Modern fruit crops are an interesting and exciting activity for any gardener. Thanks to selection, a huge number of varieties and species of fruit trees have been bred, which provide a guaranteed harvest even in the most unfavorable growing conditions.
We offer you review material, after studying which you will understand that fruit crops are not only interesting, but also useful in terms of obtaining additional harvests of fresh fruits and berries for your family’s diet.
Growing fruit and berry crops
Growing fruit and berry crops in the garden is a beautiful and interesting activity. It's also healthy - the fruit is picked straight from the tree or bush, so it's really fresh, and you can grow varieties and species that aren't sold in stores. First of all, this is your apple or strawberry, which you grew with your own hands.
Despite the beauty of growing your own fruit, gardening wasn't popular until the DIY agriculture movement burst onto the scene. Only one garden out of three grew any fruit at all, and there were two main reasons for the lack of interest in this.
First, fruit was thought to be labor-intensive and time-consuming. Indeed there are some types that require regular care, but an orchard, once planted and brought into fruition, gives more results and with less effort than a vegetable garden. Some textbooks may have been partly responsible for this negative perception. There are descriptions of pruning that say it is as difficult as brain surgery. It was also fashionable for them to recommend a fungicide or insecticide for almost all uninvited guests.
Secondly, many people believed that fruit growing required a lot of space and imagined ladders to collect fruit from a tree.
Times have changed. The do-it-yourself movement fueled the desire for home-grown produce, and progress after World War II made fruit growing accessible to any garden.
Fruit crops include various trees
Garden centers offer trees and shrubs in containers that can be planted any time of year, and dwarf rootstocks produce apple and pear trees that are not much larger than rose bushes. Fruit crops include shrubs and various trees. So, fruit growing is right for you, but a word of caution is in order. Planting a fruit tree or shrub is a long-term investment, so read this chapter and perhaps a book on fruit growing before you go. garden center or place an order from the catalogue. Choose carefully, making sure both the type and variety are suitable for your conditions. Also think about the time you devote to gardening. If it is limited, then choose “light” crops such as dwarf apple trees, autumn-fruiting raspberries and container-grown strawberries.
Fruit trees are types and types of horticultural crops
Fruit trees are common types of garden crops for growing on a personal plot. There is no precise definition of a fruit tree - it includes large and strong plants with edible fruits. Almost all are tree-shaped (with one main trunk) in their natural state, but some (such as quince) are shrubs.
Most types of fruit trees belong to the Rosaceae family, and their choice is quite wide. In this chapter you will find detailed information about the four most popular of them; for others, see the book on fruit crops. Remember that fruit-type trees will be with you for many years, so choose the location carefully and prepare the soil properly.
The possible height of the tree will depend on its type, growing conditions and the rootstock on which the variety is grafted. The growth pattern is determined by pruning and shaping.
Choose the sunniest location available - full sun and a mild climate are important for vulnerable types. The soil should be sufficiently deeply cultivated and not prone to waterlogging.
There are a number of issues that need to be considered before choosing a variety. Choose a dessert (for eating) variety over a culinary (for processing) variety if space is limited—you may find one or more dual-use varieties in catalogs. A commercially available variety may be self-sterile and require a suitable partner nearby for pollination. Additional information on this subject can be found for each individual variety. Consider purchasing a "family" tree (a plant with several compatible varieties grafted onto it) if you only intend to plant one tree.
The main factor determining the final size of the tree is the rootstock that was used.
Apple tree M27- the most dwarf rootstock.
M9 and M26 are dwarf rootstocks used for small bushes;
MM106 used for large bushes,
MM111- rootstock for semi-standard trees.
Stone fruit crops
| 1 year old | Unformed. You will need to prune for approximately 3 years to produce a satisfactory branch structure. |
| 2 years | Partially formed. You will have to continue shaping to produce a satisfactory structure. |
| 3-4 years | Formed. The purpose of pruning will be to maintain a balance between growth and fruiting. |
| More than 4 years | Usually too old to plant. It can take root very slowly. |
Hardy trees that bear fleshy fruits that have a center containing several small seeds (kernels) - Apple, Pear.
Stone fruits are hardy trees that bear fleshy fruits that have a center containing a large hard seed (stone) - Plum, Cherry. They are widespread on personal plots and are cultivated almost everywhere.
Frost-sensitive plants that can grow in open ground in protected places are nectarines and figs.
People value cultivated trees for the taste and beneficial properties of their fruits and the decorative qualities of their crowns. To obtain a cultivated form from wild trees, scientists use selection, hybridization or genetic engineering. To avoid confusion, trees, like all plants, have names. They are folk, Latin and conventional. This article introduces the reader to the last of them.
Names of cultivated deciduous non-fruit trees
Trees of this species are of great interest to gardeners who use deciduous non-fruit crops to create landscape design. Trees differ in size, crown structure, color, shape of leaves and flowers. Cultivated trees, whose names are different, differ in many other characteristics.
- Birch - business card Russian nature. has many varieties, but more often weeping birch is used to decorate parks, gardens and lawns. It grows up to nine meters in height. Names of trees related to cultural species, the most diverse. But with a snow-white trunk, hanging branches and yellowish catkins, it is especially beautiful.
- White or silver poplar is the most common crop. The tree is a decoration of city streets, gardens, parks, adjacent areas. These two species grow up to ten meters in height. The lower part of the crown is lowered and is low from the ground. Large-leaved poplar is distinguished by variegated leaves, and black pyramidal poplar has a narrow, columnar-shaped crown.
- Maple has a number of varieties, like many cultivated trees. Titles garden forms are diverse. grows up to five meters in height. The edges of its leaves have White color. And the Norway maple is a little taller, its height is six meters, and the leaves are purple.
- Alder is therefore widely used to create hedges in the marshy part of the site. This tall tree- 10-12 meters in height. Its crown has a conical shape. Cultivated trees, which have different names, have features. So, the leaves are glossy, and the leaves are gray Bottom part sheet plate corresponding to the color name.
Names of cultivated coniferous trees
There are six hundred species in nature, most of them are valued for their decorative qualities. But some breeds of conifers are valuable for the beneficial properties of their fruits - nuts. Many types of evergreen trees have long been cultivated and grow successfully in garden plots and parks. It is impossible to list all the names, but you can get acquainted with some of them.
- Mountain pine is an evergreen beauty that grows up to ten meters in height, and in its natural environment - twice as high. It begins to bloom and bear fruit at the age of ten or a little earlier. This culture has long been used in landscape design. Its beneficial properties are used for medicinal purposes. Sanatoriums are being built in pine forests. Pine trees decorate gardens and parks with single or group plantings.
- or Siberian cedar - does not cause difficulties in growing. Appreciated healing properties nuts and decorativeness. This large tree is planted in large areas, where it can grow and bear fruit for 30-40 years.
- Spruce is a welcome guest at the New Year holidays. This culture has up to 50 species, but not all are used in landscaping. Appreciated decorative qualities and wood.
Names of cultivated fruit trees
These trees began to be cultivated thousands of years ago. Even ancient people appreciated the taste and healing properties of their fruits. Currently, the names of a huge number of fruit trees are known. It is impossible to list everything, here are some of them.
- Apple tree is the most popular fruit crop. There is a huge variety of its varieties: “white filling”, “moscow pear”, “common Antonovka”, “striped anise”, “Zhigulevskoe”, “mantet” and many others. The tree produces tasty and healthy fruits - apples.
- Plum is the most striking attraction spring garden. Blooming trees of this culture are extraordinarily beautiful. They are no less valuable in the fall, when they bring a bountiful harvest of fruits - plums. Depending on the ripening period, climatic conditions and other signs have different varieties cultivated trees, the names of some of them are offered to your attention: “Alyonushka”, “Amers”, “Vision”, “General”, “Early Comet”, “President”, “Traveler” and others.
- The pear has both fruit and decorative value. Its tasty, juicy fruits are loved by children and adults. There is an opinion that sweet and large pears are grown only in areas with a warm climate. But this is absolutely not true. Here are a few names of varieties that grow in mid-latitude areas: “Lada”, “Chizhovskaya”, “Rogneda”, “Otradnenskaya”.
Names of cultivated trees of the Krasnodar region
The Krasnodar region is called the Russian subtropics, which are adjacent to mountain forests and snow-capped peaks. A huge number of different crop species grow here. The vegetation of the southern part of the Black Sea coast, in particular the Sochi subtropics, is of greatest interest. Cultivated trees Krasnodar region have many names. You can meet some of them.
- Cork oak is a tree with evergreen leaves, a thick trunk and branches that have the ability to become covered with a cork layer by the 3-5th year of life. After 15-20 years, the cork reaches removable maturity; it is removed once every ten years. This is a valuable raw material for industry.
- Peach is a typical representative of the subtropical climate of the Krasnodar region. This tree has thousands of varieties and is valued for the taste and beneficial properties of the fruit.
- The tulip tree is a miracle of nature. Tulips grow on a giant tree forty meters high. In the Krasnodar Territory it blooms in May and never ceases to amaze with its lush flowering and greatness.
Names of Japanese cultivated trees
- Sakura has been for many centuries national symbol Japan. This tree is valued for the beauty of its flowers and their unique charm. Cherry blossoms are a sign of the awakening of nature and the coming of spring.
- The ume plum, like sakura, is a symbol tree of cosmic significance. It grows up to 5-7 meters in height. It differs from sakura in the aroma of flowers. Its fruits are edible. The timing of flowering is ahead of sakura by a whole month.
- Japanese crimson is a beautiful tree with unusual shape crowns and leaves. Valued for its high decorative qualities. It is used for landscaping streets, gardens and parks, and used to decorate lawns. Titles Japanese trees different. So, for example, Japanese scarlet has another name - “pendula” or “ weeping tree». Interesting fact: tree height is 4-6 meters, crown is the same size. Branches with large leaves fall to the ground, and the leaves change color as they grow.
I first read about this unusual apricot from I.V. Michurin. He grew one of its varieties, Shlor Tsiran (misread by him as Tlor Tsiran) under light cover in a dirt shed. Assessing the taste qualities of black apricot fruits, the scientist wrote that when consumed in fresh they “cannot withstand comparison with the best varieties of real apricots, but nevertheless, when compared with the fruits of imported mediocre varieties found in our markets, many of those who do not like the bland taste of the latter will willingly give preference to the fruits of black apricot, which have a special piquant pungency in taste . As for jams made from apricots, then positively everyone without exception will be on the side of black apricot, since jam from its fruits, both in appearance and taste, is immeasurably higher in quality than jams from all other varieties of apricot.”
According to I.V. Michurin, the Shlor Tsiran variety itself is not suitable for planting in gardens in the middle zone, because “although the wood does not suffer from frost in most winters, the flower buds die off.” However, in fairness, it must be said that I.V. Michurin had plants grown from seeds of this variety, and they overwintered openly quite safely.
In a word, I read about this unusual apricot, and it interested me so much (I hope it also interests you, dear gardeners) that I decided to ask in more detail about it an authoritative expert on stone fruit crops, Academician G.V. Eremin. And here’s what I learned: in most of its morphological and biological characteristics, black apricot occupies an intermediate position between the parent species. Its fruit is smaller than that of apricot (20 - 30 g), pubescent, the color of the skin is from yellow to dark purple. The pulp is fibrous, juicy, sweet and sour, reminiscent of large-fruited cherry plum varieties, but has an apricot aroma. The stone in most varieties is not separated from the pulp. The taste of black apricot fruits is inferior to the best varieties of ordinary ones, but they are good for various homemade preparations.
Mouse is one of the varieties of G.V. Eremin. This is literally a dwarf that can even be grown in a tub. At the same time, it is winter-hardy
(apparently, suitable for the middle zone), resistant to diseases, with sweet and sour
fragrant fruits
Of the ancient varieties of black apricot, the most famous are Shlor Tsiran (Tsiran-salar), American black, Big late, Manaresi. At the Crimean OSS VNIIR, a lot of work has been done to develop new varieties of this crop. The task of scientists is to create more productive and winter-hardy varieties with improved fruit taste and detachable seeds. To do this, black apricot is crossed not only with its own varieties, but even with distant relatives: plum (Chinese, Russian and domestic), cherry plum, common apricot, sloe, cherry plum. The varieties obtained in this way are so different from the ancient ones that they could perhaps be called some kind of new fruit crop. Among the new varieties, Mouse is especially interesting. And G.V. Eremin also recommends his new varieties Kuban Black and Black Velvet.
Kuban black
Black apricot is superior to common apricot both in resistance to diseases (moniliosis, clasterosporia, cytospora) and in winter hardiness, especially in resistance to cold snaps at the end of winter. Therefore, it bears fruit more regularly than the usual apricot in southern Russia. It is advisable to test its new varieties in more severe conditions - in the Volga region and the middle zone up to Moscow (and, by the way, it is better in the no-standard and low-standard bush form). Plants are placed at a distance of 4 - 5 m. All varieties are well pollinated by each other, as well as by cherry plum, Russian and Chinese plum and common apricot.
Black apricot is propagated by grafting onto cherry plum, apricot, clonal rootstocks: Kuban-86, Alab-1, Eureka and others, as well as green and lignified cuttings. Black apricot, especially its varieties Alab-1, Alab-2, Afghan, is also used as clonal rootstock for plum, apricot and peach.
Nectarine - starving peach
Peach fruits are usually covered with fluff, but there is still a rarely seen variety with absolutely smooth skin, like plums, which is why they are called holoferous. These are nectarine fruits. Back in the days Soviet Union their collection, collected in the Nikitsky Botanical Garden, was shown to me by an enthusiast of this culture, who did a lot for its rooting in the southern regions of the country - E.N. Shoferistov. The impression was stunning: huge, peach-sized plums, all the colors of the rainbow, and the taste... if there can be anything sweeter than a peach, then it is nectarine. And by the way, it got its name from the word “nectar”!
Later, I asked E.N. Shoferistov to write an article about nectarine and now I offer it to you to read, because you can’t tell about it better than an expert on this culture.
According to biological characteristics and chemical composition Nectarine fruit is close to the common peach. But on the world market it is in much greater demand because it is sweeter and its dietary benefits are higher than those of the peach. A significant advantage of nectarine fruits over common peach fruits is the absence of hairy skin, which simplifies their fresh consumption and processing technology. Nectarine fruits differ from pubescent peach and have a higher dry matter content. This helps to increase their transportability.
Variety Inextinguishable
Nectarine fruits, like pubescent peach fruits, contain a rich complex of biochemical substances, which determines their therapeutic and prophylactic effect. They enhance the secretion of the digestive glands, promote the digestion of poorly digestible and fatty foods, play important role in removing fluid and sodium from the body, and therefore useful for the prevention of atherosclerosis and hypertension.
In some varieties of nectarine, the kernels of the seeds are sweet and can be used like almond kernels, especially since they are very similar in biochemical composition. Fatty oil of bitter kernel varieties is used in pharmacology as a solvent in the manufacture of medicines and ointments. The shells of nectarine seeds are used to produce activated carbon. The wood polishes well and is suitable for various crafts.
Nectarine will provide your family with fresh fruits and raw materials for homemade preparations throughout the summer months. Of particular importance are early varieties this culture (Nikitsky-85, Chinese-51312, Crimson Gold, etc.). Their fruits ripen much earlier than all other stone fruits.
Candied fruits, preserves, jams, and dried fruits are prepared from nectarines. They are frozen whole, prepared as a paste and sliced in sugar syrup.
The technology for cultivating nectarines is the same as that of the common peach, but many of its varieties are more susceptible to fungal diseases (powdery mildew, fruit rot). This must be taken into account when planting nectarines and additional measures must be taken to protect plants from diseases. For example, it is better to place nectarine away from regular peach plantings.
Nectarine is also used in decorative design. In the spring, during the lush flowering, its trees with beautiful, large and bright flowers on short stalks are simply unique. They make gentle noises delicate aroma essential oils and are actively visited by bees and other insects. And it’s not surprising - after all, nectarine is an excellent honey plant. In summer, when the harvest is ripening, nectarine trees delight with charming, bright fruits filled with sunny juice.
Dessert taste, unique aroma, pleasant, tender, melting, juicy fruit pulp, ease of canning (the skin of the fruit is not removed) - all this contributes to their popularity and rapid spread in industrial and amateur gardening.
The bare-fruited peach came to Russia in 1866 through the Nikitsky Botanical Garden. From here it spread throughout Crimea, penetrated into Western Ukraine, Moldova, and the south modern Russia. In the Nikitsky Garden a thorough examination is carried out with him. scientific work, new varieties have been bred: Evpatoriisky, Ishunsky, Krymchanin, Poseidon, Rubinovy-8, Souvenir, Nikitsky and two particularly promising varieties - the early-ripening Nikitsky-85 and the early-medium ripening Rubinovy-4.
Nectarine gained particular popularity in the last two decades of the twentieth century, when its large-fruited (150–200 g) yellow-fleshed varieties appeared, attracting attention with their appearance and universal use. Gardeners, often with bewilderment and caution, purchase nectarines as “large-fruited plums.” Indeed, in a very distant time, one of the types of plums, the Chinese plum, participated in the formation of nectarine. It was from her that nectarine inherited its sterility, its unique pleasant taste and aroma. But scientists also found that, along with the plum, also took part in the formation of nectarine. individual species peach, almond, apricot.
In our country, only one nectarine variety has been zoned - Krasnodarets (1988, North Caucasus region). It was created at the Crimean experimental breeding station of the North Caucasus Zonal Institute of Horticulture and Viticulture.
The fact that in our country there are no varieties of nectarine, even in the southern regions, indicates a lack of attention to this crop. Look in stores and markets - what a variety of nectarines brought from abroad!
The second coming of large-fruited cranberries
For most Russians, cranberry is a low-growing subshrub with small and sour berries, growing abundantly on hummocks of sphagnum bogs, which is why this species is called bog. For the unique taste of the berries and their healing properties, in the northern regions they are slowly introducing it into gardens and the first varieties have already been obtained. And now a previously unknown American species is rapidly making its way to us - the large-fruited cranberry. Its cultivation began in North America in 1816, and now it grows here on more than 12,000 hectares. The berry harvest exceeds 200 thousand tons. Since the 19th century, large-fruited cranberries began to be grown in many European countries. At the end of the 19th century, it grew successfully even in the St. Petersburg Botanical Garden. Unfortunately, after the revolution there were no traces left of large-fruited cranberries in Russia; so its appearance in our area (import comes mainly from Belarus) is, as it were, its “second coming,” and it seems to be a triumphant one.
Large cranberry
What are the advantages of large-fruited cranberries compared to our marsh cranberries? Firstly, it has unusually large berries - up to 2.5 cm in diameter. The variety of their shapes is also impressive: they can be round, oval, oblong, pear-shaped. The color ranges from light red to dark purple, usually with a waxy coating. Those who see the berries of large-fruited cranberries for the first time will most likely mistake them for the fruits of china, used for our beloved “paradise apples” jam. They are sour in taste, not without a peculiar cranberry flavor, and they crunch under the teeth incomparably with any other fruit. It is important that, compared to marsh cranberries, the fruits of large-fruited cranberries are noticeably richer in many substances vital for humans. The large-fruited cranberry is far ahead of its sister marsh cranberry in terms of yields. But still, dear gardeners, large-fruited cranberries, although, of course, will take their rightful place in Russian gardens, however, if you are carried away by this American, do not forget about our domestic, swamp cranberries.
Swamp and large-fruited cranberries
The swamp cranberry growing in Russia is very winter-hardy and undemanding to living conditions. Well, if the fruits are too small, then do some breeding. Crossing is also promising the best varieties American cranberries with the best domestic ones. And by the way, our scientists also did not sit idle. At the Kostroma Forest OS, its first varieties have already been created and, moreover, they have been studied in comparison with the 16 most common American varieties. The “competition” of two types of cranberries on Russian soil revealed a clear advantage of the domestic one. Varieties of swamp cranberries are more frost-resistant than large-fruited ones and bear fruit more consistently. They are often not inferior to the “Americans” in the size of the fruits, which are also better stored.
Large-fruited cranberry in decorative design
Large-fruited cranberries are also interesting from a decorative point of view. Firstly, it (however, like the swamp) - evergreen. In spring and early summer, when young shoots grow, the plantings turn out to be light green; during flowering (from mid-June to mid-July) they take on the appearance of a soft pink carpet. But a truly unforgettable sight is the large-fruited cranberry in September, when its fruits and leaves turn orange-burgundy.
Large-fruited cranberries under snow cover can withstand frosts down to minus 20º - 30º. But anyway late autumn It is better to cover it with something (in case there is not enough snow), for example, leaves, spruce branches, spunbond. Early spring and late autumn frosts are dangerous for the crop.
Cranberries belong to the lingonberry family, and all berry bushes included in it (lingonberries, blueberries, blueberries) require acidic soils– for cranberries, the optimal pH is 3.5-4.5. A decrease in pH level has little effect on their growth and development, but an increase causes the cessation of growth and death of plants. This is due to the fact that lingonberries do not have root hairs that absorb nutrients from the soil, and their function is performed by mycorrhiza (symbiosis of root and fungus), and it works only in an acidic environment. By the way, this is why cranberries grow wild only in acidified sphagnum raised bogs. That's why best soil for cranberries (and other lingonberries) - high-moor sphagnum acidic peat, which also has three more important properties– good aeration, high moisture capacity and the absence of weed seeds (weeds do not grow in swamps). It can be used both in pure form, and with the addition of sand (3:1), 15-20% of the volume of garden soil and up to 30% of leaf litter, or even better, coniferous litter.
Before flowering
Blooming cranberry
It would seem strange, but cranberry is not a particularly moisture-loving plant, and therefore it cannot be used in lowlands where water stagnates, and when watering, you just need to make sure that it does not dry out. upper layer soil. Occurrence groundwater should not be higher than 30-40 cm.
Large cranberry
Cranberries can be grown on any soil, even heavy and clayey, but for this you need to build beds. Their size and configuration can be very different, up to a square, circle, oval, etc. To do this, after deep digging and removal of rhizomes, remove the top layer of soil (20-25 cm), and the resulting depression is filled with peat (or a mixture made on its basis ), which is thoroughly compacted and watered. With the addition of other components to peat, its acidity decreases and therefore, when using the mixture, it is advisable to water the prepared bed with acidified water (10 liters of water per 1 m²). For acidification, use citric and oxalic acid - 1 teaspoon per 3 liters of water, acetic or malic acid (9%) - 100 g per 10 liters of water, and even better, electrolyte for acid batteries (diluted sulfuric acid) in an amount of 50-100 ml for 10 liters of water. If there is no high-moor peat, then take any other one, but then sprinkle it with sulfur (40-60 g per 1 m²) to acidify it and mix thoroughly. In the future, any peat and substrate are regularly acidified every two to three years.
If the site is located on peat bogs, then cranberries can be planted without special preparation; it is only important to isolate them from weed rhizomes.
Cranberry in autumn
Cranberries are planted in a moist substrate with seedlings with a clod of earth, in holes 10 cm deep and 8-10 cm wide. The distance between plants is 20-30 cm. The plants are watered and mulched with sand. During the week, make sure that the top layer does not dry out, then water it once or twice a week (1 bucket per 1 m²), in dry weather - every day.
Large-fruited cranberries in winter
In the spring, once every 2-3 years, it is advisable to mulch the planting surface with sand with a layer of 2-3 cm. Due to the light reflected from the sand, the illumination of the lower leaves, which is so important for cranberries, increases and, in addition, the soil warms up even better and faster, its water-air circulation improves mode, weed growth is retarded.
Cranberries are not demanding on soil fertility (after all, they grow in barren swamps), but in low doses mineral fertilizers, especially with fractional application - 2-3 times during the growing season - responds well. Nitrogen-containing fertilizers are especially effective for it, but in order not to cause prolonged growth, they are used only until August. When choosing potash fertilizers avoid chlorine-containing ones: potassium chloride, potassium salt, giving preference to potassium sulfate. There is positive experience of using Kemira-Universal to fertilize it in the spring or early summer, and Kemira-Osenniy in the fall. But manure and compost are ruinous for cranberries, so be careful.
Picking cranberries. Belarus
Photos by T.V. Kurlovich 
The selection of varieties of large-fruited cranberries is carried out primarily taking into account the availability of summer heat for ripening in a given area.
In areas where the sum of positive temperatures during the growing season exceeds 2700 degrees, all varieties can be grown, and where their sum is less than 2300 degrees, only early-ripening and, with some risk, mid-ripening varieties are suitable. Early ripening varieties (ripe in early September) include Early Black, Ben Lear, Black Veil, and mid ripening varieties (ripen in mid-September) include Searl, Wilcox, and Franklin.
Irina Sergeevna Isaeva,
Photos from the archive of I.S. Isaeva
Subtropical exotic feijoa - in a tub culture
Feijoa is a relatively new, evergreen subtropical plant. Her homeland is South America, where the local population has long collected its fruits in the forests. At the end of the 19th century, feijoa was brought to France, Italy, Algeria, and from the beginning of the 20th century to Spain, Portugal, the USA, India, Japan, and Australia. It came to Russia (Yalta) in 1900, and starting in 1903 it began to spread along the Black Sea coast of the Caucasus (Sukhumi, Sochi, Batumi). At first it was grown as a rare fruit and ornamental plant in gardens and parks. Now feijoa is also grown in family gardens.
Feijoa fruits cannot be confused with any other fruit: they are distinguished by a strong aroma and characteristic taste, reminiscent of both strawberries and pineapple, with a harmonious combination of acid and sugar. The value of the fruits lies in their healing properties, which are determined by the richness of their biochemical composition. They are distinguished by a high content of P-active substances, ascorbic acid (vitamin C), and are rich in pectin. The uniqueness of feijoa fruits is the presence of iodine in them, which means that they are effective remedy for the treatment and prevention of hormonal deficiency of the thyroid gland, cardiovascular and other diseases.
Once you see feijoa during flowering, you also cannot confuse it with any other plant. You look at its flowers - large (diameter 3 - 4 cm), purple-red, with white petals and numerous red stamens with yellow anthers, and it seems that this is something fabulous, some very “scarlet flower”. And this beauty of flowering lasts for a whole month.
Feijoa during flowering
Like any subtropical plant, feijoa is thermophilic. For normal development and fruiting during the growing season, it requires a total of at least 3500 - 4200 positive active temperatures. Optimal temperature air during the growing season is plus 18 - 22 degrees, for flowering - 20 - 25. Without damage, it tolerates low temperatures down to minus 10 - 12 degrees. At minus 15–16 degrees, damage to leaves and annual shoots occurs. And with more low temperatures the entire plant dies.
But the way a gardener works is that what he doesn’t have, he wants more of. Surely many gardeners from the central regions of Russia wanted to grow feijoas at home. Well, if you want to, grow it, but with a serious limitation - not in the garden, but in a tub culture. Feijoa is a shrub up to 2.5 - 3 m high with a crown diameter of up to 3 meters. If its growth is further restrained by pruning, the plant may grow into even smaller volumes. At necessary care Tolerates closed ground conditions well. So put up a tub (or even better 2 - 3) with this exotic plant at home and enjoy its aroma, beauty of flowering and unusual in taste, healing fruits.
Growing feijoa in tub (pot) culture
Feijoa propagation
Feijoa reproduces by seeds and vegetatively. Of course, it is better to plant a vegetatively propagated plant in a container, which is done by layering or rooting lignified and semi-lignified cuttings. In this case, the plant retains the properties of the variety to the fullest extent and fruiting begins one to two years earlier (in comparison with seedlings) (with seed propagation, fruiting begins in the fourth or fifth year, with vegetative propagation - in the third or fourth). But it is difficult for residents of the middle zone to obtain vegetatively propagated feijoa plants, so most likely they will have to resort to planting seedlings.
Feijoa fruits ripen in October-November, at the same time they reach our markets. Buy the ripest fruits, cut them and remove the inner part, which is most filled with seeds. By the way, feijoa has more than enough seeds - 60 or more per fruit. They are very small, and therefore one gram contains up to 400 - 800 pieces. It is important that seed germination is very high. Just do not store the fruits for a long time, as the seeds in them begin to germinate.
Seeds removed from the fruit are placed in containers for softening, after which they are washed, separated from the pulp, dried in the shade and stored in a dry place until sowing. Feijoa seeds are sown very early (January - February) in boxes under glass or film. The boxes are filled with soil composed of one part humus, two parts river sand and one part turf soil. The soil should be loose and well sifted. The planting depth is shallow, no more than 0.5 cm. With normal moisture and at a temperature of +20-25º C, shoots appear after 12 - 15 days.
When the seedlings develop one or two pairs of leaves, they are planted in separate containers. Soil composition: turf soil (3 parts), leaf humus(2 parts), rotted manure (0.5 parts) and river sand(0.5 parts).
To achieve in room conditions In order for plants to enter fruiting as quickly as possible, they must be grown as a tree on a low trunk. To do this, when the seedlings reach 25–30 cm in height, they are cut to one third of their height. Shoots of other orders are formed on the lateral branches. Only vigorous shoots are shortened and pinched. The cut is made above the kidney. Formation is carried out before growth begins. Subsequently, weak or dried branches are removed, and thinning is carried out if necessary.
Plant care
Feijoa is a light-loving crop, so it is better to place plants on southern or south-eastern windows. The plant suffers most from lack of light in the autumn. winter period. A fluorescent lamp can be used as additional lighting.
The culture does not tolerate intense heat. Feijoa is an inhabitant of the subtropical region with a very mild oceanic climate. Overdrying of the earthen coma leads to the shedding of leaves and the death of branches. It is useful to spray the plants with water, this will increase air humidity. Feijoa especially needs moisture in the first half of the growing season, during the period of intensive growth.
Watering should not be allowed cold water, which stops the growth of the root system and leads to acidification of the soil in the pots.
Feijoa tub culture
The plant is relatively undemanding to soil. But, being in a small volume of soil, it constantly needs additional nutrition. It is necessary to carry out fertilizing. The smaller the vessel, the more often fertilizing and watering are required. It is recommended to add 30 g of ammonium nitrate and 30 g of potassium salt per 10 liters of water. Superphosphate (50 g per 10 liters of water) is first boiled for 45 minutes, settled and the precipitate is drained. Can be added simultaneously with mullein (1:10). The day before applying fertilizer, the plant must be watered.
Most varieties and forms of feijoa are self-sterile (they bear fruit only with cross-pollination), but self-fertile forms are also found. To grow indoors, you need exactly these forms or plant at least two plants.
A characteristic feature of feijoa plants is their high phytoncidity and hence quite high resistance against pests and diseases. But sometimes hobbyists encounter the spread of scale insects on the leaves. The scale settles on the glossy surface along the main vein.
For protection, you can use a product made from the leaves of the green pericarp. walnut. 100 g of green or dry leaves and pericarp are infused for 24 hours in one liter of water. Spray with filtered solution.
Aktara is a broad-spectrum insecticide with low toxicity for warm-blooded animals. It has a contact and intestinal effect on pests, which manifests itself 15 - 30 minutes after contact with the drug. Effective against sucking insects (aphids, scale insects, whiteflies, thrips).
In winter, it is advisable to cultivate in cool, bright rooms (10 - 12º C). From spring until frost sets in, plants can be moved to the balcony.
Delicious healthy fruits, beautiful emerald greens, original flowers, relatively simple agricultural cultivation techniques, a high level of adaptation - all this suggests that there is something to work for and introduce this exotic feijoa to your favorite indoor plants.
I.S. Isaeva,
E.L. Shishkina,
Nikitsky's research fellow
botanical garden, Yalta
(e-mail: [email protected]).
Shiksha
There are so many things that restless gardeners try to cultivate in family gardens. We even got to shiksha. In nature, it is widespread in the tundra and taiga zones of Eurasia, growing in the tundra, swamps, and swampy forests. Gardeners were attracted to shiksha by its unusually high vitality even in the extremely harsh conditions of the North, in combination with completely edible and healing berries. The crowberry berries are blue-black, like a crow’s wing, for which the plant also received the name “crowberry.” And because of its wateriness, it is also called crowberry.
Shiksha is an evergreen shrub, with long (up to 1 m) shoots spreading along the soil surface and partially covered with moss, with small, needle-like leaves. The height of the shrub is 20-40 cm. The flowers are solitary, small, bisexual or dioecious, from pink to red, pollinated by insects.
The value of ciksha berries lies primarily in their high content of vitamin C, which they contain several times more than in lemon. In addition, they are a reliable diuretic, which northerners have used for many centuries. Relatively recently, an effective anti-epileptic drug from shiksha, Empetrin, the first herbal medicine in world practice for this serious illness, was submitted for clinical trials. For treatment, in addition to berries, above-ground shoots are also used, which are collected during flowering. It is popularly believed that infusions made from them cure at least a dozen diseases.
The watery and overly insipid taste of crow berries does not prevent the local population from collecting them in large quantities. Of course, this is primarily due to the fact that no other berry plants often grow in the places where crowberry grows, as well as the relative ease of collecting them. The ease of collecting crowberry berries is due to the fact that it grows in thickets, is very productive, and besides, its collection takes quite a long time: the berries ripen in early August and remain on the plants until spring.
The berries are eaten with milk and yogurt. For the winter they are soaked, frozen, used for jam and drinks (only then you need a lot of sugar). Experts recommend chewing the cake left over from the processing of berries as a kind of chewing gum - a useful load for the gums and teeth. If you swallow the cake, it cleanses the intestines like a sponge. It is important that the berries do not lose their properties even when frozen; moreover, unlike other berries, they do not even freeze into a lump. Until recently, the local population stored them in large quantities in pits lined with ferns and a mound. In winter nutrition northern peoples A popular dish that Russians call “Tolkusha”. This is a mixture of crowed berries with finely chopped fish and seal fat.
Animals and birds are also hungry for shiksha berries. And the bear, before lying down in the den, scoops a handful of berries into his mouth with their paws - a sip of healing juice. Take a closer look at this harsh northern woman; it seems the time has come to bring her into our family gardens.
I.S. Isaeva,
Doctor of Agricultural Sciences
Moscow region ginseng
Dedicated to my beloved Tatyana Valentinovna
I met the author of this article, a wonderful experienced gardener from the Moscow region, Vladimir Vasilyevich Nikolaev, several years ago, when I came to his dacha to see the fruiting of his famous dogwood thickets. And then it turned out that no less noteworthy of his garden was a small but very productive ginseng plantation. I saw plantings of this very rare plant in its homeland - the Far East, but in summer cottage in the Moscow region I met his plantation for the first time. And what we saw was amazing. And then Vladimir Vasilyevich, coming to visit me, brought as a gift several ginseng roots, which indeed, as I have read about this more than once, resemble little men. And he said, “Cut into small pieces and just chew.”
Of course, ginseng is not a fruit plant. But since it grows in the garden, then, at least with great reserve, we will place it among the rare fruit plants. I really wanted Vladimir Vasilyevich to share his experience of growing ginseng, which any gardener can undoubtedly learn from. I wish you success in this very interesting matter.
I.S. Isaeva,
Doctor of Agricultural Sciences
IN early years, while solving complex mathematical problems at school and college, I thought about those medical substances that enhance thought processes. I learned about ginseng from my dad and grandfather. While being a student and earning a little money (while also working as an engineer), one day at Central Pharmacy No. 1 I bought a bottle of aqueous ginseng extract prepared in China. I started using it drop by drop. I read about methods of growing it, methods of preparation, and all this was available then. This is the 50s.
In our area, the famous experienced gardener Alexandra Semenovna Frolova lived next door. She shared various new garden crops with her neighbors. She and I made an exchange. I gave her dogwood seedlings, and she gave me some ginseng roots. Naturally, overjoyed, I prepared a garden bed for best place, in the center of the garden and planted ginseng roots there. I remember that in the spring they sprouted, and by June or earlier they all dropped their leaves, withered and, naturally, died.
Over the following years, reading magazines and books and studying how ginseng is grown in Korea and China, I decided to give it another try. Knowing that ginseng leaf after 15 minutes of exposure to direct sun rays is fading, I found a place on the site that does not receive direct sunlight throughout the day. Near the northern terrace, at a distance of 1 m from the wall, I dug a hole 2 shovels deep - 50 cm. The fact is that the water flowing from the roof should not fall on the leaves of the plants. Rain should not water the plantations.
We have sandy soil. To the dug up sand I added rotten birch stumps taken from the forest, peat and ash. I filled the hole with this mixture. Along the bed, on the western side, I buried a pine log with a diameter of 20 cm. This was in 1986.
In the autumn of the same year, he wrote to Nikolai Fedorovich Sergienko in the Primorsky Territory with a request to send 20 roots and 30 seeds. Previously, in the magazine “Beekeeping”, and others, advertisements were published with offers for the transfer, sale, exchange of seeds and seedlings. Now there are fewer or no such advertisements.
Fruiting of ginseng
Having received a bonus of 40 rubles in September. In honor of my fiftieth birthday, I, with the consent of my wife, “thumped” this money in Primorye for the roots and seeds of ginseng. But they gave me roots and seeds only for next year, autumn. The roots were the first year, small. This parcel arrived in Zelenograd. When I received it, it was already opened. Apparently, everything that was sent to our Zelenograd was subject to verification. But I received all 20 roots and 30 seeds. Many thanks to Nikolai Fedorovich. Correspondence with him continued. I do all plantings and transplants taking into account the phase of the moon. I sow the seeds on the third day after the full moon in September.
I planted and sowed most of the roots and seeds near the terrace. I planted 3 roots in another place, in the corner of the garden. The sun didn't shine there at all. A few years later I returned them from there to the common garden bed. The size of the bed is 1 m x 1.5 m. It is fenced with film so that no cats, hedgehogs, or other animals or birds enter it. After all, if a cat passes through just once in 25 or more years, she can do such a thing that all her many years of work will go down the drain.
Water should not flow into the plantation from above: neither rain nor dew should fall on the leaves. Naturally, water, always colder than the surrounding air, hits the leaf and creates an unpleasant effect on the plant. Therefore, on rainy and cloudy days I cover the bed transparent film. And the supply of water to the roots of plants is carried out thanks to capillary processes from the side of the boundary. Moreover, rotting sheets with which the ridge was covered in winter were laid on all sides. The leaf is always wet, decomposing, saturates the soil around the ridge with nutrients, which, together with water, flow from the side and below to the roots of the plants.
Vladimir Vasilievich came
to visit me, holding in his hands a ginseng root so reminiscent of a man
Three years have passed since the landing. In the fourth spring, several plants bloomed and produced their first berries in August. From these berries I took my first seeds and sowed them in the same garden bed. I planted several seeds in the forest. Currently, all the old roots throw out the peduncle. But I cut them off, leaving only one root, and different ones every year. This technique increases the weight gain of the root and creates favorable conditions for an even greater increase in root mass, since they increase the number of shoots. The following tendency is observed: first, two shoots grow at the root (I think two heads). After about three years there are already three heads, after the next three years there are four heads. Some heads fall asleep for a year, others grow annually. One root has five heads. An increase in the number of shoots (heads), in my opinion, indicates the correctness of cultivation: right place, optimal lighting and supply of water and nutrients.
There are about 38 roots of different years growing in the garden bed - from two-year-olds to twenty-five-year-olds (some are dormant). I dig up one root per year and sow 5 seeds. I use it like a carrot. I cut off a piece in the fall and winter after a hearty lunch on cold days. I store it in the refrigerator.
I don’t make any tinctures, extracts or jams in sugar or honey.
140g of root is enough for me for a year.
Feel free to start growing ginseng. The main thing: lighting with sunlight reflected from the sky (do not let direct sunlight hit the leaves). The plantation should not be wet from above, but only lateral watering (watering with rain or from a watering can only at the boundaries).
Neither dew nor rain should fall on the leaves and soil around the plant.
Protection from animals entering the plantation during the entire growing period (which is tens of years). Moles are the ginseng grower's assistants. They dig deep channels and do not damage the roots at all.
Removing flower stalks in May, as soon as they emerge from the rosette of leaves.
You can feed in the form of old mushrooms (porcini, boletus, boletus, etc.), placing them on the ground between the plants.
Vladimir Vasilievich Nikolaev
(tel. 8-916-845-87-01, email [email protected])
Photos by I.S. Isaeva
Rowan - fruit tree
Rowan is called the blush of the northern garden. And how good it is, especially in late autumn at sunset or in winter, when the snow accumulated on the grapes seems to cover each of them with a lace cap, an intricate panama hat or a simple scarf. And then waxwings will fly in, ring bells, and later, on a frosty day, the tree will seem to be decorated with red apples - the bullfinches have already arrived. Birds cannot live in the snowy season without rowan trees; humans have been friends with them for a long time.
Of the 84 species of rowan, only one species grows in the middle zone and much further north - the common rowan, which can withstand winters even with temperatures down to minus 50 degrees. In addition to the commitment to it as an unusually elegant tree, in Russia this rowan has always been valued for its ability to be used for a variety of economic purposes and, of course, primarily for the nutritional and medicinal value of the fruit.
In terms of the content of biologically active substances necessary for humans, rowan fruits are equal to rose hips and sea buckthorn. It is important that they are especially rich in carotene, which accumulates twice as much as in the main source of this substance for residents of the northern regions - carrots. In terms of vitamin C content, it competes with lemon and black currant; vitamin P accumulates in it up to 700 mg or more per 100 g of fruit. To satisfy the need for these three vitamins, it is enough to eat just one bunch of berries a day. Rowan also contains up to 2 mg per 100 g of fruit, vitamin E, which promotes normal sexual activity, and about 1 mg per 100 g of fruit, vitamin K 1, which normalizes blood clotting. The fruits are also unique in their content of sorbic and parasorbic acids, which inhibit the growth of microorganisms, fungi, and mold, which is why they prevent gastrointestinal infections when used as food. And this is still far from full list healing capabilities of rowan.
The 20th century was marked by the widespread introduction into culture of many wild fruit and berry plants. Their active introduction into cultivation was dictated by the catastrophic decrease in the number of wild plants in nature, the difficulty of harvesting, low productivity, and besides, there was a desire to “correct” the quality of the fruits. Among the new crops in the garden was rowan. Its first varieties, as happened in other cases, were created by I.V. Michurin. These are Likernaya, Burka, Granatnaya, and Michurinskaya dessert. Followers of I.V. Michurin gave our garden the following varieties: Scarlet large, Angri, Businka, Vefed, Daughter Kubova (Solnechnaya), Titan, Sugar Petrova. In addition, a sweet-fruited form of the common rowan - Nevezhinskaya (the name is given according to its location) - accidentally found back in the 19th century in the forest of the Vladimir region and propagated by the people - and another sweet-fruited form - from the Sudeten Mountains (Moravia) - Moravian (its taste is less interesting than Nevezhinskaya’s).
It is still rare to see varietal rowan in gardens. It’s a pity, because not only is it completely edible and more productive, but its fruits are also much more nutritious than wild ones. The fact is that the excessive bitterness of rowan is created by parasorbic acid, which is apparently toxic and causes a feverish state. The fruits of transformed, varietal rowan have less of this acid, which means they are safer. At the same time, the composition and amount of biologically active substances in the fruits of varietal rowan, although they vary by variety, are still quite high, close to the composition of the fruits of wild rowan.
The most delicious fruits are from the varieties Sakharnaya Petrova, Angri, Businka, Vefed, Rubinovaya. If the fruits of Rubinova are placed in a gauze bag under hot battery, then, as they wither, they become like raisins. Varieties also differ in yield. The most productive are Burka, Businka, Scarlet dessert, in which at the age of 20 years the yield reaches 150 kg per tree, and each shield with fruits often weighs 400 g or more. The varieties do not begin to bear fruit at the same time - in the 3-4th year after planting the grafted seedling in the garden, Granatnaya and Burka begin to bear fruit, in the 6th year - Businka, Titan, Scarlet Large, and the rest - in the 7-8th year. It is important that tree varieties are usually lower wild species common rowan, for example, in Angri, Titan and Sorbinka - 3-3.5 and, in Vefed and Businka - 2.5 - 3 m, and in the Rubinovaya variety - generally dwarf type - 2.1-2.3 m.
The fruits of most varieties of rowan are simply “in their pure form”, as we consume other gifts from the garden, until we eat much; they are more suitable for various preparations, which stand out for their originality and piquancy of taste. The Titan, Large Scarlet and Burka varieties are recommended for making juices; Businka and Sorbinka - puree; Titanium is also used for making seasonings, Angri is suitable for jam, marmalades, the fruits of this variety are good even when pureed with sugar. And, of course, you can make original jam from each variety.
If you decide to start a varietal rowan in the garden, then remember that, although it just came from natural conditions, it is already a cultivated plant, which means it requires care.
Planting, caring for and propagating varietal rowan is in many ways similar to an apple tree. It is planted, like an apple tree, both in autumn and spring with 2-year-old grafted seedlings. To prevent the tree from bending and growing straight, like an apple tree, the seedling is tied with a figure eight to a stake driven into the hole. The size of the hole is 80-100 x 50-60 cm. If the soil is not suitable for planting, it is replaced by adding 2-3 buckets of humus, 500-600 g of superphosphate, 100-150 g of potassium salt, up to 1 kg of lime or 1 kg ash. Be sure to water and mulch.
Or you can dig up young trees in the forest, plant them just as carefully and graft them with varietal cuttings. If you want there to be one variety, graft it into a stem; if you want to get a multi-varietal tree, regraft each branch with your own variety. Grafting time is spring, method is improved copulation (with tongue).
Like all fruit plants, rowan responds well to the application of organic and mineral fertilizers. Nitrogen fertilizers are applied in the first half of summer at the rate of 10-30 g per 1 m² (calculate how much you will need for trunk circle). Phosphorus and potassium fertilizers are applied in the fall in the same quantities.
A slender rowan tree does not require pruning, but in vigorous varieties it is advisable to restrain upward growth, using the basic principle of reducing the crown - transfer to a side branch. You can even grow it in bush form. To do this, cut another one-year-old above the third (counting from the root collar) well-developed bud and then form it in the form of a three-trunk bush.
Rowan, although it can grow in the undergrowth, is a light-loving plant, so choose a sufficiently lit place for it in the garden, otherwise the tree will be ugly and low-yielding. This plant is moisture-loving, so in dry summers do not forget to water it, otherwise the fruits will be small and tasteless.
It’s time for transformed, varietal rowan with increased taste and dietary qualities of the fruit to open its way into our gardens, especially in regions with risky and limited gardening. At the same time, saving the area of the plot, you can plant 1-2 trees on it and at the same time, somewhere in nearby places that are inconvenient for farming (for example, the slopes of a ravine), create plantings for the collective use of its harvest.
For our distant ancestors, rowan was a tree in which lightning was hidden - a powerful weapon of the thunder god Perun. Tall, slender, especially in treeless areas, the rowan tree really served as a lightning rod. So, probably not only for its beauty, but, most likely, unconsciously and for this reason, it has been planted in every front garden since ancient times. In addition, it was considered a protector from evil spirits and at the same time a tree of fertility, all kinds of benefits, and prosperity for the owner. The rowan tree was consecrated and it was forbidden to cut it. Over time, all this symbolism lost its meaning, but the rowan remained a favorite tree, especially in Russia.
Irina Sergeevna Isaeva,
Doctor of Agricultural Sciences
Felt cherry is improved by varieties
Two or three bushes of felt cherry can be found in many family gardens both in the middle zone and in the north, and beyond the Urals it is practically a common crop. Such a widespread dissemination of this generally new Russian garden The culture is associated primarily with its at least three outstanding properties: extraordinary winter hardiness - can withstand temperatures down to -40 degrees; very early ripening - in the middle zone, usually 7 - 10 days earlier than common cherries (that is, when early varieties of strawberries are just beginning to ripen) and rapid entry into fruiting - the first fruits appear in the third, and often even the second year after planting. In addition, the felt cherry is not afraid of mice and hares; when propagated by seeds, it inherits its parental properties, which means it can be propagated by simply sowing seeds; It is also attractive for its sweet-fresh fruits, which are especially popular with children, and many adults who love this taste. I remember how someone’s “hundredth” could not tear itself away from the bush covered with its fruits, until the owner came up and delicately reminded: “We have children.” Felt cherry is also very decorative: during flowering, it is one of the types of cherries, which in Japan is one of the plants under the collective name “sakura”, intended specifically for admiring.
But, unfortunately, like any beauty, felt cherry is not without flaws. This is primarily its early flowering, as a result of which it often coincides with frosts, which leads to loss of harvest. And here the point is often not even in the likelihood of damage to flowers by frost, but in the lack of conditions for pollination by bees. A serious drawback of felt cherries is the possible damping off of the root collar, which often causes the death of plants. This type of damage is especially typical in areas where thaws occur in the middle of winter and plants come out of dormancy prematurely. But experienced gardeners have learned to “lead” the cherry away from such troubles, and there are plenty of clever tricks here: this includes planting on elevated surfaces, without stagnation spring waters, places, and reducing waterlogging of the roots in the ground by introducing sand and ash into the area where they are located, and grafting onto winter-hardy, locally resistant rootstocks.
Felt cherry is native to China. IN late nineteenth century, it began to spread throughout the Far East and some areas of Siberia. It was introduced into the gardens of the European part of Russia by I.V. Michurin, informing gardeners that “a completely new type of stone fruit, unprecedented in European gardens, is being introduced into the culture... The yield is amazingly generous, the branches with fruits bend to the ground from heaviness.” And although felt cherries are loved in this part of Russia, in gardens they were and continue to be grown only as seedlings, which means that they were originally wild plants, and not varietal material. Seedlings are not the same in terms of winter hardiness, yield, ripening time, size and taste of fruits, so some gardeners are more lucky, others less so. But beyond the Urals, and especially in the Far East, they propagate varietal felt cherry. And I don’t understand why there are no varieties of this cherry in the European part of Russia. After all, even the State Register officially lists its 15 varieties, and without indicating the place of admission, which means everywhere. 13 of these varieties were created at the Far Eastern Experimental Station of the All-Russian Research Institute of Plant Growing named after. N. I. Vavilova (VNIIR) Academician of the Russian Academy of Agricultural Sciences Vera Petrovna Tsarenko together with her daughter, a candidate biological sciences Tsarenko Natalya Albertovna, and in total they have already created more than 40 varieties.
The first breeders of felt cherries were the Far Eastern population. By sowing seeds for a long time, people selected plants with the largest and best-tasting fruits, and paid attention to winter hardiness, which is why its range expanded to more northern regions. Undoubtedly, this is happening spontaneously now. For the first time, scientifically based, planned selection was started by N. N. Tikhonov in the 30s of the last century, but in 1937 he left with Far East, and the promising forms he obtained were lost. But at this time, the future academician G. T. Kazmin began breeding felt cherries and, by the way, using some of Tikhonov’s forms in Khabarovsk. As a result of enormous and labor-intensive work (he studied more than 10,000 seedlings in four generations), G. T. Kazmin managed to develop 10 varieties of felt cherries and zone them in the Khabarovsk (and therefore very harsh) region. Now most of its varieties have “dissolved” in numerous plots of amateur gardeners, and only two are listed in the State Register - Leto and Ogonyok.
Advantages of the Leto variety - large (3.0 g) light red fruits, dense pulp, semi-dry fruit tear-off (which is very important for felt cherries with their usually “wet” tear-off), decent yield (8.4 kg per bush), winter hardiness , resistance to cherry pocket disease). Ripening period is the end of July.
The Ogonyok variety has slightly smaller fruits (2.5 g), but tastier (the Leto variety has 3.5 points, Ogonyok - 3.8). Like Leto, the Ogonyok variety is winter-hardy, but more drought-resistant. The ripening times for these varieties are the same.
But in my opinion, G. T. Kazmin’s Damanka variety is even more interesting. At one time it was zoned, but now for some reason it has disappeared from the State Register (however, like many other really good varieties of fruit and berry crops). First of all, Damanka is distinguished by the unusual color of the fruits for felt cherries - almost black, they are large (more than 3 g), shiny, very impressive, and the taste is the best of all varieties of felt cherries. They ripen in late July – early August. The variety is winter-hardy, the yield is average (from one bush up to 8 kg). And what’s important is that the variety is relatively resistant to monilia. Sand cherry also participated in the origin of Damanka.
Academician V.P. Tsarenko began breeding felt cherries in the early 70s. Ten years later, her daughter also joined this work. At first, one might say, all the gardens of the Far East were examined. All the most interesting things (including the G.T. Kazmina varieties) were planted at the experimental station, studied and included in the selection, which means that from year to year, with increasing volume, crossings were carried out, progeny studies and selection, selection, selection... From a total of more than 3,000 hybrid seedlings grown, 400 were initially isolated, and of these, a little more than 40, which have now become varieties. A low bow to you, great workers, and a wish to gardeners to open the gate to these varieties in their garden and not lose them, as often happens. Fortunately, these varieties are actively propagated and distributed throughout the country by LLC NPO “Garden and Vegetable Garden” (Chelyabinsk). And I was lucky - at the 2nd Congress of Gardeners, which took place in December 2010 in Chelyabinsk, I listened to Natalia Tsarenko’s report, and then she came to my hotel room and, long after midnight, talked about the Far East, my mother, work, and her two little twin sons. Unforgettably!
In the Tsarenko felt cherry varieties, I was first of all struck by the variety in terms of ripening: from very early (fruit ripening July 10 - 15) - Delight, Natalie, Skazka, Children's (zoned), Tasty, Early, Fabulous, Desired, Sweet, Fairy, Gourmand , Krasnaya, Urozhaynaya (promising for zoning), to varieties with really late ripening (late July - early August) - Shchedraya, Mechta, Chereshnevaya, Virovskaya.
The increase in fruit mass (weight) is also impressive. In almost all varieties it reaches an average of 3 grams or more, while in non varietal plants varies only between 0.3 - 1.2 g. The largest fruits are in the varieties Natali (4.0 g), Tsarevna (3.6 g), and Detskaya (3.5 g).
The fruits of varietal felt cherries also stand out for their improved taste, which for many of them (Alice, Vostochnaya, Krasavitsa, Natalie, Okeanskaya Virovskaya, Osennyaya Virovskaya, Vkusnaya, Krasnaya, Mechta, Skazochnaya, Shchedraya) is estimated at 4 points, whereas, for example, in Under the same conditions, even the common cherry varieties Lyubskaya and Rastunya have a tasting score of only 3.5 and 3.8 points, respectively.
The combination of the already mentioned improvements in fruits with their semi-dry separation was also important in the direction of Tsarenko’s selection. And this was also successful in the overwhelming majority of varieties.
Felt cherry varieties are not offended by their yield. In family gardens of the Far East at good care they yield 15–20 kg or more per bush.
Among the Tsarenko varieties there is one completely extraordinary one - Belaya, which, of course, is so named for the white color of the fruit, which is generally rare in plants. The fruits are white in appearance, their flesh is white, and even the seed is white. The taste is sweet and sour, pleasant. This unusual albino was discovered in one of the amateur gardens near Vladivostok. And if we remember about the almost black fruits of the Damanka variety, we can conclude that the color of felt cherry fruits can be from white, through different degrees of brightness red, to almost black. And there are still new and new varieties ahead, new combinations of crossings, there will be more...
But, drawing the attention of gardeners to varieties of felt cherries, one cannot help but say that they, just like its ordinary seedlings, are now beginning to be noticeably damaged by two destructive fungal diseases - coccomycosis and monilial burn. Even earlier, these diseases struck like a plague to our common cherries and they were largely destroyed. And now they have reached the felt cherry tree. To be fair, I will say that so far, in comparison with the common cherry, the felt cherry appears to be more resistant, although it does not have varieties that are truly resistant to these diseases. But its large gene pool collected by scientists and ongoing breeding work gives hope that they will be obtained. After all, selection saved the gooseberry from complete destruction by spheroteca (powdery mildew), returned the pear to the gardens in an updated and expanded form, and created scab-resistant varieties of apple trees. In the meantime, plant a felt cherry in your garden, and not just a seedling, but a varietal one. And take better care of her. For example, I have two bushes growing, and there are fruits, although, of course, not as many as before.
Let's return the dogwood to the gardens
Dogwood is the oldest, but, unfortunately, almost forgotten southern fruit plant. Archaeologists have found its bones during excavations of settlements dating back to the Neolithic period. It got its name from the red color of the fruit, which means red in Turkic. Can be designated by any of two species names: true dogwood and male dogwood. Now there is practically no dogwood in cultivation. Neither in the south of Russia, nor in the CIS countries is there a single plantation of it, nor are there any in European countries.
In Russia single trees dogwood (usually large-fruited forms), and then only occasionally, can be found only in family gardens North Caucasus and even less often - the Lower Volga region.
Bring back chokeberries to gardens
People call it chokeberry because of the blackness of its berries. But it is not a rowan at all, it belongs to a different genus, and is known in botany as chokeberry. Unlike rowan, which grows as a tree, chokeberry is a shrub somewhat reminiscent of currants, only taller, up to 2.5 m. And its leaves are completely different, solid, round, or rather, ovoid, dense, smooth, shiny . It’s just that the shape of the fruits, collected in clusters similar to those of rowan, makes it similar to this plant. The fruits of chokeberry contain seeds, and therefore it, like the apple tree and pear tree, belongs to the pome fruit crops. But due to the fact that chokeberry is a shrub, it is grown as a berry plant, and it is conventionally classified as a berry plant.
Flat seed (prickly cherry, prinsepia chinensis)
Flat seed (other names: prickly cherry, Chinese prinsepia) is still a potentially new stone fruit crop. For introduction into gardens, it is of interest as a cherry-like plant that does not know the devastating diseases of our cherry trees - coccomycosis and moniliosis. It is practically not affected by pests. In addition, the flatseed plant is winter-hardy, drought-resistant, grows quickly, has a well-developed root system, and can easily tolerate replanting and pruning.
In a word, what is not cherry saxaul! It is also important that the fruits of this plant, compared to cherries (for example, the Voleka variety), contain three times more vitamin C and two times more P-active compounds.
This plant was first described under the name “plagiopermum” by the English botanist Oliver in 1886. Later, in 1932, the famous researcher of the vegetation of the Far East, academician P. Komarov ranked this plant in the genus Prinsepia (the genus is named after the American botanist James Prinsep) and gave species name according to place of growth - Chinese. That is why the flatseed plant is also called prinsepia.
Planum is a prickly shrub, up to 2 m in height, with very original, long, curved, twig-like branches, which, like vines, are able to move to nearby trees. The fruit is a spherical drupe, slightly flattened on the sides (hence the name of the plant), up to 2 cm in diameter, bright red in color, with a large oval-shaped stone. The pulp is juicy, with a pleasant sweet and sour taste. The fruits ripen at the end of July, they are quite edible fresh, and are also suitable for processing: jam, preserves, juice, compotes, drying. The disadvantage of the fruit is that the seed is too large and the mass of pulp enveloping it is relatively small.
Due to the resemblance of the fruits to cherries and the thorniness in everyday life, this plant is called “prickly cherry.”
Flat seed is a very ancient plant. Scientists suggest that it existed about 50 million years ago and was the progenitor of other stone fruits of the Rosaceae family. It grows wild in China, Korea and here in Primorye. It grows along river banks in moist, rich alluvial soil. It is found rarely, usually in individual bushes and only sometimes in small thickets.
WITH late XIX V. flatseed is used in ornamental gardening. It looks beautiful in single and group plantings, especially during the ripening period of the fruits, which contrast effectively with the green foliage. The flatseed plant is no less attractive in the fall, with gold-colored foliage. It is also good for hedges and is used to secure slopes.
Prinsepia blooms yellow, medium-sized, fragrant flowers, collected in the leaf axils of 1-4 pieces. In Moscow it blooms in early May, in the Urals - towards the end of the month. Flowering lasts up to two weeks. Like most Far Eastern plants, it begins to vegetate very early: the leaves on the bush begin to bloom already in early April.
Prinsepia propagates by sowing seeds in open ground in autumn or spring. For spring sowing seeds need stratification for four months. It can also be propagated by layering and green cuttings. Plants from seeds bloom in the fourth or fifth year, and by eight years they already produce a decent harvest - up to 10 kg per tree.
Like many stone fruits, flatseed is a self-sterile plant. To obtain stable yields, it is necessary to plant at least two (preferably 4-5) plants in the garden. And also pay attention to the fact that although prinsepia tolerates shading, it grows faster and is more decorative in a sunny place.
Prinsepia is a rare wild plant and is even listed in the Red Book. Due to the irresponsible behavior of people, there is less and less of it in nature. If we don’t have time to bring it into the garden, another unique God’s creation will disappear from the face of the earth. But, of course, breeders still need to work with it: select forms with more “fleshy” fruits, remove thorns, and, probably, improve the taste.
Irina Sergeevna Isaeva,
Doctor of Agricultural Sciences
Fruit crops have been cultivated by humans to produce fruits and nuts for centuries. These plants belong to various botanical families, genera and species. In total, there are about 40 families in the world, uniting 200 genera and more than 1,000 species of fruit plants.
All fruit plants are perennial, most trees and shrubs are deciduous, although there are also evergreens among them. A significant part of fruit plants have not only high taste qualities, but also decorative qualities.
In Russia, the apple tree is one of the most beloved fruit crops. Our statistics claim that the apple tree is the first fruit tree that novice gardeners plant in their garden in 98% of cases. Its worthy neighbors in our gardens are also pear, cherry, plum, grape, and closer to the south - cherry, peach, apricot, cherry plum and walnut.
Fruits and nuts - sources useful substances for our body, and thanks to their wonderful taste, they are also sources of our good mood. The culinary value of fruits is difficult to overestimate. Numerous jams, confitures, marmalades, juices, fruit drinks, wines are prepared from them, and they are also added to various dishes: baked goods, salads, hot and cold dishes of meat and vegetables.
Despite the undeniable popularity and widespread various types and varieties of fruit trees, berry plants do not lose their popularity among most summer residents and gardeners. One could even say that without berry plants, the palette of any garden will be defective.
The secret of success is simple: berries are tasty and healthy. Their healing properties are many times greater than those of most fruits. Moreover, nature itself contains a valuable set of nutrients and vitamins in the berries, collected by nature in the best proportions. The fruits of each berry crop are unique in their healing effects and taste and perfectly complement, but do not replace each other.
Berries grown locally are much healthier and tastier than those bought at the market or in a store, because due to their delicate consistency they do not tolerate transportation well, losing their juice, aroma and vitamins on the way to the buyer.
Thanks to the variety of species and varieties of berry plants, we can enjoy a sweet harvest every year from early summer until late autumn. And in cold seasons, we enjoy the taste of summer on our tongues by opening a jar of our own strawberry jam or... a bottle of homemade blackberry wine!
Even the leaves of these plants, fresh or dried, can bring us health and vigor. Both folk and official medicine recommends taking tea mixtures with berry leaves as vitamins and therapeutic and prophylactic agents.
Most berry gardeners are not too capricious, grow quickly, and do not require much space in the garden. Many of them are also decorative!
Berry plants will repeatedly justify the money and effort invested in them, giving you good health and pleasure in life!
People value cultivated trees for the taste and beneficial properties of their fruits and the decorative qualities of their crowns. To obtain a cultivated form from wild trees, scientists use selection, hybridization or genetic engineering. To avoid confusion, trees, like all plants, have names. They are folk, Latin and conventional. This article introduces the reader to the last of them.
Names of cultivated deciduous non-fruit trees
Trees of this species are of great interest to gardeners who use deciduous non-fruit crops to create landscape design. Trees differ in size, crown structure, color and shape of leaves and flowers. Cultivated trees, whose names are different, differ in many other characteristics.
- Birch is the calling card of Russian nature. This tree has many varieties, but most often weeping birch is used to decorate parks, gardens and lawns. It grows up to nine meters in height. The names of trees belonging to cultivated species are very diverse. But the weeping birch with its snow-white trunk, hanging branches and yellowish earrings is especially beautiful.
- White or silver poplar is the most common crop. The tree is a decoration of city streets, gardens, parks, and local areas. These two species grow up to ten meters in height. The lower part of the crown is lowered and is low from the ground. Large-leaved poplar has variegated leaves, and black pyramidal poplar has a narrow, columnar-shaped crown.
- Maple has a number of varieties, like many cultivated trees. The names of garden forms vary. The ash-leaf maple grows up to five meters in height. The edges of its leaves are white. And the Norway maple is a little taller, its height is six meters and the leaves are purple.
- Alder grows very quickly, so it is widely used to create a hedge in the wetland part of the site. This is a tall tree - 10-12 meters in height. Its crown has a conical shape. Cultivated trees, which have different names, have distinctive characteristics. So, black alder has glossy leaves, while gray alder has the lower part of the leaf blade in a color corresponding to its name.
Names of cultural coniferous trees
There are six hundred species of coniferous trees in nature. Most of them are valued for their decorative qualities. But, some breeds of conifers are valuable for the beneficial properties of their fruits - nuts. Many types of evergreen trees have long been cultivated and grow successfully in garden plots and parks. It is impossible to list all the names, but you can get acquainted with some of them.
- Mountain pine is an evergreen beauty that grows up to ten meters in height, and in its natural environment – twice as high. It begins to bloom and bear fruit at the age of ten, or a little earlier. This culture has long been used in landscape design. Its beneficial properties are used for medicinal purposes. Sanatoriums are being built in pine forests. Pine trees decorate gardens and parks with single or group plantings.
- Cedar pine or Siberian cedar - does not cause difficulties in growing. It is valued for the healing properties of nuts and for their decorative value. This is a large tree; it is planted in large areas, where it can grow and bear fruit for 30-40 years.
- Spruce is a welcome guest at the New Year holidays. This culture has up to 50 species, but not all are used in landscaping. Valued for its decorative qualities and wood.