Mountain ash
Sorbus aucuparia L. var.edulis
Rowan appeared in the 19th century in the north of Morava. However, it is also known in other countries. It is a beautiful tree, it looks good in sunlit terrain. It is necessary to spread this tree more widely in the garden plots. The leaves of the mountain ash are odd-pinned, tender. Rowanberry blossoms on two-year-old branches with white flowers with inflorescences "thick shield".Blossoms later apple trees and fructifies regularly. The fruits are small, up to 1.5 cm in size, bright orange with the remains of a cup at the top. The taste is sweet and sour, without unpleasant astringency, they can be eaten directly from the tree. Sweet-berry mountain ash is common throughout Europe. In connection with the valuable properties, she is increasingly paying attention in both breeding and decorative purposes. It is undemanding to the soil, it can be grown in high places, where there is more sun. The species "Moravian sweet fruit" is widespread in the Russian Federation.
Dried rowan is considered a medicinal product. It is made from fruits, leaves and flowers. In fruits, the most valuable is vitamin C. Fresh berries contain carotene, 48 mg% of organic acids( malic and citric), 1% pectin substances, glycosides, sorbose, amino acids and tannins. Fruits have a moderately laxative and diuretic effect, contribute to the secretion of bile. Rowberry berries are recommended for rheumatism. Rowan contains sorbitol, so it can be used by diabetics. Berries are used for hypovitaminosis and some viral diseases( such as influenza).From fruits of mountain ash you can prepare compotes, jam, you can dry it to make tea or use it as raisins, you can also prepare syrup, wine, liqueur from berries. They can be used in sauces to game. Compote is served to poorly digestible dishes.
There are a lot of species in the world, in Russia alone there are about 40 species of red mountain ash. The red mountain ash grows everywhere, practically there is not a single forest wherever rowan grows. It is unpretentious, reconciles with any soils, including infertile, grows even on acidic soils and clays, another question, how does it bear fruit. The mountain ash is also quarreled with penumbra, but, as a rule, it is strongly stretched, trying to reach the light, but, of course, it really blossoms and fructifies in sunny places. Rowan - a plant friendly, it can coexist on the site with almost any plants. The root system is deep, so the plant does not need watering. Rowan is frost-hardy. And since it blooms late( early June), it does not fall under frost. There is one of the folk signs: if the red mountain ash has fully blossomed, then there will be no more frost. And one more: if there was a lot of red mountain ash, then winter will come harsh. Unfortunately, the mountain ash does not bear fruit every year, it can have breaks in fruit bearing. Of the pests, the main one is aphids, which the ants carry before flowering, which immediately causes the twisting of the upper, newly opened leaflets. Virtually no illnesses. If you do not shovel leaves in autumn, then you do not have to make any additional fertilization.
The plant came to us from the forest, therefore it prefers leaf humus. Then the rowan gives a really big harvest. Among the red mountain ash, the sweet fruit varieties of mountain ash are especially appreciated.
Rowan tree is a tree up to 20 m high. Its leaves are regular, odd-pinnate, composed of oblong-ovate and serrate leaves. The flowers are white, forming multicolored thyroid umbellate inflorescences. The fruit is spherical or ellipsoidal, orange-red or yellow-orange. It is bitter, but after freezing, bitterness disappears. Blossom ashberry in May-June.
Rowan grows in coniferous-small-leaved forests, underbrush. In Russia, mountain ash is common in the forest zone of the European part of the country, in Siberia, the Urals, and the North Caucasus. Even in the regions of the Far North, this unpretentious tree is found.
Medicinal preparations of mountain ash are prepared from fruits, leaves and flowers. The fruits of mountain ash are very rich in vitamin C. Fresh berries contain carotene, about 50% of organic acids( apple and citric), 1% of pectin substances, glycosides, amino acids and tannins. The rowan fruit contains few proteins and fats;the content of carbohydrates( mainly fructose) can reach 8%.Fruits are harvested from both wild and cultivated trees. They break off the shields after freezing, when they get a more pleasant bitterish-sour taste.
Selection of grade
In the last decade, the Nevezhinskaya rowan tree became widely known. This is a sort of folk selection, which has long been cultivated by the inhabitants of the village of Nevezhino, Vladimir region. Her breeding is carried out by many nurseries, so it is not difficult to acquire it. The leaves of this ashberry are the same as in any forest, but the berries are much larger and sweeter.
There are 14 varieties of cultural mountain ash. They were selected by Michurin, who received several original varieties from crossing the red mountain ash with the Irga, the hawthorn and even the pear. Among the Michurin varieties, Liqueur with black, large, sweet berries is very popular;Burka with red-brown fruits;Pomegranate with pomegranate-red berries - a hybrid obtained by crossing the mountain ash with a hawthorn blood-red;sweet-bred variety Michurinsky dessert. In the future, on the basis of Nevezhinskaya rowan, magnificent sweet fruit varieties were obtained. Among them, Titan, obtained by crossing with a red apple and pear, with raspberry-red large berries, without bitterness. The variety Kubovaya has bright orange large berries, sweet and sour taste, and the variety Yellow, with drooping branches, has bright yellow fruits. Grade Beauty was obtained by crossing the mountain ash with a pear. Its large orange fruits contain an increased amount of vitamin C.
A big interest is represented by the Buzinolistnaya Rowanberry native to the Khabarovsk Territory. This is a shrub that does not exceed 2 m in spring entirely covered with large white or pink flowers. The berries have a pleasant sweet and sour taste, without the astringency and bitterness. Moravian mountain ash, native to the Czech Republic, has excellent taste qualities, but it is not winter hardy. But on its basis a remarkably delicious variety of Alai was obtained.
There is still an interesting mountain ash - Muhnistaya, which is so named because of the fact that its young shoots are covered with white fluff. Particularly beautiful is the variety Aria, young shoots of which have a yellow or cream color. Usually powdery mountain ash is used as an ornamental plant. It is sheared every year to cause the growth of numerous young shoots, giving the bush an unusual attraction. In recent years, the Kashmirian mountain ash breeder, a low spreading tree, grown by the brushes of light pink flowers, and tasty white berries in the spring, has gained wide popularity in Europe. Now in the fashion are not those tall trees that we used to see in the forest, and dwarf forms, often in the form of a small tree, or a tree with a weeping crown, or plants in the form of a shrub. So the choice is great. Modern ashberry will not only decorate your garden, but also yield a harvest of delicious berries, often not at all like the fruits of their forest ancestor.
General information: rowan among the fruit species occupies one of the first places for winter hardiness. Carries frosts to -50 ° С.The plant is unpretentious( it can be grown on plots at an altitude of 1200 m above sea level), high-yielding and simply beautiful, especially at a time when the brushes are ripe.
Requirements: ashberry is not demanding for growing conditions, grows in open shaded areas, frost-proof, drought-resistant, almost undamaged by pests and diseases, well tolerates transplantation. Cultivated varieties of mountain ash are self-fertile, requiring cross-pollination.
Ingredients: fruits are rich in carotene, vitamin P and especially vitamin C( in a glass of ashberry juice contains approximately its daily dose).Rowan berries also contain a wide variety of minerals: calcium, magnesium, phosphorus, iron, iodine. Sorbic acid, which is part of the mountain ash, has a strong bactericidal effect.
Propagation: propagate rowan with layers, root siblings and graft. Vaccination is the most practical and effective way of obtaining seedlings. Desired varieties of mountain ash are planted with cuttings on seedlings of any species of mountain ash.
Features of growing
To improve the taste of the fruits of ashberry ordinary Michurin IV and his pupils crossed it with other species. Some inter-species and intergeneric hybrids proved to be very successful - Liqueur ( hybrid with chokeberry aronia), Ruby ( with pear), Pomegranate ( with hawthorn), Burka( with alpine rowan).Tested and well proven are varieties of mountain ash, such as Businka, Nevezhinskaya, Sorbinka, Titan and Scarlet large.
Planting: plant a mountain ash in the same way as an apple tree. The planting dates are spring and autumn. The distance between tall plants is 3-4 m, between slightly grown plants - 1,5-2 m.
Care: timely removal of wild growth, fertilization, irrigation, loosening, mulching of soil and control of pests and diseases( fruits can be damaged by rowan moth caterpillars, leaves - ashberry aphid and gallowberry mite, diseases often manifest mushroom - moniliose, orfruit rot, and rust of ashberry).Against the rowan moth and aphid plants a week after flowering can be treated with insecticides, against rowan mites during bud blossoming - colloidal sulfur( 100 g per 10 liters of water).In case of severe mite damage, repeat spraying with sulfuric preparation in autumn after harvesting. To destroy the causative agents of fungal diseases, one should spray the crown of the mountain ash with a 1% solution of the Bordeaux liquid.
Pruning: The ashberry culture is close enough to a wild form, so it does not require special techniques for crown formation. For the care of the tree, the growing root shoots are constantly cut out, the shoots are removed and regular( every 3-4 years) sanitary pruning is performed, during which old, withered, broken, rubbing branches are cut out, clarifies the crown, improving the lighting regime byremoval of densely growing and directed into the crown of branches.
Before the plants enter fruiting, pruning is done to form a crown characterized by strength and small size. A tree with a low stem( from 20 to 50 cm in different varieties) is formed with 4-5 skeletal branches. In the period of fruiting, except for sanitary, perform a rejuvenating and growth-limiting pruning.
Harvesting: fruits intended for the preparation of juice are harvested in lowland areas at the end of August, and in higher locations - in mid-September. Especially delicious fruits after they take a frost. When you remove the fruit cut with brushes. Collected mountain ash with pedicels can be stored in a cool place at a temperature of no higher than 2 ° C until March.
Usage: from ashberry fruit prepare tinctures, liqueurs, compotes, pastille, jam, pzhemy, marmalade, vinegar, there are recipes for making ashberry kvass. The fruits of sweet forms of mountain ash can be eaten fresh. In forms with bitterish fruits, bitterness disappears after freezing. Dry fruits of mountain ash are a part of medicinal vitamin collections.
Compote from rowan helps bile excretion, soaked berries are a good seasoning for game of game.
Landing
Plant ash or early spring, or in autumn, the most suitable month is September. The pit should be dug quite spacious - 60 x 60 cm - and fill with good, humus soil. To pour out. In the center make a small mound, spread out the roots on it and fill it with earth so that the root neck is at the level of the soil. If the rowan is closed, it will give a lot of root shoot, but the shoots need to be cut out all the way to the very bottom. As you pour the soil on the roots, water each layer, then under the roots there is no emptiness and the soil will adhere well to all roots. I am against trampling the soil around the plant plant, because the soil is heavily compacted and the intensive work of microorganisms ceases. In addition, the roots need good air access, but in dense soil it is not enough. If you plant a tall tree, then it must be tied to a cola, or even better to drive three colas, the ends of which should be tilted to the seedling and tie them together. The plant will be protected from three inclined poles.
Rowan well tolerates transplants, but do not forget that it has a deep root system, and dig out the planting material deeply. If you know how to plant plants( but do not know how, then learn - it's easy), then the easiest way is to dig a small ashberry in the forest and transplant it to the site. The next year, if the plant has taken root, in the spring, you can plant several cuttings of different sorts on it. You will have ashberry for every taste. Do not forget to cut out the root shoots, otherwise the grafted cuttings will die, only the wild ones will remain. Where to get the cuttings? Look for neighbors or other gardeners by correspondence. Cuttings of varietal mountain ash are often sold at all kinds of exhibitions. If neighbors do not want to cut off a twig, then ask for just a couple of kidneys in August and have the eye inoculated.
In a wild mountain ash growing on a plot, root shoots can be used for rootstocks. It is planted from a mother plant and planted with cultivars. Grafted rowan, of course, in this way can not be multiplied, because it has root growth from the scion, that is, wild. Rowan well reproduces cuttings and layers. This is done exactly as described in the chapter on black currant.
Reproduction of
Rowan grows quite well with seeds, grows fast enough and can be planted with cultivars already in the 3-4th year. By the way, this is a very good way of earning - for dessert, weeping and decorative varieties, good, steady demand. But in dessert rowan with seed multiplication, splitting of offspring sometimes occurs, and varietal characteristics can be lost. On the red feather ash of the rowan tree is planted chokeberry - aronia. It turns out a beautiful little bush on the leg. Aronia can be cut, so it's easy to form a globular bush. Such bushes look very elegant. Seeds must be sown right under the winter, after picking berries. They smear it on paper and sow it directly with it to a prepared place. From above, sprinkle seeds with a layer of earth at 1.5-2 cm.
Do not let the mountain ash grow heavily upwards, if you have a tree-like ashberry. Usually this happens in case of insufficient illumination. Shorten the top every year to the mark that you need. Otherwise, the birds will collect berries, not you. If you have ashberry in the bush form, then watch that the bush is not strongly thickened, because in the center of the bush there will be no berries.
You can plant a pear on a mountain ash. Just pick up a tree with a rather thick trunk( not a thin twig).The vaccine is best done in a cleft, then it can be done on an adult tree, having cut off the trunk from it at a level of 15-20 cm. This will be the stem. The pear grows quite quickly in the place of grafting, and gradually the trunk of the mountain ash completely swims with the growing trunk of the pear. You can plant several varieties of pears at once, but, as experience shows, usually there is one, the most compatible with a pear or more hardy variety, the rest either cease to bear fruit or die at all. Privoj( cuttings for grafting) should be taken from fruit-bearing branches, then the grafted pear will also quickly enter into fruiting.