Having your own garden is a real joy, because in the house there will always be fresh fruit, home preserves, juices and jams. In this article we will tell in detail about the sort of apple tree called "Arkadik". These apples are very sweet, for which they are very popular. In addition, the variety is characterized by winter hardiness, abundant fruiting and picky in care. This article should help you grow a healthy tree in your garden.
Inference history
Variety "Arkadik" was bred by technology. He became an improved form of varieties "Arcade" and "Antonovka." Its main differences are noticeable in a larger form of fruit, as well as in resistance to the harsh Russian winters. For this work, we are grateful to Viktor Kichin, a scientist and doctor of biological sciences, who was engaged not only in apple cultivation, but also in general in increasing the winter resistance of various fruit plants, their taste, breeding larger sizes, and also made successful attempts to increase the resistance of fruit to pests. and diseases.
Did you know? Victor Kichina devoted more than 30 years to the study of winter-hardy apple trees, organized about 12 expeditions to search for the most frost-resistant varieties and passed on his knowledge to next generations.
Description and varietal features
Will consider variety description and distinctive appearance apple trees "Arkadik". 
Wood
The tree grows rather quickly, reaching a height of 2 to 4 m, even the decorative types of “Arkadika” are quite high. The crown of this tree has a round shape, a little bit tapering at the top, and in itself grows strongly in breadth. The variety does not have a special pomp, has thick branches with frosted rounded and pointed at the ends of the leaves, located sparsely. Color of foliage - bright green, juicy. Such features of the appearance of the tree allow the apple to be resistant to weather conditions.
Fruits
As already noted, the variety has rather large fruits weighing from 120 to 210 g.
Did you know? "Arkadik" can bear fruit weighing up to 340 g.
The shape of the apples is slightly oblong, flat. Color "Arcade" light, slightly greenish, but has a beautiful blush with a strip. Often this blush becomes bright red, which makes the fruit very attractive in appearance. Very convenient and the fact that the peel of the fruit is quite thin, and the taste of this variety is sweet with a light, barely perceptible acidity. Inside the apple is very juicy, oily, slightly soft with a fine grain. Having bitten off "Arkadik", it is necessary to note this pronounced aroma. 
Variety begins to bear fruit in the third year after planting. Collect with one tree can be up to 220 kg of fruitand you have to do this every year in August. When the fruits ripen, they immediately fall to the ground, so you can not pull for a long time with the harvest. Store fruit can be no longer than 30 days.
Did you know? Variety "Arkadik" is not terrible frost at -25 ° C.
What to look for when choosing seedlings
The selection of seedlings is a rather important procedure. Therefore, it is better to arm yourself with useful knowledge in this matter. On the market you can find seedlings of different ages: from 1 to 3 years.
Which is better to take? Stop at a younger plant and do not pay attention to its appearance, because you will not be intimidated by the fact that the one-year-old will look much smaller and not so powerful compared to a three-year-old plant. Therefore, the ideal option would be a one-year or two-year-old apple tree. When transporting a seedling, be sure to wrap its roots in a wet rag, and leave it in water for a few hours before planting. 
Important pay attention to the roots: they should look healthy, without any bulges in different places. Do not be afraid to ask the seller to check and bark. Cutting it in one place, you should see a healthy green inside, without brown stripes. These bands suggest that the plant was frozen over last winter.
And the last tip is choosing a place to buy. Saplings of different varieties are difficult to distinguish from each other even by an experienced gardener. Therefore, you should give preference to proven specialized points or shops. Today there are entire departments for gardeners in hypermarkets of building materials. In such places, you just will not be deceived. In addition, technologies allow you to find Internet resources where you can place an order with the delivery of seedlings to your city.
Read the description and features of cultivating the varieties "Wonderful", "Starkrimson", "Aport", "Red Chief", "Rozhdestvenskoe", "Orlinka", "Zvezdochka", "Papirovka", "Screen", "Pepin saffron", " Champion, Sunny, Candy, Melba.
Choosing a place on the site
The apple tree, although not fastidious to the soil, still cannot be fed from the soil already “squeezed” by other plants. So you need to select a place based on its past: the ideal will be the soil on which nothing has grown for several years. Also, make sure that the tree receives enough sunlight and is not in a constant draft.
Preparatory work
Your sapling - as a baby, should come to an already prepared location, where he can settle down, grow and delight you with his fruits. Therefore, it is important to pay attention to the choice of a place and its preparation for the arrival of a sapling. 
Site preparation
Land for planting an apple tree is better to choose in advance. Best fit lighted location, no drafts, spacious and clean. Recall that you should choose the soil on which nothing has grown for a long time, so the apple tree can be fed with nutrients from rich soil. Pre-clean the area from weeds, mow the grass, remove debris.
Seedlings preparation
The seedlings during transportation must be treated very carefully so as not to give the tree one more stress. Before you plant a variety of "Arkadik" in the pit, you need to hold the plant for several hours in ordinary water.
Step-by-step process of planting seedlings
Planted this variety can be the same as other varieties of apple trees. Therefore, if you already have such experience, then there will be no particular difficulties with the landing pattern.
One of the advantages of this type is in the choice of soil, since absolutely any soil composition will suit it. Of course, with good fertilizer, the plant will feel even better, giving its harvest on time.
The first step is to mark the place where you are going to plant the Arkadik apple tree, especially if you have several seedlings prepared at once. Remember that the distance between trees should be at least 5 m. 
The dimensions of the square holes are as follows:
- depth 70 cm;
- sides of 80 cm
Important! If you decide to fertilize and the bottom of the fossa, then fertilizer (nutshell, compost, wood ash) must be left in it for a week before planting.
Now, when the plant is already sitting in the soil, in a circle you need to make a low ditch and pour abundantly on the seedling with clean water. When the earth shows its shrinkage, it is necessary to fill this difference. Now, so that the moisture does not evaporate quickly, around the seedling the soil is mulched with peat.
The most important point is landing dates. The ideal time of the year will be early autumn (September, early October) and spring (April) periods.
Seasonal care features
Like other fruit trees, the Arkadik variety needs care, watering, pruning and other seasonal work to ensure its active growth.
Soil care
In the first year of his life, the sapling must be watered. 2 times a month. An adult plant in the hot season is watered every 3 or 4 weeks. Water volume - 3 buckets. Frequent watering up to 2 times a month is necessary in the presence of light soils. After watering the soil is mulched with peat. As already noted, this will provide low and weak evaporation of moisture and keep it in the roots of the tree longer. An adult tree is also watered according to the standard scheme: the first time they do it at a time when the buds begin to swell, then - after the apple tree blooms after 3 weeks, and the last time should fall 3 weeks before harvest.
Important! If you do watering while the fruit is ripening, you can get cracks in the apples and a bad harvest.
To loosen the soil should be as needed, but quite often. This process will allow the earth to absorb more moisture and transfer it to the roots.
In the necessary order, it is important to remove the weeds and cut too high grass around the tree, as well as to remove fallen leaves. 
Top dressing
If the apple tree ceased to grow rapidly in the first 3 years, its leaves change color to yellow, and the fruits do not begin to form - then you have all the signs that the tree lacks nutrients. They can be brought in the form of fertilizers.
There are 2 types of feeding:
- organic - is made every year in the spring without fail (manure, compost);
- mineral - such substances can harm the plant if they are introduced in large quantities, which makes it necessary to be especially careful with them (nitrogen, potassium, phosphoric substances).
In the early years, the plant can be fertilized with minerals: in the spring it is done with ammonium nitrate, and in the fall you can add phosphorus and potash supplements. Also, mineral fertilizers are suitable for feeding in the period after harvest, to prepare for winter.
Important! Abundant fertilizer in the period before winter leads to the fact that the tree begins to activate its growth, and therefore its resistance to frost can greatly weaken. It is better not to make such a mistake, in order not to kill the tree.
Preventive spraying
It is important to remember that a plant, no matter how well you fertilize its underground part, may be affected by diseases and small pests. In order to protect the apple tree, you need to carry out preventive spraying. So you will get rid of problems with diseases and the harvest will get rather big. For this process, suitable chemical and biological substances, which contain copper sulphate. 
Spraying needs to be done several times.. The first approach is carried out at a time when the buds have not yet formed on the tree, the second - before the first flowers appear, the third time - after the flowers fall. The fourth spraying should be at the time when you proceed to the lubrication solution of the trunk of the tree. Here it is better to choose a drug containing phosphorus and potassium. The first and third spraying should be done using tools that can be found in a specialty store.
Learn how and how to handle an apple tree in spring and autumn.
Pruning
Already one year after disembarkation apple trees can be made first pruning. But if the planted tree is still weak, then it is better to postpone the cutting and postpone the procedure for another 12 months, as there is a chance to cause great harm to the immature tree.
Important! Remove thin branches need pruners, and thick - file the file. It is important that the blade is clean and well sharpened, otherwise it can severely damage the bark of the tree, which will cause rotting or infection of diseases.
If everything is good with your seedling, then start pruning in early spring, when the frosts just fall. Remember that the tree should not yet fully wake up from a winter sleep and sap on the branches, otherwise pruning the tree will only bring illness in the future. The first thing you notice is the branches that grow and intertwine, thicken the crown, grow too close to each other, are directed downwards or towards the trunk. Also removed the top of the tree. Now look at the trunk and noticeably large branches departing from it - if young thin twigs appeared here, then they should also be carefully cut. Look further along the twigs and find a fork in their ends - the lower branch must be cut off. Pay attention to the frozen branches when pruning in the spring.
Important! Smear damaged areas can only be oily solutions. The treatment itself should be carried out only 24 hours after pruning of young branches, while, as the removal of old branches requires immediate disinfection.
In the fall, this procedure is carried out in order to get rid of dried branches, cracked and rotten. It is better to choose the period of late autumn, when the onset of the first frost is expected.
Many are concerned about how often such a procedure can be carried out. The first 2-3 years, the formation of the crown of an apple tree is simply a necessary procedure, since during this period the tree grows very strongly. When the period of fruiting begins, active growth stops, and the tree gives all its strength to grow fruits. Now for 3-5 years you need to suspend the process of abundant pruning. Your task is only to maintain the crown of live and active branches, removing dried and rotten. 
Key pruning goal - to give the ground for the formation of a beautiful, beautiful crown, as well as to allow all branches, buds and fruits to obtain the necessary amount of solar heat and air. So you align the aboveground and underground parts of the tree, giving the roots an opportunity to sufficiently nourish the crown. Then the apple tree will abundantly bear fruit with large and sweet apples for many years.
Protection against cold and rodents
The trunks of the young "Arkadika" need coat with chalkand when the tree begins to bear fruit, change the solution to lime. It is also important to protect the bark from various large pests such as rodents. In this case, the trunk should be wrapped with some durable material (parchment, reed, spruce). Before the beginning of winter, the soil is mulched, and also a mound is made of snow. If the tree has suffered a disease, then in the frosty winter it will not be easy for it to survive. In this case, it is better to shelter a tree for the winter.
As you have already seen, the Arkadik apple tree is a representative of the most common apple tree, it only has its advantages in pickiness to the soil, resistance to severe winter frosts, and also in large fruits that begin to appear already in the third year after planting. It should be noted, and the taste of this variety - soft juicy flesh and sweetness without pronounced acidity will appeal to both adults and children.
