Apple Lobo

The Lobo apple tree, which belongs to winter varieties, began to be grown in Russia and Belarus in the seventies. The homeland of this variety is Canada, where the plant was bred by breeders at an experimental station. The hybrid was obtained on the basis of the Macintosh variety, whose homeland is America, which has very high external and taste qualities. Variety Mac has long been included in the diet for the nutrition of children, since it has positive characteristics and is used to prepare a large number of dishes.

The Lobo apple variety has taken positive properties from the parent plant and is considered very promising. It can be grown both in private plots and commercially. However, it should be noted here that the plant is not very popular among gardeners, despite all of its properties listed above.

Apple Lobo - characteristic

The variety is late winter and is distinguished by a stable harvest, as well as a large number of it. At the same time, the fruits are quite large, about 180 g of the weight of each fruit. Conical shape. The color of the peel is bright crimson. After the harvest is harvested, it becomes burgundy.

Apples have a thin, smooth skin with a pronounced waxy coating and prominent subcutaneous punctures. Each fruit has a wide funnel and a ribbed saucer. The apples are attached with a short stalk of small diameter. In addition to appetizing appearance, apples have an excellent taste, tolerate transportation well, but their shelf life does not exceed 3 months. At the same time, apples should be stored in a dark, cool room. The pulp is firm, very tender, with a lot of sweet juice. Has a pleasant, pronounced aroma.

Experts estimate the taste of apples at 4.8 points, which is almost the maximum rating. Each fruit contains a large amount of nutrients, including vitamin C, sugars, dry substances and acids.

The fruits are consumed fresh and used to make marshmallows, jams, added to baked goods, as a filling for pies, and so on.

Pollination

The tree is pollinated, and for its fruiting, other varieties of apple trees such as Spartak should be grown on the site, Orlik, Green May and others. If the listed varieties are not suitable for the climate of the region in which you live, you can use any apple variety that blooms at the same time as the fret variety. The trees should be planted at least 50 m apart for pollination to take place.

Apple Lobo - description

The tree is of medium height and grows vigorously in the first years after planting. The crown in this case has the shape of a cone. A maturing tree slows down the strength of growth, the crown gradually grows and becomes round.

Thus, the height of the tree does not exceed 4 m, the crown has a sparse shape, but needs timely pruning. The rest of the branches here have a dark brown shade of bark. The shape of the leaf blades is ovoid, the size of the leaves is large enough. The surface of the leaf plate is wrinkled and matte, and there is also a characteristic curl at the end.

Fruiting

One of the advantages of this variety is high yield rates. One tree can bear 200 kg of fruit.

There are three main factors here. This is intensity. The apple tree begins to bear fruit early and increases the yield very quickly.

Regularity as the fruits ripen annually. Moreover, if the summer turned out to be rainy, then the harvest ripens much more than in the dry season.

Winter resistance, so even if the winter is very cold, it does not affect the amount of the crop.

The fruits ripen at the same time, which makes harvesting easier. The tree begins to bear fruit already 2 or 3 years after planting.

If the plant is grown by the budding method, then the first fruits can be removed 6-7 years after budding. To prevent the branches from breaking under the weight of the fruits, it is imperative to put supports.

Since the plant is a winter variety, the fruits reach maturity already at the onset of the first frost. Experienced gardeners do not recommend waiting for the apples to turn raspberry, and begin to harvest the fruits a little earlier. Some of them take their harvest in early autumn.

Winter resistance

As mentioned above, the tree has a very high frost resistance. Thanks to this, the amount of the crop does not decrease even in a cold winter. Also, an adult tree does not need to be pre-cooked and insulated before the winter period.

In case of severe damage, the tree can quickly regenerate. This variety has low immunity to diseases such as powdery mildew and scab, common for apple trees. Therefore, in order for the culture to show its best qualities, preventive measures should be taken and the plant should be protected from these ailments.

Apple Lobo: planting and care

If you are planting several specimens, then a distance of at least 4 m between the seedlings should be observed.

The optimal time for planting will be autumn. It is necessary to pre-prepare the planting pit, into which the necessary fertilizers and lime are applied if the soil is too acidic.

It is important to be responsible for the choice of planting material. Examine its root system and remove damaged areas of the roots. After that, you should plant the seedling in a hole and be sure to water the tree abundantly and loosen the soil around it. It is better to cover a young tree before the winter period, protecting it from both frost and rodents. In the spring, nitrogen-containing preparations are introduced.

Like any tree, the apple tree needs to be pruned in time and its crown formed. This procedure should be done already in the first years of the plant's life. In subsequent years, rejuvenating pruning is carried out, while removing old, dry, frozen branches, as well as those branches that grow inside the crown.

Of the negative qualities of the apple tree, low resistance to scab and powdery mildew is noted, therefore, care consists in regular processing of the tree for medicinal purposes and for prevention.

Causes of weak tree growth

It so happens that the tree grows very slowly. There may be several reasons. Perhaps the groundwater is too high to the surface. In this case, plant the tree on a mound.

Also, the soil may contain an insufficient amount of nutrients, therefore, during planting, you need to add the necessary fertilizers and black soil.

Poor growth can be caused by a poor quality seedling. Therefore, when buying, you should pay attention that the roots and stem do not show signs of disease.

The apple tree is characterized by weak growth if the tree is not properly cared for. Here you should remove dried branches in time and whitewash the stem.

Types of varieties

The crop is recommended to be grown on a rootstock that is highly frost-resistant.

Dwarf rootstock. Here the tree will not grow higher than 3 m, and will differ in the compactness of the crown. Taking care of such a tree is easier, as well as harvesting.

Semi-dwarf rootstock. This type is recommended to grow for those who have small areas. Such a tree begins to bear fruit already two years after planting.

Columnar rootstock. An apple tree of this variety will be no more than 2 meters in height. In this case, there are no skeletal branches, and the fruits are formed immediately from the main trunk on the ringlets.

Shale stock.When using this rootstock, a high yield and high immunity to diseases are noted. In addition, such an apple tree will take up very little space, which is beneficial for gardeners with small areas.

Growing regions

The Lobo apple tree is actively grown in the Moscow region, since the climatic conditions of the region are very suitable for this variety. Also, the plant is popular in the Volga region. On the territory of Siberia and the Urals, the Lobo variety is also grown, but only on a shale rootstock.

Not very favorable conditions for the growth of culture in the Leningrad region, since it is characterized by poor soils and unfavorable climatic conditions. However, with proper care, some gardeners manage to grow this variety here as well.

The apple tree is actively grown on the territory of Ukraine and Belarus, since the region is characterized by black earth soils and a mild climate.

Conclusion

The Lobo apple variety has many advantages and is distinguished by excellent external and taste qualities of the fruit. Apples have a very bright hue and attractive appearance, therefore they are in great demand among gardeners and consumers.

However, it should be borne in mind that this plant also has some disadvantages: low immunity to common diseases, so the tree requires proper care. But, despite this, the variety is currently considered very promising and is beginning to be actively cultivated in Russia, Belarus and Ukraine.

Apple tree Lobo: reviews

Those gardeners who have already grown this apple variety on their site note that the tree begins to bear fruit very early, and has very high taste properties. You should only periodically treat the plant with fungicides, and also feed it on time.

Other gardeners note the high resistance to frost and praise the apple tree for not freezing even in very severe frosts.

Still others evaluate the appearance and taste of apple pulp, noting that children eat apples with great appetite.