Florina apple variety is familiar to every Russian - these are the most beautiful dark red apples we often buy in stores. Excellent taste and commercial characteristics of the fruit make this variety very popular not only for industrial, but even for amateur cultivation.
variety description
The Florina apple variety is characterized by small fruits - each weighing about 120 G, with a dense skin, pronounced subcutaneous white dots. The flesh of the apples is light yellow, soft, sweet, fragrant. The ripening period is autumn - September - October.
Every apple tree, who has reached 10 years of age, able to give close 60 kg of fruit. Despite such mediocre yields, the variety is considered industrial, as marketable qualities and durability of apples more than compensate for low yields. Florina fruits are used mainly fresh, or processed to obtain juice.
Main characteristics
- fruits of medium size, bright red, round shape;
- flesh light yellow, sweet, with a weak acidity (for this reason, there are sometimes conflicting reviews about the taste characteristics - some find these apples fresh);
- fruits of medium size, close 120 g each, late ripening;
- shelf life is high - under optimal conditions, apples are quite capable of reaching the next summer;
- the description of the variety indicates high resistance of apples to pests or pathogenic microorganisms.
Growing and care
Florina prefers chernozem, possibly with a small admixture of clay. This variety is vital formative pruning - without this procedure, a lush crown can create optimal conditions for the development of fungal diseases, due to high humidity and shading. Only that gardener can get a rich harvest, which is not lazy to provide fruit trees frequent, abundant watering, and especially in dry summers. With the advent of winter, despite rather high indicators of frost resistance, it is better to insure, and cover the root rosette of apple trees with fallen leaves - this will protect the tree from possible freezing.
Harvesting and storage
You can harvest fragrant apples from Florina in late September. If the weather conditions in the summer were not the most favorable, ripening may shift slightly - in the first half of October. But consumer maturity occurs in apples until about January - that's when they become especially fragrant.
Diseases and pests
Florina variety has a high threshold of scab resistance - trees rarely suffer from this disease. Gardeners also note the average level of resistance to powdery mildew - if you do not forget to carry out preventive spraying with fungicides, then this problem will pass your garden. If we talk about pests, then the main danger to apple trees is the fruit eater, aphids and apple moth. Well-known means will come in handy here: copper sulfate and Bordeaux liquid. Do not forget about rodents, who like to feast on the bark of fruit trees in winter - be sure to wrap the trunks of apple trees with a protective material: mesh or roofing material, so that hares or mice could not reach the delicate bark. It will be useful to whitewash the trunk before winter.
Pros and cons
The undoubted strengths of the variety include the high consumer qualities of the fruit, high resistance to scabies, the average level of other diseases, excellent shelf life of apples, good yields. The relative disadvantages include only non-periodic fruiting and high demand for trees to care.
As you can see, Florina is definitely worth growing in your garden: thanks to even one such tree, you will be able to provide your family with a significant supply of tasty and healthy apples, which you can enjoy until next summer.
Video "Florina apple tree variety"
In this video you will hear a description of the Florina apple tree.