Apple variety Royalty (decorative)

Royalty is an original variety of decorative apple trees. It is one of the hybrid forms of the purple apple tree, derived from the Central Asian apple tree of Nedzvetsky. This apple tree is widely used in landscape design of private gardens and households, public parks and squares: in single, group and alley plantings, when creating "hedges", seasonal compositions, contrasting tree and shrub groups etc. Often planted in front of the facades of office buildings.

The trees are small, with slow growth rates, their maximum height does not exceed 4 - 6 meters (by the age of 10, apple trees grow up to 3 - 4 meters). Sometimes the trees take the form of an ornamental shrub. The crown is oval and reaches a diameter of 4 - 5 meters, at a young age it is more compact, but over time it becomes wider and spreading. If the crown is not trimmed at all, then gradually it takes the form of an irregular oval or ball.

The leaves are narrowed, with a glossy surface, pubescent, elliptical or oblong-ovoid, up to 8 - 12 cm long, very beautiful dark purple (purple) color. By the autumn season, the leaves become a little lighter and acquire a rich red (crimson) color, without losing their decorative effect. With full foliage of trees, the leaf blade can retain a purple color only from below, and from above it becomes dark green. But this fact does not spoil the appearance of trees at all, but on the contrary, makes the crown very peculiar and attractive.

Blossoming at the Royalty apple tree is very plentiful, begins in early May and lasts about 2 weeks (i.e. until the middle of the month). During this period, the trees literally mesmerize with their extraordinary beauty. In a very dry and hot climate, flowers can fade rather quickly, and the total flowering period is reduced to 2 - 4 days. The buds are large, deep dark red. The flowers are numerous, large in size (2.5 - 3.5 cm in diameter), unusually fragrant, ruby ​​or crimson-red, are kept on thin, white-tomentose peduncles, which further distinguishes the trees from the total mass of flowering apple trees. At the beginning of autumn, fruits of a small size (slightly smaller than cherry berries), slightly oblong, dark red in color with a gray waxy bloom are formed from the flowers. They usually ripen in mid-September and are kept on long stalks. It is important to note that the resulting "cherry berries" of a bitter spicy taste UNEADY and sometimes can even cause acute food poisoning when consumed directly. This fact must be taken into account, especially if small children are growing up in the family. Also curious is the fact that some owners make cider from these fruits.

The Royalty variety is frost-resistant, wind- and drought-resistant. In the conditions of a long harsh winter, flower buds of apple trees may freeze slightly. Powdery mildew resistance is good. Scab resistance is not very high, therefore, it is required to regularly carry out preventive treatment against this disease. Apple trees tolerate urban conditions well (high level of dustiness, gas pollution, soil salinity, etc.).

Trees perform their decorative function during the entire vegetative period (spring - autumn). The basic care for the ornamental Royalty apple trees is the same as for ordinary fruit apple trees. In general, the variety is unpretentious. For planting, it is preferable to choose sunny or semi-shaded areas, since Royalty belongs to the light-loving varieties (with sufficient sunlight, the color of the leaves and fruits is more intense).Trees are undemanding to soils, but medium loams, rich sandy loams, fertile and moderately moist soils are still recommended.