Columnar
apple trees have been created to allow them to grow in smaller
growing areas. Columnar apple trees look like bottle brushes,
as they grow straight up and have a very small branch length.
Mature columnar apple trees average eight to ten feet tall
and only about two feet wide. They can grow and produce healthy
fruit for about twenty years. At this time, only columnar
apple trees exist, but growers are working on making columnar
versions of several other types of fruit, including pears
and peaches.
Columnar
apple trees have many advantages to the home gardener over
their full sized counterparts. First, they are smaller than
semi-dwarf trees, and can therefore be grown in a smaller
area. They can work well as potted plants, making them very
portable. Columnar apple trees are also early producers, and
will possibly grow fruit on their first year.
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are some drawbacks to growing columnar apple trees. Since
they are smaller, the amount of fruit produced by columnar
apple trees is less than is produced by semi-dwarf trees.
The fruit is full size, and therefore some thinning may be
required for the tree to be able to support the weight. Another
drawback to growing columnar apple trees is that they are
much more expensive than regular apple trees. The extra work
that goes into creating them can make them cost up to twice
as much.
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