Experience with column fruit: advantages and disadvantages

Pick apples and pears from your own garden. Many would like that - but not everyone has enough space for the fruit trees with their lush crowns. The solution: columnar fruit trees! They grow slim and compact in height and enjoy increasing popularity. Many people ask themselves whether column fruit is worthwhile for your own garden. We have researched and gained various experiences from column fruit owners.

Column fruit

Column fruit makes cultivation easier with its narrow growth. So that even fruit growers are using pillar cultivation more and more often. But it is also suitable for the balcony in the bucket or as a hedge for separation in the garden. Whether apple, pear, cherry, plum or peach - almost everything that is available as a normal fruit tree is also offered in column form. Are you planning columnar fruit in your own garden and would like to read testimonials from other columnar fruit owners without having to go through various forums? Based on the experiences of various hobby gardeners, we have created a mood picture on the topic of columnar fruit with its advantages and disadvantages.

experience

Note: For reasons of better readability, small spelling errors (spaces, inverted letters, etc.) have been corrected in the quotations. The exact sources are linked under the specification of the respective forum.

care

Column fruit is characterized by its slim growth and the low cutting effort - at least in theory. But the columns cannot do without cutting either. Below you will find some experience reports on the growth, pruning, planting distance and fertilization of columnar fruit.

“My columnar apple trees (Bolero and Waltz) are in pots, so they are not as vigorous due to the limited root space. If freely planted, columnar trees will surely reach the dimensions specified by the breeder. Even if they stay slim by themselves or through appropriate pruning, they should not be planted too closely, as their roots need space. As far as I know, columnar apples are grafted on the same bases as low-growth varieties for espalier cultivation (e. B. M9). A distance of approx. 1 meter would be advisable. Column fruit is not so suitable as a privacy screen. "

Source: www.garten-pur.de, User: tapir, 08/18/2005

“[...] Pillar apples also have to be cared for.
Side shoots that are too strong should be cut to 10 cm stumps so that the trees do not lose their shape.
In the case of the side branches, the compressed growth and therefore the low height is no longer certain. "

Source: www.garten-pur.de, User: Asimina, January 9, 2006

“So far, genetically determined pillars have only been found in apples. Everything else is only cut like a column and only remains roughly in this shape with strong cuts. "

Source: www.garten-pur.de, User: carot, 11/28/2014

“I've had an apple pillar tree for 3 years.
If approx. 3km another apple tree is blooming then you don't need an additional one.
The harvest increases the older the tree gets, last year I had 15 apples, I think that's okay for such a small tree. "

Source: www.hausgarten.net, User: Stupsi, 04.03.2015

"[...] As it is right here, everything is advertised or advertised as a pillar tree. fruit sold that is NOT allowed to be called apple must be cut with a relatively radical cut linked, since in contrast to the apple [...] no other type of fruit naturally has a dwarf or columnar shape is growing.
There are just a few types of fruit that grow quite slender anyway and often enough simply have branches that grow very steeply upwards, which also ensures a certain optical slimness. Without cutting any (initial) column shape is definitely lost pretty quickly. "

Source: www.garten-pur.de, User: DerTigga, 11/27/2014

“Of course you have to cut more of the culture-related columns to keep them in shape. But for a gardener with body and soul who is in the garden every day anyway, that's not a problem. When a few branches need to be shortened a bit. But if you do that you can really enjoy the trees. "

Source: www.garten-pur.de, User: Pflanzen1x1, 02/04/2014

Yield

The harvest is probably the most discussed topic when it comes to column fruit. In the suppliers' catalogs, the little pillar trees hang bulging with large fruits. You can find out what the yield looks like in reality here.

"I have the following pillar trees: 2x apples, 1x cherry, 1x plum and since Monday also a 2nd. Pear variety
My experience after 2 years: really good snack fruit - except for the pear, all trees had already borne fruit in the first year. The pear had pears on top for the first time last year - some fell off in a storm and a large, beautiful fruit made it to ripening [...]. "

Source: www.gartenforum.de, User: Margit H., March 30, 2013

“Our columnar fruit - 2 apples and 2 pear trees - are not quite 1 meter apart.
The apple trees are now four years old and are more than abundant […]. The pear trees are 1 year old and each have approx. 8 pears attached.
We also have normal apple trees in the garden, but in comparison to the columnar apple, they don't bear much. "

Source: www.garten-pur.de, User: Diptam, 08/17/2005

“I think they are great too, especially for small areas, they are also easy to harvest, only the yield is of course not measurable with a real fruit tree. „

Source: www.hausgarten.net, User: Stupsi, 11/18/2016

“I also have an apple and a pear and both are very young, but the pear already had 8 pears in the first year of planting, which were stolen right away. […] And the apple 5 apples…. The bigger they get, the more there are. "

Source: www.hausgarten.net, User: Kapha, March 4th, 2015

“Two years ago we planted two columnar apples. They are now approx. 1.50 m high. One of them carried 22/23 apples. I must have trimmed the other one too much or too late.
If you only want to harvest a few apples, do not have a lot of space or want to do it for the children, such a tree is definitely suitable. He also needs care. "

Source: www.hausgarten.net, User: Lieschen M, October 17, 2013

"Hello,
I can't really say good things about earnings: our [Column cherry] has always been wearing quite abundantly for years, unfortunately they regularly rot before they become reddish. I think we had more than ever this year: 10 pieces "

Source: www.hausgarten.net, User: geissbock, 02.09.2013

“I have an apple tree and a pear tree.
Both are only 2 years old and are excellent for such small young trees.
Last year we had 28 apples on the apple and the pear had 12… ..without one of them having another columnar tree nearby… ..so without another pollinator. "

Source: www.gartenforum.de, User: Kapha, March 30, 2016

“I've had pillar apples for a year now, 3 of them. There is 1 apple, but the bloom was terrific. So I hope for the next year! "

Source: www.garten-pur.de, User: berta, 10.10.2005

"[...] The plum carried well last year (trees are only 3. Year), so that a large (large baking sheet thickly covered) delicious plum cake jumped out. […]“

Source: www.planten.de, User: Angel1903, 03/11/2008

“If you just want fruit for snacking, then I would advise you to use columnar fruit, because you can plant dozens of different varieties in a small space. The yield is low, but as I said, it's enough to snack on.
But if you z. B. If you want to pickle cherries or freeze them, you will not be happy with the pillars. Because with them, the yield is a few handfuls that are quickly plastered off. "

Source: www.parents.at, User: Nike89, March 10, 2014

“The 4 apples have plenty of fruit (15-20 each) in the first year and they taste good too.
Also no branch growth, so I didn't have to cut.
The column cherry Sylvia also carried well. Already ripe and tasty full-fleshed cherries in mid-June. One / all sweet cherries in the neighborhood were pollinated.
Also there hardly any branch growth, although there are no column cherries.
We do not regret the purchase. On the contrary... Super healthy, strong pillars that hang full of fruit, like in the glossy catalog. "

Source: www.garten-pur.de, User: minor, 08/11/2008

Varieties and tastes

The apple actually counts as a classic column fruit, and even there only a few selected varieties. But other types of fruit can also be used to raise the pillar. The taste of columnar fruit is said not to be very convincing. You can find out what experiences other column fruit gardeners have had here. It is well known that tastes are different.

 “I consider cherries to be the worst choice.
Really small varieties of it are not yet available. Even with the pears, this has probably not been the case.
It seems to work best with peaches and apples. "

Source: www.planten.de, User: Amur, March 16, 2008

“I advise you to only stick to columnar apples.
There are good columnar apples in various well-stocked tree nurseries, whether on site or online. […] Other good varieties are Rondo, Sonate and La Torre. I now advise against columns from the CATS series (Greencats, Redcats etc.), have had negative experiences with two trees in terms of both fruit and growth. I have had the first varieties such as Bolero or Flamenco for a year, but are no longer recommended because they don't seem to taste that good. From varieties such as Braeburn, Gala, Elstar, etc. as a column shape: Hands off!. These are not real pillars, but normal trees that [...] form side shoots. The same applies to alleged pillars of other types of fruit such as peach, plum, mirabelle plum, apricot, cherry, etc. "

Source: www.gartenforum.de, User: crocus, 04.03.2018

“I like the bolero. And the most important thing is that it lasts a long time. But it's all a matter of taste. "

Source: www.gartenforum.de, User: Michi1, 04.03.2018

“I have columnar apples, but I would never get any again. Especially the older column fruit varieties such as B. Bolero have hardly any taste. It is better to get a normal tree, where a variety is grafted on a weakly growing base, they do not get that big and you can also plant them in the tub. "

Source: www.garten-pur.de, User: Elch, 01/02/2006

“I bought myself a pillared apple this spring just for fun. Red River variety, planted in the flower borders.
Apparently very insensitive to many diseases.
That has actually been confirmed. Despite the unfavorable conditions (the mallow planted next to it was twice as high as the tree and robbed it of a lot of light), there was no scab or the like.
Of the numerous blossoms, one came through to an apple (the rest was frozen to death) that I was able to harvest the day before yesterday [...] It smells good.
Something for the first year.
Incidentally, growth was only a few centimeters and a cut of side shoots is not necessary as it is not available.
For now, it's actually ideal for someone who can neither (or does not want to) prune nor does anything else on the trees. "

Source: www.garten-pur.de, User: Amur, 10/13/2005

“In terms of taste, I like the best of the Suncats and Golden Gate columns from Starline. Suncats quickly grows to 3m and is easy to eat in September. Golden Gate will ripen later and will be with me until January. The taste of both varieties is sweet and sour and very aromatic and spicy. Golden Gate is more sweet than sour. Both apples grow as big as a Boskoop. "

Source: www.garten-pur.de, User: Apfelfreund, June 5, 2012

“[…] I think the main goal of selecting such varieties is columnar growth. Column growth AND taste, that's 2 lottery wins at once in breeding.
I haven't tried a columnar apple that I liked. I think it's an emergency solution in terms of taste for an actual decorative shape. "

Source: www.garten-pur.de, User: Mediterraneus, 11/27/2014

Advantages and disadvantages of column fruit

Classic column fruit trees convince with their easy-care pruning measures. But the disadvantage: this only includes a few apple varieties. Everything that is otherwise touted as column fruit, however, requires more complex care. Here is an overview of all the advantages and disadvantages of column fruit:

advantages

• low cutting effort with actual column fruit (apples)
• well suited as a sweet fruit
• space saving
• also suitable for balcony + terrace
• easy harvest
• as a pretty decoration with a great flower
• suitable for beginners

disadvantage

• actual columnar fruit only apples, everything else has to be kept in shape
• Cutting measures still necessary
• low yield
• Wear often only after 2-3 years
• Many providers take advantage of ignorance (for example, due to a lack of information on editing measures, photo manipulation)
• not convincing in terms of taste
• comparatively expensive

Conclusion

The experiences with column fruit are ambivalent. While some column owners have robust and relatively high-yielding trees in their garden, other gardeners have had bad experiences. Anyone who plays with the idea of ​​columnar fruit in the garden should find out more from the provider beforehand. Unfortunately, however, some catalogs show photomontages of bulging fruit pillars. Don't be fooled by this.
You should also be aware that the columnar shape is only used in some apple varieties (e. B. 'Goldcats',' Starcats' Rondo, Golden Gate or 'Redcats) is genetically determined. Everything else is only raised in the form of a column and needs a regular cut. The yield of column fruit is very low, but only exceeds conventional fruit trees in terms of mass per m². If you only want to have the sweet fruit as a snack in the garden, column fruit is definitely worth a try.