It is no secret that most garden plots cannot boast of a large area, and after the construction of a house and the necessary outbuildings, there is very little space left for landscaping. Therefore, it is quite difficult for novice gardeners to make their garden comfortable for relaxation, beautiful, and at the same time place plants that produce healthy, vitamin-rich fruits. But there are quite a lot of such shrubs. We'll talk about them.
In past years, even in urban landscaping, felt cherry (Prunus tomentosa, or Cerasus tomentosa) got its name because of the external resemblance of its fruits to cherry fruits, although this species is closer not to cherries, with which it is incompatible when grafted, but to plums, for which it serves as a weak-growing rootstock. Breeders from the Far Eastern Research Institute Agriculture The first large-fruited varieties “Amurka” and “Leto” were created. Large-fruited hybrids with sand cherry are known: “Coral”, “Cascade”, “Elgera”. Felt cherry grows as a tall bush up to 1.5-2.5 m with a spreading form. In April-May it is covered with many pinkish-white flowers up to 2 cm in diameter, simultaneously with the dissolution of leaves, which later in the fall are painted in light yellow and carmine tones, giving the bush additional decorativeness.
Felt cherry in bloom
In June, the branches of the bush are literally strewn with spherical, shiny, slightly pubescent, bright red-orange fruits with a pleasant sour-sweet taste. They can be eaten either fresh or processed, since the fruits contain 6-10% sugars, about 1% organic substances and 10-30 mg/100 g of vitamin C.
Here is one way to make felt cherry marmalade:
Wash the fruits, remove the stems and seeds, crush with a masher, rub through a sieve, add sugar in three additions (1.1 kg per 1.2 kg of cherries), boiling the mass each time. Cut the finished thickened marmalade into slices, sprinkle with powdered sugar, let cool, put in boxes and store in a cool place.
Fruits of the felt cherry Prunus tomentosa
This species is unpretentious, frost-resistant and drought-resistant, even to obtain a good harvest (from one bush at good care up to 5-15 kg) it is better to water the plant. Almost no pruning is required, except for thinning out thickening branches. They are most often propagated by seeds (stratification at 0-5 °C in sand, peat for 2-3 months or without stratification immediately after collection, seedlings bear fruit already in 3-4 years), green cuttings, and varietal specimens by grafting onto cherry plum, bessey (sand cherry) or felt cherry.
Many people are familiar with and have long loved the useful and beautiful shrub (or small tree) serviceberry (Amelanchier). The following species are most often cultivated: guests from North America Canadian serviceberry (A. canadensis), smooth serviceberry (A. laevis), blood-red serviceberry (A. sanguinea), spiked serviceberry (A. spicata), Lamarck serviceberry (A. lamarckii), as well as round-leaved serviceberry (A. ovalis) genus from Crimea and the Caucasus, Europe, Asia Minor and North Africa. The most decorative is considered to be the abundantly flowering serviceberry (A. florida), also a North American species, covered in a mass of white 2-3 cm flowers in 5-15-flowered racemes in May-June.
Irga smooth Amelanchier laevis in bloom
The fruits of the serviceberry are apple-shaped, round, 10-15 mm in diameter, dark purple or almost black, with a waxy coating, sweet, pleasant to taste, ripen early in mid-late June. The fruits of the serviceberry do not ripen at the same time, so they are collected in several stages or once when fully ripe, since they do not fall off. From one bush you can collect 7-15 kg. The fruits of the serviceberry contain 8-12% sugars, 0.4-0.9% organic acids, 0.002-0.007% carotene, up to 0.0040 flavonols, as well as vitamins C and B2, microelements. The fruits can be eaten as fresh, and dry, prepare jam, pastille, jellies and compotes, and freeze. The fruits of serviceberry have long been used in folk medicine for the treatment and prevention of atherosclerosis, cardiovascular and gastrointestinal diseases.
Serviceberry fruits
Several varieties of serviceberry have been developed: ‘Altaglow’, ‘Forestburg’, ‘Pembina’ and ‘Smoky’. All cultivated types of serviceberry are very undemanding to growing conditions, frost- and heat-resistant, durable (they bear fruit annually for 40-50 years), and are practically not damaged by pests and diseases. You can propagate shadberry by sowing seeds
(seedlings bloom and bear fruit in the 3rd year), green cuttings and grafting.
In ornamental gardening, serviceberry species are valued for their high decorativeness at all stages of development - from leafing out and flowering to fruiting and bright autumn color - and unpretentiousness. Irga is good in both single and group plantings, as well as in the form of topiaries and hedges. Used in fruit growing as a rootstock for low-growing apple and pear trees.
Irga Lamarca in autumn outfit
Chokeberry (Aronia melanocarpa) is native to eastern North America. Many people call it “chokeberry” due to the external similarity of the berries. Chokeberry got its name from Greek word“aros”, which means “help”, “benefit”, emphasizing its undoubted health benefits. In nature, it is a spreading shrub 0.5-2 m high, with whole leaves similar to cherry leaves. Nurseries often offer chokeberry in standard form, grafted onto the mountain ash. In May-June, the bush is covered with white, faintly fragrant flowers in corymbose inflorescences (12-34 flowers each), and in August small (6-8 mm, up to 1 g) black fruits with a light waxy coating ripen. From one bush you can collect 5-15 kg of berries. Aronia fruits contain 6-10% sugars, up to 1% organic acids and pectin substances, 10-100 mg/100 g of vitamin C, vitamins A, E and K and 1-3% P-active substances, which allows them to be used for the treatment of hypertension . All beneficial substances are well preserved in the berries until spring.
chokeberry flowers
Aronia berries have a tart taste, so they are often dried, frozen, made into jam, compotes (can also be mixed with other berries, improving the appearance of compotes and preserves from pale berries and fruits), jam, marmalade, and jelly. For storage, the fruits are collected in scutes.
Chokeberry fruits
Chokeberry is quite frost-resistant and unpretentious, but a good harvest of fruit can only be obtained with watering and in well-lit places. The spacing between fruiting bushes should be 1.5-2 m, avoiding thickening. Chokeberry is characterized by the formation of apogamous seeds that produce mother-type plants, so this shrub is most often propagated by seeds, for which they are stratified at 0-5 °C in sand or peat for 3-4 months and sown in the ground in the spring. Summer cuttings, dividing the bush and layering are also practiced. Chokeberry is also beautiful in group plantings and free-growing hedges; in autumn its leaves glow in all shades from purple to orange.
Victoria Roy
landscape designer
especially for the Internet portal
garden center "Your Garden"
Rowan is considered to be of low value fruit trees due to the characteristic bitter taste of its berries. However, being very common, it is widely used as an ornamental plant. Durable and resilient wood is also often used in carpentry.
Botanical description
In modern botany, the name “rowan”, the types and varieties of which you will find in the article, is usually understood as a whole genus of low woody plants from the large family Rosaceae. The number of species exceeds a hundred, and about a third of them grow freely in Russia. Rowan is widespread in North America, Asia and throughout Europe. This deciduous plant in the form of a shrub or tree is especially impressive in autumn, when the leaves are painted in crimson tones and the branches are decorated with huge bright clusters.
Uses and properties of rowan
Rowan wood is distinguished by its elasticity and high density, which makes it possible to use it for the manufacture of joinery. Blooming tree or shrub is an excellent honey plant.
Rowan berries are eaten, especially due to the development of new varieties, the fruits of which have lost their bitter taste. You can eat them fresh, canned (compotes, jams, preserves), make marmalade or pastille, dry, pickle or soak. Some properties of rowan, or rather its berries, are used in folk medicine. Among the beneficial qualities are the following: diuretic and choleretic, laxative, hemostatic, diaphoretic, antiscorbutic. The first frosts help get rid of bitterness in berries. They lead to the destruction of a specific glycoside.
Common rowan: varieties and types
The most famous and widespread species is the mountain ash. Its Latin name comes from the phrase “attracting birds.” This is probably due to the fact that bright red berries remain on the bush not only in the fall, but also almost all winter, serving as food for birds. The species is distributed throughout the world in temperate climates. Most often it is a tree, less often a shrub with a rounded crown and a height of up to 12 m, but, as a rule, only within 5-10 m.
Experts in the field of breeding divide the bred varieties of rowan into two varieties: Nevezhinskaya and Moravian. The first includes hybrids of Eastern European origin, and the second - Central European. Not only rowan berries differ (in taste, color, shape), but also the plants themselves - the shape of the crown, leaves, bark, etc.
Rowan Moravian
Sweet rowan, or Moravian, is a variety of the common rowan. It was first discovered in the 19th century in Moravia in the Sudeten Mountains region. It was introduced into culture thanks to its beautiful and tasty fruits. A tree 10-12 m high at a young age has a narrow pyramidal crown, large leaves up to 25 cm long, fruits up to 1 cm in diameter. The varieties of the Central European group presented below are of greatest interest.
A not very tall tree (10-15 m) is distinguished not only by its sweet fruits, but also by its decorative look. The crown is narrow-pyramidal, the leaves are large, not leathery, odd-pinnate, from the outside they look like openwork, and are painted in rich red and yellow shades in autumn. Flowering begins at the end of May, the inflorescence is corymbose and dense. The fruits are round-oval in shape, large with juicy sweet-sour pulp, scarlet-red. Rowan variety Edulis has high winter hardiness, is light-loving, but can withstand light shading, prefers fertile and well-drained soils. Does not tolerate waterlogging and excess moisture, reacts poorly to air pollution and smoke. Used as a fruit crop, as well as in group alley plantings.
A hybrid with a narrow compact crown shape grows up to 11 m in height. Decorative throughout the year thanks to large, beautiful feathery leaves, small sizes and bright berries. The fruits have no bitter taste. Like many other varieties of decorative rowan, Bissneri is not afraid of frost, but is sensitive to polluted city air, marshy and heavy soils. Prefers sunny, well-lit areas, tolerates light shade.
Another Western European variety with a pyramidal crown shape. The leaves are large, whitish on the underside with serrated edges. The fruits are oval-round in shape, wide-ribbed, bright orange in color, collected in a dense shield of 70-100 pieces, have a good taste without excess astringency and bitterness with juicy orange pulp. The variety is highly resistant to frost and diseases. Prefers loose, fertile soils without stagnant moisture, good lighting.
Nevezhinskaya rowan
Nevezhinsky mountain ash is also a variety of common, and only a specialist can distinguish them by external signs. As mentioned above, rowan berries have a characteristic bitter taste and become edible only after the first frost. However, the Nevezhin variety has distinctive feature. Its berries are devoid of bitterness even when unripe, and in terms of vitamin content they are comparable to lemon and black currant. The tree was not obtained through selection, but is natural look. The story of its discovery is very interesting. The tree was found by the peasant Shchelkunov in the Andreevsky Forest, which was located near the village of Nevezhino. Having planted it in his garden, he had no idea that the frost-resistant and unpretentious tree would spread throughout the country. Fellow villagers raised rowan seedlings and sold them to neighboring regions. IN this moment A large number of varieties have been bred, we draw your attention to the most famous and proven ones.
Eastern European varieties
- Kubovaya is a medium-sized tree with a paniculate crown shape, large thin leaves and elongated bright orange fruits. It is characterized by very high frost resistance, light-loving, undemanding to the soil, but prefers medium or light loams. Rowan of the Kubovaya variety does not have a bitter taste, it is moderately tart, the flesh is bright yellow and juicy. Fruits weighing 0.5 g.
- Sugar Petrova is a low tree (up to 5 m) with decorative large leaves. The variety is valued for its high sugar content in fruits without astringency and bitterness. Frost-resistant, unpretentious.
- Ogonyok - early variety universal purpose. The plant is medium-sized with straight ascending branches located compactly. The fruits are large, weighing 1.5-1.7 g with yellow flesh, in a ripe state of a red-orange hue.
- Rowan is a very large tree, so it makes sense to plant seedlings around the perimeter of the site. The plant prefers well-lit places, tolerates light shade, develops poorly in the shade, and bears little fruit.
- Almost all varieties of rowan are unpretentious and undemanding to the soil, but still develop better in a light substrate, on loam. Does not like excessive moisture and waterlogging.
- All rowan trees (varieties do not matter) prefer autumn planting or early spring planting (before growth begins). To ensure a bountiful harvest, it is recommended to plant several different hybrids.
- The main care of trees consists of timely removal of root shoots and shoots that develop below the grafting site, watering (if necessary), loosening the soil and treating against pests and diseases.
- Rowan begins to grow quite early, therefore it is advisable to prune and fertilize in a short and early time.
- From the third year after planting, it is recommended to feed the trees with complex mineral fertilizers in three stages: before flowering in the spring, in the summer during the formation of fruits and in the fall after harvesting.
- In the case of rowan, you don’t have to worry when planting it. As already mentioned above in this article, this plant is very, very hardy and unpretentious, and feels quite comfortable in almost any soil. Also, do not forget about another important quality of this plant - frost resistance. This ability allows the mountain ash to withstand even the harshest winters quite calmly. In addition, the plant can boast of resistance even to high temperatures.
- This plant is ideal for lovers beautiful landscape who prefer to put a lot of effort into caring for plants, since it practically does not require constant, regular watering. True, in the summer it is recommended to periodically moisten the soil under the rowan tree. Also, thanks to its strong and developed root system, the plant will not fall before strong gusts of wind. It should also be noted that the plant is resistant to heavily polluted city air.
- It is necessary to identify some ailments for which decoctions of healthy rowan berries are sometimes used. It is recommended to drink such decoctions for hypertensive patients and people suffering from atherosclerosis. Also this folk remedy can help with disorders of the heart, kidneys and liver. Rowan juice can be used in cases where a person has gastritis, hemorrhoids or low acidity. One of the useful components of the fruits of this plant - sorbic acid - can become a serious assistant in the fight against dysentery bacillus and staphylococcus.
- The berries of the plant are sometimes used as a preservative for food products, as well as for water purification. Our ancestors even had a certain way of purifying water - at night they simply threw a branch of this plant into a bucket of water. This method not only allowed the water to remain fresh for a long time, but also imparted a pleasant taste.
- tannins;
- pectins;
- B vitamins;
- vitamin E, C;
- iodine and zinc;
- iron and copper.
- The easiest way to treat is rowan juice. To prepare it, you need to sort out and wash a kilogram of berries, and then squeeze out the juice using a juicer. You can store it in the refrigerator for a week. The daily norm for hypertensive patients is 200 ml.
- Another simple way to use rowan for high blood pressure is to eat 10 berries daily. According to doctors and herbalists, it is fresh berries that bring the most benefits for high blood pressure.
- A decoction of rowan leaves is often used for high blood pressure. To do this, pour 500 ml of boiling water over two large spoons of dried and crushed leaves and cook over low heat for half an hour. After cooling, the decoction is taken three times a day, 50 ml.
- Rowan berries, ground with sugar, effectively reduce blood pressure and are stored for quite a long time. It should be consumed daily, a tablespoon in the morning and evening. If desired, you can pour a spoonful of grated berries hot water and drink such a delicious aromatic drink.
- For hypertension, chokeberry can be used as a compote. To prepare it, pour two glasses of berries into a thermos, add boiling water and leave for 4 hours. When the product is infused, add two tablespoons of honey. You need to drink this infusion twice a day, one glass.
- Another recipe that is prepared for high blood pressure is tea made from leaves and berries. They drink it three times a day, one cup. Place 3 rowan leaves and 10 berries in a cup, pour boiling water over it and leave for 10 minutes.
Michurin varieties
Varieties bred by the famous domestic breeder I.V. Michurin are extremely rare to find in modern gardens. At present, some of them are lost, others are simply mixed together and are indistinguishable. But there is also a preserved hybrid Michurin mountain ash. The Titan variety (photo above), in particular, is still sold and bought by gardeners to this day. It is bred by pollinating rowan flowers with pollen from pear and red-leaved apple. The plant is a low tree (up to 3.5 m) with a rounded crown. Large berries are collected in powerful clusters, have a characteristic taste without bitterness and a rich dark red hue. The tree is highly resistant to even the harshest climatic conditions. The hybrids Likernaya, Granatnaya, and Burka are close to the Titan variety in all characteristics.
Do not forget that ordinary and chokeberry, the varieties of which are also very numerous, are far from the same thing. Even if you compare the appearance of plants, you can notice significant differences. Chokeberry, or chokeberry Michurin, belongs to a completely different genus - Aronia, but also to the Rosaceae family. The species was bred in the 19th century in Michurin’s nursery. This is a low shrub (up to 3 m) with large dark green leaves and spherical black (sometimes with a purple tint) fruits with seeds. Popular as a honey, medicinal and fruit crop.
Features of growing rowan
Growing rowan and serviceberry
Growing rowan
Rowan is planted in the spring before the buds swell or in the fall - 2-3 weeks before persistent frosts. If there are no varietal seedlings, bring rowan from the nearest forest, since it can often be found in the undergrowth of mixed and coniferous forests, in clearings, along forest edges and even in mountains Rowan is characterized by high winter hardiness, withstanding frosts up to 50°C. It blooms late - in May-June, and this saves the flowers from spring frosts. The berries ripen in September-October. If the rowan grows on open area, its well-lit crown becomes rounded and bears fruit better.
Carefully process the tree trunk circles - the root system of rowan is located very close to the surface.
Rowan is propagated by grafting, layering, root suckers and green cuttings.
It is best to collect the fruits before frost - this way birds will not peck them, and they will be better preserved. Remove the stems and debris, wilt the fruits in the sun, and then dry at a temperature of 50-90°C.
Growing serviceberry
Irga has been known in Europe for 400 years, and in Canada and the USA for more than 100 years. But here, unfortunately, we have this useful plant It is not very common, and many have only heard about it. Those who planted irgus with north side their plot, they knew what they were doing: now the rest of the plants are protected from cold winds, and its owner is provided with tasty fruits with a high content of acids, sugars and vitamins.
Irga - very ornamental plant throughout the entire period of life, and she lives 60-70 years. The irga blooming and decorated with fruits is especially good. It propagates well by sowing seeds, root suckers, root cuttings, and dividing the bush. Irga is a fast-growing shrub, can be 4 m high. It is self-fertile, gives a good harvest, and begins to bear fruit at 2-3 years. Oval, bluish-black fruits with a bluish bloom ripen in July-August, they are very sweet, so you don’t need a lot of sugar to make jam from them.
It is rare to see such unpretentiousness - serviceberry is resistant to pests, tolerates strong shade, is undemanding to soil, heat-resistant, and low temperature can reach – 50°C – the irga will not be afraid. The flowers can withstand frost.
The berries can be eaten fresh, dried, or made into jam, jelly, marshmallows, compotes and juices. The berries contain a lot of vitamin C, as well as vitamin B2, tannins and dyes.
Serviceberry berry is a useful relative of chokeberry
This wonderful berry plant is a godsend for a summer resident. Irga is very unpretentious to growing conditions and is surprisingly frost-resistant. She is also very prolific. Its berries, unlike chokeberry (chokeberry), are very tasty, almost not tart. They contain many substances that people need. These are, in particular, carotene, vitamins B1, B2, C, K, P, minerals and other biologically active components. Therefore, she is a real storehouse of health.
Why is irga so useful?
Irga helps well with cardiovascular diseases, anemia, normalizes the functioning of the gastrointestinal tract, and treats the liver. it is used for diabetes and obesity.
It is also recommended for use by people affected by radiation exposure. It is an effective general strengthening agent. Whoever uses irgu feels a good influx of strength and energy. This reflects well on a person’s appearance.
They eat shadberry fresh when it ripens (in July). It is used to make jelly, press juice, and make wine and other products. Dried serviceberry berries have a wonderful taste and also have healing properties.
Despite its usefulness, this berry is still quite rare for us. You can fill this gap for yourself by growing shadberry in your garden plot or dacha. And then you will see in practice its amazing properties.
Sow serviceberry seeds in the second ten days of October (from the 10th to the 14th). To do this, make a small bed in the garden, divide it into squares 20 by 20 cm and plant a serviceberry seed in the center of each square. You need to plant to a depth of 3 cm, after which the planting is covered with earth. In the spring, serviceberry plants will sprout in this bed, which can be transplanted to a permanent place in a year.
In the 2-3rd year, young shadberry will begin to bear fruit. If you wish, you can make a wonderful hedge from berry bushes.
chemicalvet.mediasole.ru
How to prune shadberry, quince, hawthorn and rowan?
In our gardens, these beauties are rather random guests, leading a semi-wild existence. However, these trees also need pruning so that they become not a “thorn,” but an ornament to your garden. Therefore, we suggest we talk briefly about pruning quince, hawthorn, serviceberry and rowan.
Quince pruning
Quince bears fruit on annual growths. Frequency of fruiting is not typical for this tree. The main disadvantage, and at the same time - advantage, of quince - it forms an extremely large number of shoots. Thus, it thickens excessively, but also easily restores the crown.
For successful cultivation Quinces should be pruned every year: competing branches growing inward, dry and diseased shoots, and shoots are removed. In quince, fruit buds are most often laid on the upper part of long shoots (more than half a meter), and the lower eyes practically do not wake up. Because of this, the lower part of the quince crown is exposed. To avoid this, vigorous shoots are cut off by 30-50%, which causes them to become overgrown with short productive shoots. Young branches 15-40 centimeters long are considered the most prolific.
Young quince trees that have entered fruiting require light pruning. This is mainly thinning and removal of wen.
To stimulate fruit formation in old trees, about half of the overgrowing shoots are shortened by 70% of their length. The remaining branches will act as insurance. And the next year, the “safety” branches are also cut off.
If growth is severely attenuated, quince pruning is carried out every three to four years. Rejuvenating quince pruning consists of cutting branches at least 1 centimeter thick in diameter into three to four year old wood. At the same time, do not forget about proper fertilizing and watering.
It is very important to monitor the shoots of rooted quince, because the shoots can absorb the mother plant. To do this, it is cut into a ring, digging out the lower part of the shoot to the point where it departs from the root.
Hawthorn pruning
Hawthorn is known for its powerful growth; it is not for nothing that it has long been used to form hedges. However, if you grow hawthorn not as a fence, but as a garden crop, you will have to work hard with pruning the hawthorn, otherwise your tree will very quickly turn into a shaggy ball.
When pruning hawthorn, a key role is given to thinning pruning, removing branches that grow inside the crown, twin shoots, and dry branches. This crop bears fruit mainly on last year's growths, but can also bloom on two to three year old branches. Strong hawthorn branches are cut back by 30% to stimulate the growth of side shoots.
When using hawthorn as a hedge, it is pruned heavily, leaving about 30% of the length of each shoot. At the end of spring and summer, pruning is repeated. Hawthorn, in addition to a hedge, easily “takes on” the shape of a ball, cube or pyramid.
Rowan pruning
Before, how to trim rowan, decide what kind of rowan you have - chokeberry (chokeberry) or Scandinavian.
Pruning Scandinavian rowan
This tree requires almost no shaping. However, due to the fact that the crown of Scandinavian mountain ash is characterized by an acute-angled branch of skeletal branches, they often break. That's why pruning Scandinavian rowan carried out in such a way as to remove shoots growing towards the trunk at an angle of 90 degrees.
Rowan pruning is carried out in early spring. At the same time, the branches of young rowan are slightly shortened to the outer bud, and excess, diseased, broken shoots are removed. Caring for mature trees also consists of clearing the trunk from “tops” and cutting out the root shoots.
There are varieties of Scandinavian mountain ash that bear fruit on annual growths, others bear fruit on different types fruit formations. In the first case, the branches are thinned out, simultaneously shortening the longest ones by 25-30%. Rejuvenating pruning of rowan is carried out for trees with fading growth vigor by pruning 2-5-year-old wood. In the second case, the semi-skeletal branches should be shortened, the ringlets should be thinned out and rejuvenated.
Pruning chokeberry (chokeberry)
Most often, chokeberry is grown as a bush. Pruning chokeberry consists of selecting several of the most powerful annual shoots growing from the base of the bush. The rest of the young animals are mercilessly slaughtered. The tops of the remaining shoots are cut off at the same height, equalizing their growth. The most prolific branches of chokeberry are no older than six to eight years old, so part of the 5-7 year old shoots must be removed without leaving stumps. When pruning chokeberry, do not forget to get rid of thickening, weak, diseased branches. The chokeberry bush should consist of a dozen to one and a half shoots of different ages.
Rejuvenating chokeberry pruning consists of cutting off all branches at the root, leaving no stumps. From the young shoots, three to five of the most powerful ones are selected, getting rid of the weak ones throughout the summer. Thus, in a couple of years the bush will be renewed.
Pruning serviceberry
Irga is usually formed in the form of a bush, consisting of 10-15 shoots of different ages. Weak, broken shoots are cut out without leaving stumps.
Young shadberry is not pruned. The first two years leave all the strong root growth. Pruning an adult serviceberry consists of leaving two or three strong shoots, removing the rest (weak, dry, broken branches, and competing branches are also removed). Rejuvenating pruning of serviceberry carried out when growth is attenuated, once every three to four years, on two to four year old wood. All ends of strong shoots are trimmed annually by 30%.
Tatyana Kuzmenko, member of the editorial board of the online publication “AtmAgro. Agroindustrial Bulletin"
Rowan is a shrub or tree, description of rowan
Rowan is perhaps one of the most common trees in Russia. We can know with confidence that every resident of our country knows exactly what rowan looks like. Older generations remember with pleasure the taste of sour berries, which become sweeter in the cold - a small piece of childhood that remains with a person for life.
This plant can grow almost anywhere. This is explained by its unpretentiousness and endurance. That is why it is most often chosen for decorating a personal plot. Rowan can become really important element of landscape design country house. Its advantages lie not only in its endurance, as mentioned above. Appearance Rowan wood is pleasing to the eye and attracts attention, which can look advantageous against the background of monotonous decorative and complex decorations.
This article, as one can already understand from the previous paragraphs, will be entirely devoted to mountain ash. This famous plant is of particular interest not only to specialists in the field of botany, but also to the average reader, who is drawn to interesting information about everything at once.
Rowan - description. Characteristics of rowan
To begin with, it’s worth simply describing the rowan, and also answering a very common question that relates to this plant. Many users on the network ask the question “Is rowan a shrub or a tree?” If you think about it, this question is very logical; if you look closely at a mountain ash, you really won’t immediately understand whether it is a shrub or a tree.
Finding the answer to this question is quite easy. You just need to enter “Wikipedia rowan” into the search engine, and all the information will be posted in the first paragraph of the article on this comprehensive resource. The fact is that this plant itself is a tree, but at the same time There are also shrub varieties. Rowan looks like a not very tall tree with a straight trunk, as well as a crown, the shape of which can be described as ovoid.
Rowan trees are distinguished by their smooth bark and grayish color. . Leaves can be of different shapes: oblong-lacental or simply oblong, alternate, odd-pinnate. This plant is really quite beautiful tree, which determines its popularity as an ornamental plant. The old leaves of this shrub are not pubescent, unlike the young ones.
Rowan is especially beautiful during its flowering period, when it begins to bloom, and also looks very pretty in the fall. The flowers are collected in a kind of panicle, maybe white or have a pinkish tint. The smell of rowan flowers, however, is not particularly pleasant. This is a plant bears fruit annually, but one should not naively believe that the “harvest” can be collected within the specified time frame. Approximately once every three years the plant produces a full “harvest”.
The rowan tree usually blooms in late spring or early summer. Wherein fruit development begins in autumn in September. Gradually, they turn from white berries into red or black fruits. Of course, the berries of the rowan tree may not be on a par with the berries of cherries or grapes when comparing their taste, but in terms of usefulness they can easily compete with them.
Some growing features
The value of rowan as an ornamental plant
It is also worth noting the beauty of rowan leaves, which are distinguished by their unusual shape. In addition, in the fall the leaves become orange-reddish tint. In addition, there are bright rowan berries that can retain their beautiful color even until late winter.
Types of mountain ash
Serious work on the selection of mountain ash species was carried out by the famous Russian scientist Michurin. The scientist has developed several new hybrids of this plant. It was thanks to his research that chokeberry, which has already been mentioned in this article. In principle, it is very similar to the ordinary rowan species, but it does not belong to this species. In fact, this is a separate hybrid plant that has its own name - chokeberry.
Medicinal properties
The fruits of the mountain ash have long been used by people as a folk medicine. Rowan berries contain various vitamins, as well as glucose, fructose and sorbic acid. All these components very beneficial to the body, especially weakened by illness.
The meaning of rowan in ancient rituals
The importance of mountain ash was noted in ancient times. Cases of using the plant as a decorative decoration and medicine, but even in pre-Christian Rus' in some regions people used rowan for certain rituals. For example, there were wedding ceremonies, which involved laying rowan leaves on the shoes of the newlyweds, and also placing rowan berries in their pockets.
The specified plant in this case used as a symbol of protection against the possible machinations of witches and sorcerers. Rowan trees were also planted next to the house for the same purpose. Rowan was also used to drive out spirits that brought various diseases and illnesses to people.
In addition, the value and significance of rowan among the people is emphasized by the existence various legends, which were passed down from mouth to mouth for more than one generation. For example, you can point out an interesting and original legend that tries to explain the presence of bitterness in the taste of rowan fruits. According to this legend, the rowan tree was created by the devil himself from the tears of Eve when she was expelled from paradise.
It was believed that this served as a kind of symbol of Satan's victory over humanity. But after the Creator discovered the similarity of the leaves of the rowan tree with the cross, he took it from the devil's garden. This could not please the devil, who subsequently set out to destroy his own creation so that it would not go to the Creator and people. But he failed to do this, only as a result of trying the berries of the rowan tree have become bitter.
Decorative and medicinal properties Rowan berries, which have already been discussed in this article, are not the only advantages of this beautiful plant. The qualities and properties of the wood of this tree make it possible to make various joinery products from it. Here it is necessary to mention the main advantages of rowan wood-strength and elasticity.
As already mentioned, there are quite a few different varieties of this plant, but one of them can boast of quite large fruits. Large-fruited rowan berries are really large compared to the fruits of other varieties of this plant. One berry can weigh twenty grams and have a diameter of three and a half centimeters. The fruits of large-fruited rowan are very tasty. At the same time, this variety is not as unpretentious as other types of mountain ash. She doesn't really like winter, so she needs special care. Interesting fact about large-fruited mountain ash is that it was bred in Crimea by the Crimean Tatars.
Rowan with sweet fruits instead of bitter ones, it was first found in the village of Nevezhino, Vladimir region. From there it spread throughout Russia. It was this variety with sweet fruits, called nevezhensky, that at the beginning of the twentieth century was used for the mass production of tincture, which was called “Nezhinskaya”.
Chokeberry, or chokeberry and preparations from it
Chokeberry apples
Chokeberry is usually called chokeberry, and often chokeberry, although chokeberry and rowan represent different genera of the Rosaceae family. But this is not the only inaccuracy regarding chokeberry. Chokeberry fruits are usually considered berries, but this is an apple. Round, almost black apples with a bluish coating ripen in August. But they can hang on the bush until frost.
But it is better to remove the chokeberry fruits at the beginning of September, since birds readily eat them, especially in October, before leaving. In addition, chokeberry fruits harvested from the bush are preserved for more than a month due to the presence of phytoncides; detrimental to putrefactive bacteria.
In the 70s, chokeberry was an extremely popular crop - it could be seen in many areas. This tree is a pioneer in poor soils. Chokeberry is unpretentious - it grows in unsuitable conditions (except for swampy and saline soils), it can grow when groundwater is at a depth of 1.5-2 m. But if you want to get large fruits, choose a well-lit place for it with loose, moist and fertile soil. Please note that chokeberry does not grow well in the shade of trees and on dry soils.
Due to its high winter hardiness, it can be grown even in Siberia, withstanding frosts down to minus 30-35°C. But it is guaranteed that it can still be grown there only by bending the shoots to the ground for the winter and covering them with snow. However, I want to focus on one reason possible damage chokeberry by frost, which is not associated with its biological nature, but with the introduction of excess doses of nitrogen fertilizers. With an excess of nitrogen, basal shoots and suckers are distinguished by strong growth and a long phase of accelerated growth. Reaching a height of 60-80 cm, they often go into winter unlignified and with an unformed apical bud. The tops of such shoots freeze even in favorable winters. Chokeberry reproduces easily - by root suckers, layering, lignified and green cuttings, dividing the bush, and pre-stratified seeds. If you purchased chokeberry seedlings, then keep in mind that they will take root better if, before planting, they are dipped in mash made from fatty clay, mullein and water. In the absence of these components, you can use peat, humus, or simply earthen mash.
On light soils, it is recommended to plant seedlings 6-8 cm deeper than they grew before digging, and on heavy soils - 2-3 cm. This is due to the need to deepen all root shoots (awls) located at the root collar and create favorable conditions for speedy growth of the base of the bush.
Chokeberry begins to bear fruit at the 3-4th year of life.
Chokeberry bushes tolerate replanting and division well. Moreover, this can be successfully done not only with five- to six-year-old bushes, but also with middle-aged ones (from 8 to 15 years). When dividing, cut out all old, diseased and broken branches. The root system is dipped in the same mash as the seedlings. Transplanted rowan bushes quickly and well take root and bear fruit, usually within a year of transplantation.
Considering the biological feature of chokeberry to produce a large number of offspring of root and stem origin, with proper agricultural technology the age of the bushes can be significantly extended. Renewal shoots, having their own root system and thus becoming independent in the bushes, keep chokeberry bushes in a state of “eternal” youth, with a significant overall age of the bushes. Due to this circumstance, the life expectancy of a bush depends to a greater extent not on the biological characteristics of this crop, but on the choice of site and care that meet its requirements.
Chokeberry blooms late, in the second half of May, and therefore it is not afraid of spring frosts. It bears fruit every year, its harvest is very generous.
In the garden, 2-3 of its bushes with a feeding area of 3x2.5 or 3x2 m are enough to provide seven fruits of this crop.
It is interesting that in Europe, chokeberry, whose homeland is North America, was first cultivated as an ornamental shrub. Indeed, in early spring our eyes are pleased with this beauty’s white, like a bride’s, flower dress; in summer, it is dark green, shiny, like a polished leaf. Late autumn it is decorated with bright contrasting colors - large, black, also shiny berries, hanging in heavy clusters from the branches, against a background of purple leaves.
Extremely attractive chokeberry, grafted into the crown common rowan, - a spectacular combination of the straight, candle-like trunk of an ordinary rowan tree and the spreading weeping crown of aronia. You can create such beauty yourself. To do this, you need to bring from the forest or buy in a nursery ordinary rowan trees 1-1.2 m high. Plant them in the form of an alley or in a group. After a year or two, when the rootstock takes root and produces growth, in the spring, plant a cutting of chokeberry into the main trunk.
The chokeberry that we grow in our gardens is not similar to the natural American species in a number of ways - it is a hybrid with larger fruits, bred by I.V. Michurin. By the way, the Liquor rowan he obtained is the result of crossing chokeberry with common rowan. There are no zoned varieties of chokeberry (the promising variety Black Eyes is still being tested).
Now the “aronia boom” has died down somewhat. Probably due to the tart, astringent taste of the berries, which have a rough consistency. But, if you make preparations from chokeberry with berries, apples, quinces, then its tart taste will add piquancy, not to mention color. Add chokeberry to faded strawberry juice, and it will sparkle with ruby reflections and acquire a completely new taste. Apple jam and jam will also benefit in taste and color if made with chokeberry. We will introduce you to some recipes for preparing chokeberry with other berries and fruits.
A convenient and affordable way to prepare chokeberries for future use is drying. It helps improve the taste of the fruit: they lose excessive astringency, while the medicinal properties are preserved. It is better to dry quickly so that the fruits do not spoil. Well-ripened fruits are separated from the bunches, washed, laid out on sheets and placed in open oven or a low-heat oven with a temperature of 50-60°. Dried fruits are used to prepare jelly, compotes, and fruit tea.
The properties of chokeberry are perfectly preserved even when frozen. When thawed, the shape and taste of the fruit are preserved. Choose the recipes you like; the benefits of such preparations will be undoubted. After all, the medicinal properties of chokeberry are very multifaceted: it has a choleretic effect (therefore it is suitable as a supplement when consuming difficult-to-digest foods), and moderately lowers blood pressure. Organic compounds iodine, found in chokeberry in sufficient quantities, removes excess cholesterol from the body and has a beneficial effect on the function of the thyroid gland. By the way, in terms of the amount of iodine in fruits, chokeberry ranks second after feijoa, the leading plant iodine collector. In addition, chokeberry contains a lot of P-vitamins and other biologically active substances. The sugar contained in it is easily absorbed by diabetics.
The healing properties of chokeberry were known to the Indians of North America long before the appearance of the white man. The Dakota and Delaware Indians used chokeberry juice to treat many illnesses, including burns, colds, and general weakening of the body. They dried the fruits, preparing sweet flour from them in reserve. Europeans quickly appreciated the high qualities of this native American plant and began to actively cultivate it.
Chokeberry preparations
CHARONY AND APPLE JAM
Chokeberry cooked with apples has a pleasant sweet and sour taste. Blanch fruits (500 g) and apple slices (500 g) for 2-3 minutes, cool cold water, add sugar (1.2 kg per 1 kg of mixture). The jam should be boiled down several times, and at the end of cooking, add 2-3 g of citric acid.
500 g chokeberry, 500 g black currant, 0.8-1 kg of sugar.
Wash the fruits, dry them and place them in glass jars, stirring with sugar. When they are covered with juice, let them stand for a few more days so that the sugar penetrates inside, then cook until tender.
1 kg of chokeberry, 400 g of quince, 1-1.5 kg of sugar, 0.2 l of water.
Wash the chokeberry thoroughly and grind completely with a small amount of water (0.2 l). Add sugar and cook for another 5-10 minutes, then add the quince cut into pieces and cook until tender. Pour into sterile jars and close with lids.
Chokeberry, chokeberry - black gold
Chokeberry is a plant with a rich history that originates from North American swamps, sandy plains and steep cliffs. It is in these places that an unsightly, low-growing shrub grows, radically different from the well-known and beloved chokeberry from childhood.
The genus Aronia belongs to the apple subfamily. Species of this genus grow in large numbers in eastern North America. There you can also find chokeberry with black, early-ripening fruits of mediocre taste, as well as a. arbutus-leaved with red, much later ripening fruits.
The name of the genus comes from the ancient Greek name for rowan aria, which in turn comes from the Greek word meaning “benefit, help.” One of the earliest names for chokeberry is still alive today and is familiar to everyone - chokeberry.
Russian chokeberry (chokeberry) owes its appearance to the great breeder Ivan Vladimirovich Michurin, who, through numerous experiments, obtained a new crop - chokeberry. The main difference between the chokeberry, which originates from North America, and the chokeberry cultivated by I.V. Michurin, is its incomparably more attractive appearance (decorative leaves are round in shape, large beautiful flowers), increased yield and taste, winter hardiness (withstands up to – 35° C).
Ivan Vladimirovich did not have high hopes for the crop and recommended using it only for planting as forest strips, and the fruits for processing. Chokeberry Michurina very soon spread and became popular throughout almost the entire territory of Russia, enduring the harsh winters of Gorno-Altaisk and the unstable climate of the foothills of the Caucasus without damage.
However, over the years, gardeners’ passion for this curious crop gradually began to fade away, despite the increased interest of breeders in it. In recent decades, several dozen Danish, Finnish and Polish varieties have been created, and Russian breeders have not ignored this crop. Most proven Altai large-fruited, Black-eyed, Black-fruited and others.
Meanwhile, chokeberry fruits have been and remain a storehouse of vitamins and minerals that are necessary for humans, especially during periods of acute vitamin deficiency, and are much more easily absorbed by the body than artificial dietary supplements.
These fruits contain a large amount of vitamin P, necessary for the normal functioning of the cardiovascular system. Chokeberry is a leader among berry crops in terms of the content of anthocyanins, coloring substances that give juices and wines a stable color. In addition, chokeberry fruits contain vitamins A, E, B, PP, C, and microelements, including fluorine, iodine, copper, and iron. The tart-sweet taste characteristic of chokeberry is given to the fruit by the sugars, pectin and tannins they contain, and the acid content does not exceed 1%.
Due to the presence of vitamins P and C, chokeberry fruits can be used as a vasodilator for the prevention and treatment of atherosclerosis and hypertension. Fresh fruits strengthen the cardiovascular system, improve brain activity, have a positive effect on the immune system and the activity of gastric enzymes, and help with allergic reactions and diabetes. Not only fresh fruits have a positive effect, but also frozen, dried and even processed products: jam, jelly, preserves, compote.
In addition to its medicinal qualities, the Michurin chokeberry plant is also characterized by high decorative qualities. Its light pink flowers in lush inflorescences begin to delight the eye already in May, and the fruits in elegant dense clusters ripen in September and can be stored in a household refrigerator for up to several months without losing their taste and medicinal properties. The plant is no less decorative in the autumn; the purple-red color of the foliage looks beautiful against the background of a faded landscape.
Chokeberry is one of the easily propagated crops; good results are obtained by sowing seeds in the ground in autumn, but there are also more labor-intensive and no less effective methods of propagation - green cuttings and grafting with cuttings; in the latter case, rowan ash can be used as a rootstock. Grafting with a cutting significantly speeds up the production of high-quality planting material, and, consequently, the harvest. The first fruits can be obtained already in the year of grafting (up to 300-400 g per plant), and if you remove the primroses and allow the plant to “rest”, this will have a beneficial effect on the next year’s harvest, which can be 2.5 or even 3 kg per plant.
As for green cuttings, an indispensable condition for obtaining high-quality planting material is the presence of a greenhouse equipped with a fog-forming unit, although you can somewhat simplify the design by building it in your garden plot and shading it with burlap. In this case, 5-7 waterings from a regular watering can are enough, and in rainy weather - 1-2.
The resulting planting material should be planted in a permanent place, taking into account the fact that chokeberry is a rather unpretentious and undemanding plant and grows well on any type of soil. An indispensable condition for obtaining high, stable yields is the density of plantings. The distance between plants should not be less than 2 m. Plants are planted in holes 50x60 or 60x60 cm and up to half a meter deep. 100-150 g of superphosphate and up to 70 g of potassium sulfate are added to the hole. The root collar is buried 1-1.5 cm. Seedlings are sometimes cut off immediately after planting, leaving stumps 15-20 cm high with 4-5 buds. Young plantings obtained in this way must be fed with ammonium nitrate during the first years of growth, and starting from the age of five, a bucket of humus or compost, up to 70 g of superphosphate and up to 30 g of potassium sulfate are added to the tree trunk circles.
Chokeberry does not require any care, with the exception of pruning, which should be carried out starting from the seventh or eighth year of fruiting, when the crown needs thinning.
As for planting time, the most suitable period, as for most crops, is autumn, which allows the plants to take root and prevents premature bud break in the spring.
In conclusion, we should mention the honey-bearing properties of this wonderful plant, which is one of the favorites of bees, which is also facilitated by its phytoncidal properties, which have a detrimental effect on most bee diseases and pests, including bee mites.
N. Khromov , researcher at VNIIS named after. I. V. Michurina
www.sadisibiri.ru
Does chokeberry increase or decrease blood pressure?
Chokeberry, or chokeberry, is a tart, healthy berry with unique properties. The question of how chokeberry affects whether it increases or decreases blood pressure is incorrect, since its main property is the normalization of blood pressure.
What are the benefits of berries?
Chokeberry, chokeberry or chokeberry are all names of the same berry. It has many beneficial properties, but is not particularly popular due to its specific tart taste and astringent properties, which few people like.
The healing properties of this medicinal plant like chokeberry, they are very diverse - from normalizing blood pressure to stopping inflammatory processes. In folk medicine, this berry is used to treat many different diseases, including hypertension and hypotension.
The beneficial properties of the berry and its specific taste are determined by its composition. Aronia contains:
Chokeberry is not the sweetest berry, but beneficial features more than compensate for the specific taste
Thanks to the tannins in its composition, chokeberry has a positive effect on the stomach and intestines. Its use normalizes the digestive process and delicately solves the problem of constipation. Pectins protect the body from free radicals. Recent studies have proven that pectins reduce the risk of developing malignant tumors. B vitamins have a positive effect on the cardiovascular and nervous system.
Chokeberry contains a large amount of vitamins and microelements.
Chokeberry lowers blood pressure or increases it, depending on the method of use. It is generally accepted that the berry normalizes blood pressure, so it can be used for both hypertension and hypotension.
It has a positive effect on the cardiovascular system, strengthens blood vessels and increases their elasticity, reduces the risk of developing atherosclerosis by reducing cholesterol levels. Chokeberry is used for blood pressure in diabetes mellitus, as it does not increase blood glucose levels, but has a positive effect on heart function.
A large amount of iodine in the composition normalizes the functioning of the thyroid gland, thereby eliminating one of the factors that increases blood pressure - hyperthyroidism. Zinc and selenium in this berry have a positive effect on men's health, preventing the development of prostatitis. Vitamin E provides protection against premature aging, normalizes heart function and helps prolong youth.
Chokeberry has a beneficial effect on all organs and systems of the human body
Chokeberry and blood pressure
Chokeberry for hypertension is a natural and safe remedy to control blood pressure.
Chokeberry helps with hypertension to normalize blood pressure due to its antispasmodic properties. This also explains the effectiveness of its use for headaches caused by vasospasm.
How chokeberry affects whether it increases or decreases blood pressure - it depends on how you use it. In hypertension, the problem of high blood pressure is caused by vasospasm. Chokeberry can reduce blood pressure due to its antispasmodic and diuretic properties.
In case of hypotension, the blood pressure-lowering effect of chokeberry is due to its effect on the nervous system. It is stress and disturbances in the functioning of the autonomic nervous system that lead to a decrease in blood pressure.
Recipes for hypertension
Recipes for blood pressure from chokeberry cover different ways use of the berry and its leaves. Treatment of hypertension with chokeberry is carried out in the following ways.
You should take chokeberry for high blood pressure for a month, then take a three-week break.
In the same way, for hypertension, you can use red rowan, which has a pronounced diuretic effect.
Red rowan is also used for hypertension
Recipes for hypotension
Knowing how rowan affects blood pressure, it becomes clear that the berry can also help with hypotension. To increase blood pressure using rowan, you need to use one of the following recipes.
- Chokeberry tincture slightly increases blood pressure, but effectively strengthens blood vessels. To prepare it, grind 500 g of berries in a mortar and pour in the same amount of vodka. The product is infused in a closed bottle for 10 days, and then 30 drops are taken daily after each meal. The course of treatment is two months.
- An infusion of leaves and honey helps improve well-being with low blood pressure. To prepare it, pour boiling water over two large spoons of dried leaves, cover with a lid and wrap in a towel. The medicine should be infused for three hours. Then add 4 tablespoons of honey to it and take 100 ml daily before bed.
- For hypotension, you can also use rowan juice by adding a teaspoon to it lemon juice. This will not only increase vascular tone, but also strengthen the nervous system.
- Red rowan helps improve your well-being and slightly increases your blood pressure. To do this, it is recommended to prepare juice by mixing chokeberry and red berries in equal proportions.
The course of treatment for low blood pressure takes at least two months. Between courses a break of 30 days is required.
Contraindications
Like any other berry, rowan is prohibited during exacerbation of gastrointestinal diseases, especially gastritis and ulcers. Despite the fact that rowan effectively reduces blood pressure, it cannot be used during a hypertensive crisis. Another contraindication is an allergy to red or black rowan.
Chokeberry helps lower blood pressure only with regular use. However, rowan will not replace antihypertensive drugs used in the treatment of hypertension. Diet, normalization of the regimen, and giving up bad habits will help increase the effectiveness of treatment for pressure surges.
hypertoniya.guru
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Both figs and date palms. In general, who cares what. Let's try to understand this diversity rare crops. So, briefly about some rare crops.
ARONIA - chokeberry. This perennial shrub 2-3 meters high. Chokeberry is very rich in vitamins P, C, A, B1, B2 and PP. In addition, chokeberry fruits contain a record amount of iodine! occurs early, already in the second year after planting. Propagated mainly by seeds and green cuttings.
Irga is not the most common of shrubs. Reaches up to 3 meters in height. A shrub that is extremely beneficial for the blood vessels of the heart. It contains unique compounds that strengthen the walls of blood vessels: anthocyanins, catechins, flovonol, vitamin B12.
It begins to bear fruit in the fourth or fifth year and produces abundant fruit. In addition, serviceberry is very resistant to pests, unpretentious to soil and temperature changes. Serviceberries are used both fresh and dried to make compotes, jams and preserves.
- a unique plant that produces magnificent fruits with pleasant aroma and unique taste. In addition, the most valuable oil, sea buckthorn, is obtained from the fruits of sea buckthorn, which is used for various diseases. The shrub is quite tall - up to 5 meters in height. Propagated by cuttings and seeds. In addition, sea buckthorn is very resistant to temperature changes; it tolerates severe frosts up to 55 degrees. Feels great on the lungs sandy soils and black soil.
UNABI – Chinese date. This exotic tree reaches 6 meters in height. The fruits are very tasty and sweet, containing large amounts of sugar and ascorbic acid. Unabi unpretentious plant, easily tolerates both drought and very coldy. Another interesting fact is that it begins in the first year of planting. Propagated by seeds and roots. Unabi fruits are used for making preserves, jams and drying.
Dogwood is a shrub up to 5 meters in height. The pulp of the fruit is sweet and sour, aromatic. The fruits contain large amounts of ascorbic acid, pectin, carotene, iron and manganese. Dogwood loves well-lit places with light soil. Relatively frost-resistant. Propagated by cuttings and. Compotes, jams, preserves are prepared from dogwood fruits, and they are also dried.
Rowan is planted in the spring before the buds swell or in the fall - 2-3 weeks before persistent frosts. If there are no varietal seedlings, bring rowan from the nearest forest, since it can often be found in the undergrowth of mixed and coniferous forests, in clearings, along forest edges and even in mountains Rowan is characterized by high winter hardiness, withstanding frosts up to 50°C. It blooms late - in May-June, and this saves the flowers from spring frosts. The berries ripen in September-October. If rowan grows in an open area, its well-lit crown becomes rounded and bears fruit better.
Carefully process the tree trunk circles - the root system of rowan is located very close to the surface.
Rowan is propagated by grafting, layering, root suckers and green cuttings.
It is best to collect the fruits before frost - this way birds will not peck them, and they will be better preserved. Remove the stems and debris, wilt the fruits in the sun, and then dry at a temperature of 50-90°C.
Growing serviceberry
Irga has been known in Europe for 400 years, and in Canada and the USA for more than 100 years. But, unfortunately, this useful plant is not very widespread in our country, and many have only heard about it. Those who planted shadberry on the northern side of their plot knew what they were doing: now the rest of the plants are protected from cold winds, and its owner is provided with tasty fruits with a high content of acids, sugars and vitamins.
Irga is a very ornamental plant throughout its entire life span, and it lives for 60-70 years. The irga blooming and decorated with fruits is especially good. It propagates well by sowing seeds, root suckers, root cuttings, and dividing the bush. Irga is a fast-growing shrub, can be 4 m high. It is self-fertile, gives a good harvest, and begins to bear fruit at 2-3 years. Oval, bluish-black fruits with a bluish bloom ripen in July-August, they are very sweet, so you don’t need a lot of sugar to make jam from them.
It is rare to see such unpretentiousness - the serviceberry is resistant to pests, tolerates strong darkness, is undemanding to soil, heat-resistant, and low temperatures can reach -50°C - the serviceberry will not be afraid. The flowers can withstand frost.
The berries can be eaten fresh, dried, or made into jam, jelly, marshmallows, compotes and juices. The berries contain a lot of vitamin C, as well as vitamin B2, tannins and dyes.
The significance of chokeberry - the medicinal properties of the fruit, which occupy a leading position in antioxidant content.
The crop has special genetics that contribute to high and stable yields even with minimal care.
Culture requirements for growing conditions
Chokeberry- the result of crossing chokeberry and mountain ash.
Area natural look Aronia - swamps, sandy plains and mountain slopes of North America. This is an unsightly and low-growing shrub, which is radically different from the well-known chokeberry.
The shrub owes its cultivation and popularity in Russia to the Russian breeder I.V. Michurin. As a result of numerous experiments and practical tests a completely new crop was obtained - chokeberry.
Thanks to its high winter hardiness, disease resistance, and unpretentiousness to climatic and soil conditions, the shrub quickly spread over vast areas.
Lowlands are good, where the groundwater depth is no more than 2 m. This is distinguished by the relatively shallow occurrence of plant roots, the bulk of which are located up to 60 cm, and tap roots rarely reach a depth of 2 meters.
With a lack of moisture in the root layer, the winter hardiness and productivity of the shrub decreases.
Chokeberry develops well on different types soil: chernozems, gray forest soils, drained peat bogs, soddy-podzolic soils. Rocky, swampy and saline soils are absolutely unsuitable for its cultivation.
Chokeberry can be planted in a combined hedge or as a solitaire plant to decorate a spacious area.
This a good option to strengthen ravines or the perimeter of a personal plot located along a cliff or river mouth.
To grow chokeberry, you need to choose well-lit areas with sufficient moisture in the soil.
Selection of seedlings and varieties of chokeberry
Scientist-breeders have introduced many varieties and hybrids of chokeberry. Popular varieties:
Their characteristics are almost similar, there are minor differences in taste and fruiting time.
That's why the main criterion when choosing a seedling should be purchasing planting material adapted to the conditions of the region.
To plant, you need to purchase a one- or two-year-old seedling, it is important to pay attention to quality indicators.
These are: height up to 1.3 m, healthy bark without signs of damage, developed tap roots of at least 25 cm with a mass of overgrown roots.
To plant, you need to purchase a one- or two-year-old seedling from the nursery.
The productive period of chokeberry under conditions middle zone 25-30 years. All this time it has been characterized by stable and high productivity.
Therefore, to provide one family with fruits, it is enough to plant 1-2 bushes, which will begin to bear fruit in 2-3 years.
When to plant: autumn or spring?
Chokeberry can be planted in spring or autumn. The most preferable for the development of seedlings and gardeners is autumn planting. At this time, you can buy planting material with fresh roots at a favorable price.
In the middle zone, chokeberry planted from mid-September to the third ten days of October. During this period, the shrub gradually enters a state of relative dormancy, but its roots will develop until the soil temperature drops to -4°C.
Therefore, in the spring the plant will immediately begin to increase its vegetative mass. This gives a great advantage to seedlings planted in autumn, which are more than 20 days ahead of plants planted in spring.
The benefits of autumn planting for the gardener- saving time, the plant will not need additional care other than shelter for winter.
At spring planting it will be necessary to control the likelihood of return frosts, exposure to dry winds and temperature changes.
Regardless general recommendations When planting a seedling, you need to focus on the average temperature indicators of the region. You can plant at least 20 days before the first frost.. If the deadline is missed, the seedling needs to be buried in the ridge until spring.
In spring, the plant is planted before buds open. when the air temperature warms up to +15°C.
You can plant at least 20 days before the first frost. If the deadline is missed, the seedling needs to be buried in the ridge until spring.
How to plant: stages of work
The planting hole and substrate for the seedling are prepared in advance, preferably 1-2 months in advance. During this time, the soil mixture is structured, and the nutrients will take on forms that are easily absorbed by the plant’s roots. Optimal size pits 60x60x50 (cm), planting pattern - 2.5x4 (m).
To prepare the substrate you will need upper layer soil removed while digging a hole. It is supplemented with components:
They lay at the bottom of the pit drainage layer from broken brick or crushed stone no more than 15-20% of the total volume.
Before planting, the seedling needs to be inspected again. If damaged roots are found, the problem areas are cut off to healthy skin, and the dried ones are placed in water for 10 hours.
For better survival, the roots are dipped in mash made from fatty clay, mullein and water.
In light soils, the seedling is buried by 6 cm, in heavy soils by 2-3 cm.. Thus, after the soil shrinks, the root collar of the shrub should remain 1-3 cm below the ground level.
In light soils, the seedling is buried by 6 cm, in heavy soils by 2-3 cm, the root collar should remain 1-3 cm below the ground level
The roots are covered with soil mixture, periodically shaking the stem to avoid the formation of voids. After compacting the tree trunk circle and watering the seedling, you need to form a layer of mulch. The following are suitable for this purpose: peat, sawdust, mown grass or wood chips.
After planting, the above-ground part of the seedling is cut off, leaving only 20 cm in length.. At autumn planting the procedure is postponed until spring and carried out until the buds open.
Care after landing
The shrub's maintenance requirements are minimal. Besides it is rarely affected by pests and diseases. This makes it especially attractive for growing in the country, where the presence of a gardener is not constant.
Shelter for the winter
A seedling planted in the fall needs to be prepared for the first winter season. For this he is bent to the ground and pressed down with boards. It is important to do this until the air temperature drops to -1°C-2°C.
Otherwise, the stem of the bush will lose elasticity and may break. While bending the bush it is important to ensure that the height of the arc does not exceed 20 -30 cm.
Additionally the seedling is covered with spruce branches, and the mulch layer is made higher. In winters with little snow, the bush is covered with snow.
In the spring, when a stable temperature has established, the plant needs to be straightened. If you keep it bent down for a long time, the apical shoots can prop up.
A chokeberry seedling is bent to the ground and pressed, covered with spruce branches
Do shoots need to be trimmed?
For the right balance between stability and yield an adult shrub should have 30-50 strong trunks.
Sanitary pruning consists in removing old, rotten and bare branches. The shrub lays fruit buds on annual shoots, so they should not be shortened.
To increase the productivity and lifespan of the shrub, every 3-4 years you need to carry out anti-aging pruning. During the procedure, chokeberry shoots are shortened by half their height.
Chokeberry responds well to fertilizing that needs to be done twice a year. To do this, the following must be embedded into the tree trunk circle per 1 m2:
- ammonium nitrate 20 g (in spring);
- potassium salt 20 g, superphosphate 30 g (autumn).
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Gives good results foliar feeding of shrubs after flowering when fruits begin to set. To do this, it is sprayed with an aqueous solution of urea (20g/10l).
Chokeberry responds well to fertilizing, which should be done twice a year.
With the accumulation of excessive amounts of nitrogen, the growth and duration of formation of root shoots increases. In young shoots, the bark does not have time to become lignified and the apical bud does not form.
This leads to severe freezing even in the most favorable winter. That's why in the second half of the growing season, nitrogen fertilizing should not be done.
Watering and loosening the soil
Chokeberry is a moisture-loving crop. Watering is especially important for it at the beginning of the growing season and during fruit formation.
In persistent hot weather, the bush is watered every week. The water requirement for an adult shrub is 30 liters.
To do this, you can make watering furrows at a distance of 30-40 cm from the trunks of the bush. With this method, water will penetrate to all the roots of the plant.
Excessive soil compaction contributes to severe soil freezing in the root layers, which significantly reduces the winter hardiness of the shrub.
Prevention of diseases and pests
After harvesting and in the spring before buds open, the shrub must be treated with fungicides. For this it is sprayed with 1% Bordeaux mixture.
The shrub is resistant to pests. The reason for the spread of insects to chokeberry can be a massive infestation of the area by pests.
In these cases, you need to take a drastic measure - spraying with chemicals.
Chokeberry is resistant to pest damage; for prevention it is sprayed with 1% Bordeaux mixture
Chokeberry fruits are good for culinary preparations and are especially valuable for their medicinal properties. The shrub is also attractive for its decorative properties.
Plant hedge will transform the background of the garden plot three times a year, ranging from white color during flowering to purple leaves in late autumn.
Planting and caring for chokeberry:
Chokeberry, or chokeberry and preparations from it
Chokeberry apples
Chokeberry is usually called chokeberry, and often chokeberry, although chokeberry and rowan represent different genera of the Rosaceae family. But this is not the only inaccuracy regarding chokeberry. Chokeberry fruits are usually considered berries, but this is an apple. Round, almost black apples with a bluish coating ripen in August. But they can hang on the bush until frost.
But it is better to remove the chokeberry fruits at the beginning of September, since birds readily eat them, especially in October, before leaving. In addition, chokeberry fruits harvested from the bush are preserved for more than a month due to the presence of phytoncides; detrimental to putrefactive bacteria.
In the 70s, chokeberry was an extremely popular crop - it could be seen in many areas. This tree is a pioneer in poor soils. Chokeberry is unpretentious - it grows in unsuitable conditions (except for swampy and saline soils), it can grow when groundwater is at a depth of 1.5-2 m. But if you want to get large fruits, choose a well-lit place for it with loose, moist and fertile soil. Please note that chokeberry does not grow well in the shade of trees and on dry soils.
Due to its high winter hardiness, it can be grown even in Siberia, withstanding frosts down to minus 30-35°C. But it is guaranteed that it can still be grown there only by bending the shoots to the ground for the winter and covering them with snow. However, I would like to dwell on one reason for possible frost damage to chokeberry, which is not related to its biological nature, but to the application of excess doses of nitrogen fertilizers. With an excess of nitrogen, basal shoots and suckers are distinguished by strong growth and a long phase of accelerated growth. Reaching a height of 60-80 cm, they often go into winter unlignified and with an unformed apical bud. The tops of such shoots freeze slightly even in favorable winters. Chokeberry reproduces easily - by root suckers, layering, lignified and green cuttings, dividing the bush, and pre-stratified seeds. If you purchased chokeberry seedlings, then keep in mind that they will take root better if, before planting, they are dipped in mash made from fatty clay, mullein and water. In the absence of these components, you can use peat, humus, or simply earthen mash.
On light soils, it is recommended to plant seedlings 6-8 cm deeper than they grew before digging, and on heavy soils - 2-3 cm. This is due to the need to deepen all root shoots (awls) located at the root collar and create favorable conditions for speedy growth of the base of the bush.
Chokeberry begins to bear fruit at the 3-4th year of life.
Chokeberry bushes tolerate replanting and division well. Moreover, this can be successfully done not only with five- to six-year-old bushes, but also with middle-aged ones (from 8 to 15 years). When dividing, cut out all old, diseased and broken branches. The root system is dipped in the same mash as the seedlings. Transplanted rowan bushes quickly and well take root and bear fruit, usually within a year of transplantation.
Considering the biological feature of chokeberry to produce a large number of offspring of root and stem origin, with proper agricultural technology the age of the bushes can be significantly extended. Renewal shoots, having their own root system and thus becoming independent in the bushes, keep chokeberry bushes in a state of “eternal” youth, with a significant overall age of the bushes. Due to this circumstance, the life expectancy of a bush depends to a greater extent not on the biological characteristics of this crop, but on the choice of site and care that meet its requirements.
Chokeberry blooms late, in the second half of May, and therefore it is not afraid of spring frosts. It bears fruit every year, its harvest is very generous.
In the garden, 2-3 of its bushes with a feeding area of 3x2.5 or 3x2 m are enough to provide seven fruits of this crop.
It is interesting that in Europe, chokeberry, whose homeland is North America, was first cultivated as an ornamental shrub. Indeed, in early spring our eyes are pleased with this beauty’s white, like a bride’s, flower dress; in summer, it is dark green, shiny, like a polished leaf. In late autumn, it is decorated with bright contrasting colors - large, black, also shiny berries, hanging in heavy clusters from the branches, against a background of purple leaves.
Chokeberry, grafted into the crown of an ordinary rowan, is extremely attractive - the combination of the straight, candle-like trunk of an ordinary rowan and the spreading, weeping crown of aronia is impressive. You can create such beauty yourself. To do this, you need to bring from the forest or buy in a nursery ordinary rowan trees 1-1.2 m high. Plant them in the form of an alley or in a group. After a year or two, when the rootstock takes root and produces growth, in the spring, plant a cutting of chokeberry into the main trunk.
The chokeberry that we grow in our gardens is not similar to the natural American species in a number of ways - it is a hybrid with larger fruits, bred by I.V. Michurin. By the way, the Liquor rowan he obtained is the result of crossing chokeberry with common rowan. There are no zoned varieties of chokeberry (the promising variety Black Eyes is still being tested).
Now the “aronia boom” has died down somewhat. Probably due to the tart, astringent taste of the berries, which have a rough consistency. But, if you make preparations from chokeberry with berries, apples, quinces, then its tart taste will add piquancy, not to mention color. Add chokeberry to faded strawberry juice, and it will sparkle with ruby reflections and acquire a completely new taste. Apple jam and jam will also benefit in taste and color if made with chokeberry. We will introduce you to some recipes for preparing chokeberry with other berries and fruits.
A convenient and affordable way to prepare chokeberries for future use is drying. It helps improve the taste of the fruit: they lose excessive astringency, while the medicinal properties are preserved. It is better to dry quickly so that the fruits do not spoil. Well-ripened fruits are separated from the bunches, washed, laid out on sheets and placed in an open oven or a low-heat oven at a temperature of 50-60°. Dried fruits are used to prepare jelly, compotes, and fruit tea.
The properties of chokeberry are perfectly preserved even when frozen. When thawed, the shape and taste of the fruit are preserved. Choose the recipes you like; the benefits of such preparations will be undoubted. After all, the medicinal properties of chokeberry are very multifaceted: it has a choleretic effect (therefore it is suitable as a supplement when consuming difficult-to-digest foods), and moderately lowers blood pressure. Organic iodine compounds, found in chokeberry in sufficient quantities, remove excess cholesterol from the body and have a beneficial effect on the function of the thyroid gland. By the way, in terms of the amount of iodine in fruits, chokeberry ranks second after feijoa, the leading plant iodine collector. In addition, chokeberry contains a lot of P-vitamins and other biologically active substances. The sugar contained in it is easily absorbed by diabetics.
The healing properties of chokeberry were known to the Indians of North America long before the appearance of the white man. The Dakota and Delaware Indians used chokeberry juice to treat many illnesses, including burns, colds, and general weakening of the body. They dried the fruits, preparing sweet flour from them in reserve. Europeans quickly appreciated the high qualities of this native American plant and began to actively cultivate it.
Chokeberry preparations
CHARONY AND APPLE JAM
Chokeberry cooked with apples has a pleasant sweet and sour taste. Blanch fruits (500 g) and apple slices (500 g) for 2-3 minutes, cool with cold water, add sugar (1.2 kg per 1 kg of mixture). The jam should be boiled down several times, and at the end of cooking, add 2-3 g of citric acid.
500 g chokeberry, 500 g black currant, 0.8-1 kg sugar.
Wash the fruits, dry them and place them in glass jars, stirring with sugar. When they are covered with juice, let them stand for a few more days so that the sugar penetrates inside, then cook until tender.
1 kg of chokeberry, 400 g of quince, 1-1.5 kg of sugar, 0.2 l of water.
Wash the chokeberry thoroughly and grind completely with a small amount of water (0.2 l). Add sugar and cook for another 5-10 minutes, then add the quince cut into pieces and cook until tender. Pour into sterile jars and close with lids.
Chokeberry, chokeberry - black gold
Chokeberry is a plant with a rich history that originates from North American swamps, sandy plains and steep cliffs. It is in these places that an unsightly, low-growing shrub grows, radically different from the well-known and beloved chokeberry from childhood.
The genus Aronia belongs to the apple subfamily. Species of this genus grow in large numbers in eastern North America. There you can also find chokeberry with black, early-ripening fruits of mediocre taste, as well as a. arbutus-leaved with red, much later ripening fruits.
The name of the genus comes from the ancient Greek name for rowan aria, which in turn comes from the Greek word meaning “benefit, help.” One of the earliest names for chokeberry is still alive today and is familiar to everyone - chokeberry.
Russian chokeberry (chokeberry) owes its appearance to the great breeder Ivan Vladimirovich Michurin, who, through numerous experiments, obtained a new crop - chokeberry. The main difference between chokeberry, which originates from North America, and chokeberry cultivated by I.V. Michurin, is its incomparably more attractive appearance (decorative leaves are round in shape, large beautiful flowers), increased yield and taste, winter hardiness (withstands up to -35 °C).
Ivan Vladimirovich did not have high hopes for the crop and recommended using it only for planting as forest strips, and the fruits for processing. Chokeberry Michurina very soon spread and became popular throughout almost the entire territory of Russia, enduring the harsh winters of Gorno-Altaisk and the unstable climate of the foothills of the Caucasus without damage.
However, over the years, gardeners’ passion for this curious crop gradually began to fade away, despite the increased interest of breeders in it. In recent decades, several dozen Danish, Finnish and Polish varieties have been created, and Russian breeders have not ignored this crop. Most proven Altai large-fruited, Black-eyed, Black-fruited and others.
Meanwhile, chokeberry fruits have been and remain a storehouse of vitamins and minerals that are necessary for humans, especially during periods of acute vitamin deficiency, and are much more easily absorbed by the body than artificial dietary supplements.
These fruits contain a large amount of vitamin P, necessary for the normal functioning of the cardiovascular system. Chokeberry is a leader among berry crops in terms of the content of anthocyanins, coloring substances that give juices and wines a stable color. In addition, chokeberry fruits contain vitamins A, E, B, PP, C, and microelements, including fluorine, iodine, copper, and iron. The tart-sweet taste characteristic of chokeberry is given to the fruit by the sugars, pectin and tannins they contain, and the acid content does not exceed 1%.
Due to the presence of vitamins P and C, chokeberry fruits can be used as a vasodilator for the prevention and treatment of atherosclerosis and hypertension. Fresh fruits strengthen the cardiovascular system, improve brain activity, have a positive effect on the immune system and the activity of gastric enzymes, and help with allergic reactions and diabetes. Not only fresh fruits have a positive effect, but also frozen, dried and even processed products: jam, jelly, preserves, compote.
In addition to its medicinal qualities, the Michurin chokeberry plant is also characterized by high decorative qualities. Its light pink flowers in lush inflorescences begin to delight the eye already in May, and the fruits in elegant dense clusters ripen in September and can be stored in a household refrigerator for up to several months without losing their taste and medicinal properties. The plant is no less decorative in the autumn; the purple-red color of the foliage looks beautiful against the background of a faded landscape.
Chokeberry is one of the easily propagated crops; good results are obtained by sowing seeds in the ground in autumn, but there are also more labor-intensive and no less effective methods of propagation - green cuttings and grafting with cuttings; in the latter case, rowan ash can be used as a rootstock. Grafting with cuttings significantly speeds up the production of high-quality planting material, and, consequently, the harvest. The first fruits can be obtained already in the year of grafting (up to 300-400 g per plant), and if you remove the primroses and allow the plant to “rest”, this will have a beneficial effect on the next year’s harvest, which can be 2.5 or even 3 kg per plant.
As for green cuttings, an indispensable condition for obtaining high-quality planting material is the presence of a greenhouse equipped with a fog-forming unit, although you can somewhat simplify the design by building it in your garden plot and shading it with burlap. In this case, 5-7 waterings from a regular watering can are enough, and in rainy weather - 1-2.
The resulting planting material should be planted in a permanent place, taking into account the fact that chokeberry is a rather unpretentious and undemanding plant and grows well on any type of soil. An indispensable condition for obtaining high, stable yields is the density of plantings. The distance between plants should not be less than 2 m. Plants are planted in holes 50x60 or 60x60 cm and up to half a meter deep. 100-150 g of superphosphate and up to 70 g of potassium sulfate are added to the hole. The root collar is buried 1-1.5 cm. Seedlings are sometimes cut off immediately after planting, leaving stumps 15-20 cm high with 4-5 buds. Young plantings obtained in this way must be fed with ammonium nitrate during the first years of growth, and starting from the age of five, a bucket of humus or compost, up to 70 g of superphosphate and up to 30 g of potassium sulfate are added to the tree trunk circles.
Chokeberry does not require any care, with the exception of pruning, which should be carried out starting from the seventh or eighth year of fruiting, when the crown needs thinning.
As for planting time, the most suitable period, as for most crops, is autumn, which allows the plants to take root and prevents premature bud break in the spring.
In conclusion, we should mention the honey-bearing properties of this wonderful plant, which is one of the favorites of bees, which is also facilitated by its phytoncidal properties, which have a detrimental effect on most bee diseases and pests, including bee mites.
N. Khromov , researcher at VNIIS named after. I. V. Michurina
www.sadisibiri.ru
Chokeberry
Chokeberry, also called chokeberry, is not often found on summer cottages. It’s a pity, this plant is decorative both in spring and autumn. It blooms with white flowers late, which saves it from frost.
This shrub, a deciduous perennial, reaches a height of 2.5 m, its productive age is 20 years. The soil must be plowed to the depth of the arable layer with the preliminary application of organic and mineral fertilizers.
Chokeberry can be planted in both spring and autumn. In the spring, this should be done in April before the buds begin to bloom, and in the fall at the end of September. After planting, the soil is well compacted and watered abundantly, then mulched. The growing season of chokeberry begins early, when the average daily temperature reaches 5-6 degrees, and it blooms at the end of May, when spring frosts have passed.
Gardeners propagate chokeberry by horizontal layering. In the spring, after digging up the soil near the mother bushes, make grooves 4-7 cm deep, bend the shoots and pin them wooden hooks to the bottom of the groove and water. Shoots grow on the upper side of the shoots placed in the grooves, and roots grow on the lower side. When young shoots grow, add soil or hill them up, and mulch the soil 2-3 times to retain moisture.
By the way, black currants can be propagated in the same way. In September, when growth stops, these branches are separated from the mother bush and planted for growing.
With this method of propagation, chokeberry bears fruit already in the third year. The landing site should be sunny. Chokeberry common pests with cherries: slimy sawfly and aphids, so you can’t plant them next to each other.
The skin of the fruit is dense, they do not wrinkle, they can be transported over long distances. To preserve all the vitamins and not reduce the medicinal properties, the fruits can be frozen. After freezing, they lose their astringency, and after thawing they retain their shape. Berries contain a large amount of iodine, vital trace elements such as magnesium, copper, manganese, molybdenum, iron - this is a whole first aid kit.
Chokeberry is especially recommended for improving the functioning of the thyroid gland. The berries are used for vitamin deficiency, for the treatment of hypertension (100 g per day), and atherosclerosis. When using berries and preparations made from them in treatment, you need to know when to stop, as they have contraindications. The fruits of chokeberry are contraindicated for low blood pressure, gastric and duodenal ulcers.
Chokeberry bushes tolerate winter well. It bears fruit every year. The fruits stick well to the branches and are best cut in clusters to get a good harvest next year. You can make jam from chokeberry berries, make juice and puree them with sugar (1.5 kg of sugar per 1 kg of berries).
Unpretentious and useful chokeberry will decorate any garden plot.
Chokeberry pressure has won
The homeland of the plant is North America. At first, this plant was used only as an ornamental plant in both Europe and Russia. Only in the 19th century did Michurin pay attention to chokeberry, realizing that it bears juicy fruits, is suitable for selection and is very unpretentious. And now chokeberry (scientific name for chokeberry) grows almost everywhere.
© pauk
Rowan chokeberry, Latin- Aronica melanocarpa L.
Chokeberry, or chokeberry, is a shrub up to 3 m high, with a compact and then spreading (up to 2 m in diameter) crown. A bush can have up to 50 stems of different ages. Chokeberry is winter-hardy, undemanding to soil, light-loving, resistant to pests and diseases, and tolerates replanting well. One of the fastest-growing crops, since 1-2 years after planting the plants begin to bear fruit.
Chokeberry has become widely known and is grown in gardens as a fruit and medicinal crop.
The fruits are round, up to 1.3 cm in diameter, black, shiny, juicy, sour-sweet with an astringent tart aftertaste. The fruits contain many useful substances - sugar, pectin, malic, ascorbic, folic acids, carotene, citrine (vitamin P). As well as microelements - iron, iodine, manganese, etc. The fruits of Chokeberry are useful for hypertension, diabetes, gastritis with low acidity, kidney disease, rheumatism, for reducing blood cholesterol, etc.
The fruits are used to make jam and compote; jam, jelly, juice, while maintaining all medicinal properties.
© BotBln
In swamps, along the banks of lakes and streams in vast areas of eastern North America, there is a low shrub that forms a lot of growth, with small, almost black fruits - chokeberry.
Probably only a specialist would be able to find similarities between this shrub and that popular plant that has been grown in our gardens for half a century and is commonly called “chokeberry.” In total, up to 20 species of chokeberry are found in the USA and Canada. Some who behave too “actively” are treated like weeds. But when the culture came to Europe (and this was three hundred years ago), chokeberry, plum-leaved chokeberry and chokeberry, which were the first to settle in the Old World, became the pride of botanical gardens. Another century passed and chokeberry reached Russia.
In our country, too, for a very long time it was perceived exclusively as decorative culture . But chokeberry’s ability to survive harsh winters, its resilience and unpretentiousness interested Ivan Michurin.
Having received chokeberry seeds from Germany, he began crossing the seedlings with distantly related plants (presumably mountain ash). As a result, a new crop was created, which Michurin called chokeberry - for the similarity of the fruits with the fruits of rowan. (In fact, it is not a rowan, although in a number of characteristics it is close to both rowan and pear. For fifty years now, chokeberry has been separated into an independent genus - Aronia.)
The resulting crop “grew” to 2–2.5 m and turned out to be very attractive in appearance: flexible shoots, leathery dark green rounded leaves, taking on a variety of shades in the fall - from bright orange to purple and ruby; delicate, white, lush inflorescences, which by September turn into large clusters of shiny black berries. And most importantly, Michurina chokeberry is even more winter-hardy than its ancestor. In the 30s, it passed the “strength test” in Altai and, having begun the conquest of Siberia there, gradually spread throughout the entire territory of Russia. As its creator predicted, chokeberry is successfully cultivated where it is difficult to grow other fruits. berry crops: in the north of the European part, in the harsh conditions of the Urals and Siberia, even in the Arctic: it can withstand frosts down to minus 35 ° C.
Not many garden inhabitants can compete with the “chokeberry” in terms of productivity. From a 6–9 year old bush you can get 9–10 kg of berries. It produces a harvest every year and in any weather. Chokeberry flowers very rarely freeze slightly - late flowering protects them from spring frosts. It is pollinated by insects and wind, and up to 90% of the fruits are set. It begins to bear fruit early: seedlings are pleased with the first berries within a year or two after planting, and when grafted with cuttings - in the same year. At suitable conditions the productive period can last up to 20–25 years.
The fruits are large, up to 1.5 cm, shiny, juicy, sweet and sour, tart, do not fall off until frost. There is no need to rush into picking - the berries become tastier in September.
Over time, it turned out that chokeberry berries are not just useful - they are healing, and this is recognized official medicine. The composition of its fruits is unique. Of particular value is the combination of vitamins P and C. Moreover, in terms of the content of the first, chokeberry has no equal among all fruit, berry and vegetable crops middle zone (1 g of fresh berries fully satisfies the daily requirement), and in terms of vitamin C content it is close to lingonberries and cranberries.
The berries are rich in vitamins A, E, B, PP, and contain microelements, including fluorine, iodine, copper, iron, zinc, boron. They are used for the prevention and treatment of atherosclerosis and hypertension. They improve brain activity, have a positive effect on the immune system and the activity of gastric enzymes, help with diabetes, sleep disorders, fatigue, treatment of radiation sickness, relieve allergic reactions. Most of the biologically active substances are concentrated in the skin. Not only fresh fruits are useful, but also frozen, dried, juice and even processed products such as jam, jelly, preserves, compote. But the fermentation process greatly destroys the complex of useful compounds, although it must be admitted that very tasty wine is obtained from “chokeberry”.
Contraindications to the use of chokeberry are increased blood clotting, hypotension, peptic ulcer of the stomach and duodenum, gastritis with high acidity.
Chokeberry is not only an excellent honey plant, but also a bee healer - its phytoncidal properties are destructive to many pests and diseases that affect bees, including such dangerous ones as bee mites.
Chokeberry can be used in group plantings, in hedges and as a tapeworm. Plants grafted at a height of 1.5 m onto a standard rowan or hawthorn tree look especially impressive. You can shape them into a ball shape.
© Tie Guy II
Chokeberry is an unpretentious and winter-hardy plant.
It is better to plant chokeberry in autumn. It is not difficult to choose a place for planting, since any soil except saline soil is suitable for it. The bulk of the roots are located within the crown projection at a depth of up to 50 cm, so it is quite tolerant of close groundwater.
The distance between plants should be at least 2 m so that the bushes do not shade each other. The size of the planting holes is 60 x 60 cm, depth 40–45 cm.
The planting mixture is prepared by mixing the top layer of soil with 1–2 buckets of humus, compost or peat, adding 150 g of superphosphate and 60–70 g of potassium sulfate. The root collar is buried 1–1.5 cm. Immediately after planting, it is recommended to trim the seedlings, leaving stumps 15–20 cm high with 4–5 buds.
In the first two years of planting, they are fed with ammonium nitrate (50 g per hole). From the age of five, 1–1.5 buckets of humus or compost, up to 70 g of superphosphate and up to 30 g of potassium sulfate are added to the tree trunk circles. The soil is kept sufficiently moist - this necessary condition bountiful harvest.
Starting from the seventh or eighth year of fruiting, the crown needs to be thinned out. In old, neglected plantings, rejuvenating pruning is done, cutting down all shoots to soil level. This stimulates the growth of shoots, of which no more than ten of the most developed ones are left.
© Tappinen
Chokeberry is an exclusively light-loving crop. It is also demanding on soil moisture.. It can be planted in areas where an apple or pear tree will not grow - where groundwater is close. It tolerates slight acidity in the soil, but bears fruit better in neutral soil. Therefore, when planting, you need to add lime or wood ash.
Chokeberry is a fast-growing crop. In the third year after planting in a permanent place, it already produces the first harvest.. It has great shoot-producing ability. Its most productive branches are between 4 and 7 years old. Fertilization of flowers occurs with the help of insects and wind. The root system of chokeberry is highly branched, fibrous and penetrates to a depth of 2-3 m. However, the bulk of them lies in a soil layer of up to 60 cm.
It is easy to propagate by root suckers, parts of a bush, layering, cuttings. Seedlings can be grown from seeds. Planting holes are dug 40 cm deep and 50 cm in diameter. Preparing the soil is no different from preparing for other berry crops. A bucket of humus and 60-80 g of superphosphate are added to each hole. Chokeberries are planted at a distance of 2 x 2.5 m from each other.
Caring for chokeberry consists of cultivating the soil, weeding, fertilizing, pruning and shaping bushes, and controlling pests and diseases.
Reproduction
Chokeberry is propagated by seeds, root suckers, layering, dividing the bush, lignified and green cuttings and grafting into the crown or onto a seedling of ordinary rowan. The most widespread method of propagation is seed propagation., based on the property of chokeberry to produce relatively identical plants in terms of growth, yield and fruit quality. Since this crop still does not have varieties, propagation by seeds remains the main method.
Seed propagation is not difficult, but requires a lot of attention and adherence to a certain order of stratification. Dry seeds are stored in bags made of thick fabric at a temperature not exceeding 5°C. Before stratification, bags of seeds are placed in water at a temperature of 18°C for a day. Then they are stored on racks for 10 days at room temperature, periodically moistening, or placed in a box filled with moss or sawdust.
After this, the seeds in the box are placed on ice in a layer of 15-20 cm. The bottom is made with a groove to drain melt water. The bags of seeds are also layered with pieces of ice. The filled box is buried for 3-4 months in a snow pile 2 m high and covered with plastic wrap and sawdust or straw on top. Three to four days before sowing, the seeds are brought into a warm room and ventilated.
Seeds can be stratified for 90 days in a basement with a constant temperature of 4...5°C. To do this, they are mixed with coarse sand in a ratio of 1:4 or peat 1:2. During stratification, the substrate is kept moist.
For sowing seeds, select light, fertile soils cleared of weeds.. The seeds are mixed with sawdust, sown evenly in furrows 6-8 cm deep, covered with 0.5 cm of soil and mulched with a layer of sawdust or humus. To obtain good planting material, the seedlings are thinned out for the first time when two true leaves form, leaving a distance of 3 cm between them, the second time - in the phase of four to five leaves at a distance of 6 cm. The last thinning is done in the spring next year with a distance of 10 cm.
To grow two-year-old seedlings without transplanting, the distance between rows is 70-90 cm. In the conditions of the Leningrad region with a long and cold spring, it is more profitable to first grow seedlings in protected soil (in a greenhouse or in room conditions) and in the phase of three to five true leaves, dive onto the ridges, placing them in three to four lines at a distance of 25 cm, in a row -5-7 cm.
Seedlings can be grown by rooting annual woody and summer green cuttings. Reproduction methods are the same as for other berry bushes.
Chokeberry produces rhizome suckers that can be used for planting. After landing top part The shoots are cut off, leaving 3-5 buds. It can be grafted onto an adult rowan tree by the bark or into a split. The first method is more accessible.
© Sanja
Rowan moth
This pest is quite widespread. It damages more than 20% of rowan fruits per year. Sometimes found on apple trees. Pupae overwinter in soil and fallen leaves, so plant debris should be destroyed. The brown-winged butterfly often appears in early summer. Approximately a week after emergence, it begins to lay several eggs on the upper part of the fruit. One female is capable of laying up to 45 eggs. The caterpillars are pale red or gray in color. They emerge from the eggs after two weeks and penetrate the fruit, making narrow passages; the caterpillars reach the seeds and gnaw them out.
Cherry slimy sawfly
It usually appears around the beginning of July, and by autumn the sawfly has already seriously damaged the leaves of the tree, much less often destroying them completely. A mid-adult insect has a shiny black color and its wings are transparent. The larva is up to 9 mm long, greenish-yellow in color, and covered with black mucus. The pupa is white in a dense oval-shaped cocoon. The female lays her egg on a tree leaf, thereby making a cut inside the leaf. One female can lay up to 70 eggs. The eggs are oval in shape and pale greenish in color. About 10 eggs can be found on one leaf. The larvae hatch after about a week. The larvae feed on the leaves for 1 month, then go into the soil and overwinter there. To destroy the pest, plants are pollinated with lime or sprayed with a solution of soda ash.
Chokeberry berries have a pleasant sour-sweet, tart taste. Chokeberry is a real storehouse of nutrients! It contains rich natural complex vitamins (P, C, E, K, B1, B2, B6, beta-carotene), macro- and microelements (boron, iron, manganese, copper, molybdenum, fluorine), sugars (glucose, sucrose, fructose), pectin and tannins. For example, chokeberry fruits contain 2 times more vitamin P than black currants, and 20 times more than oranges and apples. And the iodine content in chokeberries is 4 times higher than in strawberries, gooseberries and raspberries.
Pectin substances contained in chokeberry remove heavy metals and radioactive substances from the body, retain and remove different kinds pathogenic microorganisms. Pectins normalize the functioning of the intestines, eliminate spasms and have a choleretic effect. The medicinal properties of chokeberry help strengthen the walls of blood vessels, improving their firmness and elasticity.
Also, one of the most beneficial properties of this berry is normalizing blood pressure and lowering cholesterol levels in the blood. Chokeberry fruits are prescribed for various disorders of the blood coagulation system, bleeding, rheumatism, atherosclerosis, diabetes and allergic diseases. Research in recent years has shown that chokeberry improves liver function, and regular consumption of this berry improves immunity and has a positive effect on the functioning of the endocrine system.
But, unfortunately, for some diseases, chokeberry may be contraindicated. Thus, it is not recommended for gastric and duodenal ulcers, gastritis, frequent constipation, hypotension, increased blood clotting and thrombophlebitis.
© Tappinen
www.botanichka.ru
Chokeberry (Chokeberry)
Chokeberry, or chokeberry, is a shrub up to 3 m high, compact, with a spreading crown (up to 2 m in diameter). A bush can have up to 50 stems of different ages.
The fruits are round, apple-shaped, black or black-purple with a bluish bloom, shiny, quite juicy, sourish-sweet, with an astringent tart aftertaste. They contain many useful substances - sugar, malic, ascorbic, folic acids, pectin, carotene, citrine (vitamin P), as well as microelements - iron, iodine, manganese, etc.
Chokeberry is winter-hardy, undemanding to soil, light-loving, resistant to pests and diseases, and tolerates replanting well. This is one of the fastest growing crops - it begins to bear fruit 1-2 years after planting.
Useful properties of Aronia
Chokeberry has become widely known and is grown in gardens as a fruit and medicinal crop. Its berries are useful for hypertension, diabetes, gastritis with low acidity, kidney disease, rheumatism, reduce the amount of cholesterol in the blood, etc.
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Drinking chokeberry juice helps establish optimal ratio processes of excitation and inhibition in the cerebral cortex and reduction of emotional imbalance. The fruits are used to make jam, compote, jam, jelly, juice, while all medicinal properties are preserved.
Chokeberry, pureed with sugar, has a capillary-strengthening and anti-sclerotic effect. It is prepared as follows: well-washed fruits are blanched in boiling water for 5–6 minutes, after which they are rubbed through a stainless steel sieve; the pureed mass is thoroughly mixed with granulated sugar (1:1), heated to a temperature of 80 ° C (until the sugar stops crunching on the teeth) and placed in hot sterilized jars. Sterilize in boiling water: half-liter jars - 20 minutes, liter jars - 25-30 minutes.
Chokeberry fruits can also be dried, scattered in a thin layer on a baking sheet, in the oven or oven at a temperature of 60–70 °C. During drying, open the door to ensure an influx of fresh air. The finished fruits have a dense consistency and crumble well.
How to plant chokeberry
Chokeberry is planted in spring (late April) and autumn (mid-September). To prevent the bushes from shading each other, the distance between them should be 2–2.5 m.
Holes are dug with a diameter of 60 and a depth of 50 cm. For 1 hole of organic fertilizers take 1 bucket of manure or plant humus and peat, 500 g of the universal soil nutrient mixture "Exo", from minerals - 2 tablespoons of nitrophoska, 2 tablespoons of superphosphate and 1 tablespoon a spoonful of potassium sulfate. Everything is thoroughly mixed with the soil taken out of the hole, poured back into the hole, watered with water and after a week the seedlings are planted. Before planting, their roots are shortened by 20–25 cm.
Care and feeding of chokeberry
Care consists of watering and feeding chokeberry, especially during fruit ripening, as well as constant loosening tree trunk circles mulching with humus, compost, peat, fertile soil.
During the season, up to 3 feedings are carried out.
The first feeding of chokeberry is done in the spring, when the leaves begin to bloom: 2 tablespoons of “Ideal” fertilizer are diluted in 10 liters of water, 5-6 liters of solution are used for young bushes, and up to 20 liters for fruit-bearing bushes.
The second feeding is carried out at the beginning of flowering: for 10 liters of water take 1 tablespoon of potassium sulfate and 2 tablespoons organic fertilizer“Effecton - berry”, water at the rate of 8 liters per young bush, 20–25 liters per fruit-bearing bush.
The third feeding is done after the final harvest of berries (in autumn): 2 tablespoons of superphosphate and potassium sulfate are diluted in 10 liters of water, 10 liters are spent on young bushes, and 20 liters on fruit-bearing bushes.
How to prune chokeberry
Chokeberry produces shoots well, which must be removed in time, otherwise the bush becomes very overgrown, which negatively affects the harvest.
Root shoots are dug up and cut off from the mother plant.
Fruit-bearing shoots that produce small berries are cut out from old bushes and replaced with new, strong ones. Usually 20–25 shoots of different ages are left.
Chokeberry bears fruit annually and produces a harvest of up to 5–8 kg per bush.
Description of the sweet late autumn pear variety Honey Description and characteristics of the variety Pear is classified as a late autumn variety. This variety appeared as a result of breeding work by a group of scientists at the Crimean testing base in the 60s. last century. That is why the tree is often called the Crimean honey pear. […]