Today's columnar apple varieties are the result of careful selection of apple trees that naturally grow very slender and remain small. A few years ago there were only a few varieties, but today the selection is very large: from the sweet red-cheeked apple to the sour apple similar to the Red Boskoop, you will find the right apple for every taste here. However, remember to always plant several trees together: columnar apples are usually not self-pollinating.
The different types of columnar apples differ, among other things, in the color of their fruit
Attention when buying: Not every columnar apple is actually one
But before you happily reach for the first available pillared apple in your local garden center, take a good look at the plant label. Not everything that is called a "pillared apple" is actually one. On the contrary: sometimes the supposedly columnar growing variety is a completely normal apple tree, which is only kept slender through targeted pruning measures. If you stop pruning, it will develop normally and form a crown. Real columnar apples, on the other hand, can be recognized by these characteristics:
- grows stiffly upright
- forms no or hardly any side shoots
- only minor cutting measures necessary
- Flowers and fruits are attached directly to the trunk
- grows to a maximum height of about 400 centimeters
The best varieties
The first generation of columnar apples is also known as "Ballerina", they have quite dancing variety names such as 'Polka', 'Flamenco' or 'Bolero'. Today, however, these strains no longer compete with the new breeds in terms of taste, disease resistance and yield.
| variety | growth height | color | harvest time | Aroma | shelf life | particularities |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| RedRiver | 300-400cm | Red | September October | finely sour | Yes | self-fertile, high-yielding, resistant to fungi |
| Redcats | 300-400cm | Red | mid to late September | sweet and sour | small amount | hardy, resistant to many diseases |
| gold cats | 300-400cm | yellow | from mid-September | sweet and sour | Yes | hardy, resistant to many diseases |
| Starcats | 300-400cm | bright red | September to December | crisp sweet and sour | Yes | hardy, resistant to many diseases |
| berbat | 200-300cm | Red | mid-September to mid-November | mostly sweet | small amount | robust, prosperous |
| Black McIntosh | 300-400cm | dark red | mid-September to late November | juicy, mild | small amount | strikingly dark fruit colour |
| golden cheeks | up to 300 cm | Red Yellow | October | crisp, juicy, balanced | conditional | very slender growth |
| rhapsody | 300-400cm | Red Green | October- December | delicately sour, juicy | Yes | pretty tough |
| Jarle | 300-400cm | Red | September - November | crispy sweet | Yes | bears fruit in the first year |
| sonata | 300-400cm | Red Yellow | September-November | juicy, sweet | conditional | excellent taste |
| rondo | 300-400cm | green yellow | September-November | sour-sweet, juicy | conditional | resistant to many diseases |
| Jucunda | 300-400cm | flamed red | from the beginning of October | juicy, tart.-sweet | Yes | scab resistant |
tips
Like all apple trees, columnar apples prefer a sunny location. If the tree is too dark, it will form only a few flowers or even no flowers at all.