Be careful when buying: not every columnar apple is actually one
But before you reach for the first available columnar apple in your local garden center, beaming with joy, take a good look at the plant label. Not everything that is called a "pillared apple" is actually one. Quite the opposite: Sometimes the supposedly columnar growing variety is a completely normal apple tree that is only kept slim through targeted pruning measures. If you stop cutting, it will develop normally and form a crown. You can recognize real columnar apples by these features:
- grows upright
- develops little or no side shoots
- only minor cutting measures necessary
- Flowers and fruits sit directly on the trunk
- becomes a maximum of about 400 centimeters high
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The best varieties
The first generation of columnar apples is also known as “ballerina”, they have quite dance-like names like 'Polka', 'Flamenco' or 'Bolero'. Today, however, these varieties are no longer in competition with the new varieties in terms of taste, disease resistance and yield.
| variety | Stature | colour | Harvest time | Aroma | Shelf life | particularities |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Red River | 300 - 400 cm | red | September October | finely sour | Yes | self-fertile, abundant, fungus-resistant |
| Redcats | 300 - 400 cm | red | Mid to late September | sweet and sour | low | robust, resistant to many diseases |
| Gold cats | 300 - 400 cm | yellow | from mid-September | sweet and sour | Yes | robust, resistant to many diseases |
| Starcats | 300 - 400 cm | bright red | September to December | crispy, sweet and sour | Yes | robust, resistant to many diseases |
| Berbat | 200 - 300 cm | red | Mid-September to mid-November | mostly sweet | low | robust, sufficiently bearing |
| Black McIntosh | 300 - 400 cm | dark red | Mid-September to the end of November | juicy, mild | low | noticeably dark fruit color |
| Gold cheeks | up to 300 cm | Red Yellow | October | crisp, juicy, balanced | conditionally | very slim growth |
| rhapsody | 300 - 400 cm | Red Green | October-December | delicately sour, juicy | Yes | pretty tough |
| Jarle | 300 - 400 cm | red | September - November | crisp and sweet | Yes | fruit in the first year |
| sonata | 300 - 400 cm | Red Yellow | September-November | juicy, sweet | conditionally | great taste |
| rondo | 300 - 400 cm | green yellow | September-November | sour-sweet, juicy | conditionally | resistant to many diseases |
| Jucunda | 300 - 400 cm | red-flamed | from the beginning of October | juicy, sour-sweet | Yes | scab-resistant |
Tips
Like all apple trees, columnar apples also prefer a sunny location. If the tree is too dark, it will produce few or no flowers.
