“Blushing Delight” is the US trade name for a variety called ‘Moonlight’. I found it to produce decent eating apples, with quality slightly higher than average for the columnars I’ve grown, but there still is breeding work to be done before you can get a columnar tree that produces fruit that can compete with the best apple varieties.
I specifically think ‘Moonlight’ is more ornamental that the average columnar I’ve grown as well. It’s flowers are a little more showy and are held on long peduncles. The fruit also has a very attractive shape. For these reasons I think it should be used as a parent for additional columnar breeding. Approximately 50% of its seedlings should be columnar if crossed to any non-columnar type since the columnar trait is dominant and most available columnar types appear to by heterozygous for the trait.
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Thanks for the response. I think it’s worth a try at 30 bucks. I’ll try and find a decent spot in the garden for it, if not I’ll keep it in a whiskey barrel on my deck.
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I don’t think you will have any regrets if you plant it.
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From left to right - Columnar apple, plum, and pear.
Apple is new/,younger and has some catching up to do though.
I’m letting the plum and pear fruit for the 1st time this year; will post a pic later this summer if anyone is interested.
The columnar plum is loaded with fruitlets (far more per area/size, compared to my open centre tree).
I removed all the flowers from the apple tree (and it did flower very well at such a young age - I assume due to the pruning).
(The plum and pear are around 6 foot 2 for reference).
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Wow I have only seen columnar apple varieties, I did not even know there were plum and pears. What varieties grow in a columnar shape or do you just prune it so it grows like this?
Afraid I just prune them this way.
I have seen shops sell ‘columnar’ pear and plum varieties, but I suspect most are just doing the same thing as me and/or just advertising them as columnar (with a fancy variety name) to increase sales. Could be wrong though / not an expert, haha.
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Thanks, yes I have a book on espalier and cordoning trees. They talk about how to make columnar apple and pear trees. Then there are ones that are genetically columnar,so was wondering. Beautiful trees you got there
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I just happened to look at the new grafts while moving the sprinkler, only to discover the two I started for Mere Pippin have very wide angled side shoots already. Wide as in about 60 degrees. Definitely mis-labeled.
Anyone on this thread growing Mere Pippin?
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