, fertilizing and timely pruning.
Watering and fertilizing
The Champion apple tree is a drought-resistant variety, but a long period without watering can harm the plant and affect the quality of the fruit. For good growth, development and fruiting, the apple tree needs to be irrigated several times a season. A young seedling planted in spring needs weekly watering if the weather is dry and warm.
An adult apple tree is watered only in hot, rainy summer conditions. One specimen contains 2-3 liters of settled water. With age, watering decreases, but the volume increases by 10 liters every year. To ensure that the liquid is evenly absorbed into the soil, watering is carried out in the morning and evening.
The Champion apple tree cannot do without abundant watering:
- before and after flowering;
- during fruit development;
- during ripening;
- before preparing for winter.
The last irrigation will increase soil heat transfer and protect the root system from severe frosts.
Watering is carried out with settled water in ring holes. To prevent the formation of an earthen crust, after watering the tree trunk circle is loosened to a depth of 5 cm and mulched. Mulch will retain moisture, get rid of weeds and serve as an additional organic fertilizer. Dry straw, peat, fir cones and needles are used as mulch.
Fertilizing plays an important role in obtaining a rich harvest. If the seedling is planted in fertile soil, then the first fertilizer is applied 3 years after planting. The Champion apple tree is very responsive to alternating mineral and organic fertilizing. Nutrition can be applied at the root or on the leaves. Each supplement has its own dosage and indications.
Root feeding is carried out several times per season:
- At the beginning of spring, before the buds open, 1 bucket of humus or 100 g of urea is laid out around the perimeter of the tree trunk.
- During the flowering period, one fruiting tree requires 160 g of potassium sulfate, 200 g of superphosphate and 1 liter of bird droppings. Mix everything thoroughly and leave to infuse. After 7 days, the tree is watered generously, fertilized and irrigated again.
- During fruit filling, 200 g of nitrophoska and 4 g of powdered sodium humate are diluted in 30 liters of warm water. Fertilizing is carried out after abundant watering.
- After harvesting, phosphorus-potassium fertilizer is used, for this you can use wood ash.
Foliar feeding is applied as an addition, very carefully so as not to cause leaf burn.
- After flowering, the Champion apple tree is sprayed with a solution prepared from 1 liter of Bordeaux mixture and 3 g of urea.
- During fruit formation, 20 g of potassium sulfate is diluted in a bucket of warm water. Treatment is carried out after sunset or early in the morning. In hot, dry summers, so as not to burn the leaves, the solution is made weaker.
Trimming
The timely formation of the crown is of no small importance for the Champion apple tree. Thanks to the correct procedure, the apple tree will receive more sunlight, which will have a positive effect on the taste and size of the fruit. Crown formation begins immediately after planting the seedling:
- To form a trunk, all vegetation is removed from the apple tree at a height of 50 cm from the ground.
- To form the lower level of skeletal branches, 3 developed shoots are selected, growing at a distance of 15 cm from each other. Shoots of the first level are shortened by 1/3 of the length, the guide should rise 15-20 cm above the tier. All excess is removed under the ring.
- The next year, branches of the second tier are formed. They should be located at a distance of half a meter from the lower tier. For level 2, 2-3 strong, healthy branches are selected and shortened by 1/3 of the length.
- After reaching the required height, the conductor is shortened to a side shoot.
It is also necessary to promptly remove branches growing vertically and deep into the crown. Don't forget about sanitary pruning. In early spring and autumn, get rid of damaged and dry shoots.
Advice! People say that a properly formed apple tree should have branches at such a distance that a sparrow could fly through them.
Preparing for winter
The Champion apple tree is a variety with average frost resistance, so it needs protection from the cold. This is especially true for young specimens and when growing apple trees in regions with an unstable climate.
Preparation for winter is carried out in several stages:
- Sanitary pruning - remove broken and dry branches under the ring.
- Fallen leaves and rotten fruits are removed from around the trunk.
- The apple tree is treated with a copper-containing solution.
- The tree trunk circle is fed with phosphorus-potassium fertilizers and shed abundantly. The earth is mulched.
- The trunk and skeletal branches are wrapped in spruce branches or breathable material.
Harvest and storage
In order for apples to be well preserved, ripe fruits must be picked on time. If you delay harvesting, the fruit will quickly lose its taste and be poorly stored.
When harvesting, do not throw apples into the basket, but carefully place them to avoid damage. Sort the fruits, putting spoiled ones aside. You need to collect them during the warm part of the day - after noon. And of course, in dry weather. On the south side, apples ripen earlier. Start removing from the lower branches and gradually work your way up to the top. An apple picked with its stem will last longer.
After picking, Champion apples should sit for about 2 weeks - then they will acquire their true taste
The apple should sit for about 2 weeks, accumulate sugar, and ripen. Only after this the magnificent taste of the fruit will truly reveal itself.
The Champion's transportability is at an average level. The fruits must be well packed. If you are selling apples of this variety, it is advisable to sell the products immediately after picking.
Champion makes wonderful juice, compotes, and jams. Those who like to do some magic in the kitchen can make marshmallows or marmalade. Dried apples are perfectly preserved.
Champion apple juice is very tasty
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