Chokeberry or as it is also called "Aronia" is a rather tall, strongly branched, frost-resistant shrub. Young shoots are red-brown in color; when fully ripe, they acquire a dark gray tint. A black chokeberry leaf on the upper side of the plate is leathery, shiny, dark green in color, and its underside is whitish. Towards the end of September, the leaves of the chokeberry turn purple-red. Rowan blooms with slightly pinkish fragrant flowers with pale purple anthers in the inflorescence. Chokeberry bears fruit by the end of August or the beginning of September, depending on weather conditions, with black shiny berries.
In this article we will talk about how the black chokeberry reproduces and what you need to know for the correct planting of the plant.
Breeding features
It is best to start breeding it in the fall, although this procedure can be performed in the spring as well. Work should be carried out taking into account the specific climatic conditions, which are different in all regions. For reproduction in the autumn period, September-October is considered the most suitable months, in the spring it is advised to perform the procedure in March-April. Only if everything is done on time can you expect a good result.
There are several ways to reproduce using:
- cuttings;
- dividing the bush;
- layering;
- seeds;
- through vaccination;
- root suckers.
For reproduction of chokeberry at home, seeds are used, although this method, like grafting, is not effective. In addition, it takes too long, and it must be borne in mind that the seeds do not germinate well. The grafting method is faster, but for good survival of the cuttings, proper care and conditions must be organized. Therefore, novice gardeners should use other methods.
Rowan varieties
If you are wondering where to buy rowan seedlings, then the answer is simple! You can do this in our online store. We offer healthy and high-quality seedlings of mountain ash and other fruit, ornamental crops and shrubs at affordable prices and with delivery by Russian post throughout the country.
Can't decide which rowan variety is right for your garden? We invite you to familiarize yourself with the most popular varieties of culture.
Rowan black-fruited (Aronia)
This variety of mountain ash was bred by IV Michurin. Aronia reaches a height of 2.5–3 m. It is highly frost-resistant, grows best in spacious and not shaded areas. It is cultivated as a fruit, medicinal and ornamental shrub.
Chokeberry is susceptible to the following diseases:
- peripheral wood rot;
- fruit rot;
- septoria spotting;
- comber.
- red apple and brown fruit mites;
- green apple aphid;
- hawthorn;
- rowan moth;
- cherry slimy sawfly.
Rowan Nevezhinskaya (Nezhinskaya)
The culture can reach a height of 10 m. If the mountain ash grows in the shade, it acquires a pyramidal crown, with sufficient illumination - into a spherical one. Life expectancy is 30 years or more.
The first harvest of berries can be harvested 4 years after planting. Up to 40 kg of fruit can be harvested from one tree.Rowan is self-fertile, so plant other varieties next to it, for example, Kubovaya or Yellow.
Dividing the bush
Chokeberry easily reproduces by dividing the bush. An old plant with a well-developed root system and strong shoots is good. Before working, a large amount of water must be poured under it. Work is performed in the spring before the buds swell, or in autumn 30 days before the onset of cold weather. The bush should be dug up, old branches should be cut off, strong and young should remain. Shake off the earth and cut it into pieces with a sharp tool (it can be a pruner or a shovel), their number depends on the size. Each should have well-developed roots and at least 2 healthy aerial shoots. Cut off places are treated with charcoal. A well is prepared in advance, where superphosphate and humus are poured. A seedling is immersed in it, covered with earth, tamped and watered. If there are several of them, then they are planted from each other at a distance of 2 m, the soil is loosened. After the reproduction of the chokeberry by dividing the bush, care consists of the usual activities.
How to plant rowan - important rules
In order for the autumn planting to be successful and the mountain ash to take root in a new place, experienced gardeners recommend adhering to several basic rules:
- The planting material must be in perfect condition, if the roots begin to curl, then such a tree will take root worse and must be planted before the cold weather.
- If the seedling was purchased with a closed root system or a special net, then you do not need to get rid of them.
- If you miss the timing of the autumn planting, it is better to postpone the procedure to the spring.
- Do not overdo it with the amount of fertilizer applied.
- A small tree needs to be prepared for cold weather.
- It is advisable to tie the rowan planted in autumn to a support so that it does not sway and break during a strong wind.
Correctly planted rowan
Cuttings
The method is simple, you do not need to have special knowledge and skills. Young shoots are suitable for propagation by cuttings, which are cut in the last days of May or already in summer and grown in a greenhouse or greenhouse, where they must overwinter. They planted a place in the garden for next year. For autumn planting, woody shoots are suitable, which are planted immediately. Planting material is prepared towards the end of September.
Attention!
A later procedure may not be successful. Frost will prevent the cuttings from taking root.
If a decision is made to propagate with stiff shoots, then the planting material should be cut with a length of 15 to 20 cm. You do not need to take the top of the branch, cut off the middle, at least 6 buds should remain on the cut part. The bottom is cut off exactly, literally under the ovary. Wood cuttings must be planted in a good quality soil in a place that is normally illuminated. Only 2 buds are left above the ground. It takes them about a month to settle down, with the onset of spring they will begin to grow. Before cold weather, red rowan must be mulched. If winter came early, the planting material prepared for breeding is left until spring. It should be sorted, built a bundle, bury the bottom in wet sand or wrap it with wet material, wind the bag on top. The measures taken will not let the shoots dry out. Weekly inspect, in what condition they are, if necessary, moisten. A cool room is suitable for storage. As soon as spring comes, they should be pulled out and placed in plastic glasses, taken to a cool place, and when the earth warms up, put on the prepared area.
The plant is also bred with a green cuttings. A cut 15 cm one-year-old shoot is suitable for this method. You can take the tops of the branches that are left after cutting.The leaves at the bottom are cut off, 2 pieces are left at the top, they should also be made a little shorter. Below, under all the eyes, an undercut is made, but not deep. These sites are for root growth. A green stalk, you can take several, it is desirable that it stand for half a day in a special tool - a growth stimulator. After the allotted time, they are washed in clean water, planted in a greenhouse. If there are several of them, then 3 cm recede from each other, the earth is moistened. In order for green shoots to take root faster, it should not be very hot in the greenhouse - no higher than + 20 ° C.
Thanks to this method, chokeberry is propagated within 1 month. This is how much time it takes for the roots to grow back, after which they begin to gradually remove the shelter. The planted bushes are fertilized with organic and mineral compounds of low concentration.
The benefits and harms of mountain ash
Rowan fruits have many beneficial properties. Red rowan berries contain a lot of ascorbic acid, even more than citrus fruits. It also contains:
- vitamins K and E;
- a nicotinic acid;
- rutin;
- riboflavin;
- provitamin, A;
- glycosides;
- pectins;
- bitterness;
- tannins;
- essential oil, etc.
Thanks to such a rich chemical composition, the following beneficial properties are observed:
- hemostatic;
- diaphoretic;
- diuretic;
- choleretic.
Berries are used to improve well-being with:
- diabetes;
- diseases of the kidneys and liver;
- anemia;
- hemorrhoids;
- diseases of the digestive system;
- ulcers;
- gastritis and colitis.
Root shoots
Near long-growing bushes, you can see many shoots, they are often propagated by mountain ash. To detach from the mother bush, you will need a sharp shovel or pruner. The offspring are cut off, leaving 2-3 eyes on each. For transplanting, choose a place that is well illuminated by the sun; for normal development, the land should not be acidified. The plant grows well next to the underlying groundwater. Next year, in the spring, the shoots will form their own root system. Although work can be done at any time, spring and summer are considered the best times. The red mountain ash often acts as a pretty hedge.
How to transplant rowan to a new place correctly?
Now let's talk about how to transplant mountain ash. If you move trees whose age does not exceed 4-5 years to a new place, then the transplanting rules will be similar to the rules for the initial planting. The only difference is that when transplanting, you need to independently dig the mountain ash from the ground. When carrying out this procedure, it is worth remembering that this culture has a very branched root system that cannot be damaged.
As for the transplanting of already mature trees, this work will be much more difficult:
- The best time is late autumn, when the tree is in a state of biological dormancy.
- The daytime temperature should be -1-3 degrees, while the nighttime temperature can be no less than -15 degrees.
- The height of the tree should not exceed 3 meters, otherwise the transplant will be much more difficult.
- You need to very carefully dig up the mountain ash. Initially, a groove is made around the tree trunk, with a radius of about 1 meter, then the soil is carefully removed, while large roots must be cut. The easiest way to remove a tree from a hole is to use levers.
- An earthen lump formed on the roots must be preserved; for this, it is wrapped in burlap and laid out on a thick film or iron sheet. Then, in this state, the tree is dragged to a new place.
- The planting hole should be 40 centimeters larger than the size of the earthen coma.
- At its bottom, 5-centimeter layers are made of expanded clay, soil and snow. This manipulation is repeated 3 times, after which the tree is moved into the hole and carefully buried.
- At the final stage, the soil is tamped and mulched thoroughly.
Autumn planting is the most optimal for mountain ash.This culture tolerates winter frosts well. In addition, trees planted in autumn grow much faster, which means that the harvest can be harvested much earlier.
And at the end, we suggest watching a short video about rowan care in spring and autumn:
In the article we are discussing mountain ash. We will tell you what the culture looks like, how to plant it correctly and the necessary care. You will learn about the varieties of mountain ash and where you can buy seedlings of this plant.
Layers
Another way to propagate chokeberry is to use cuttings growing near the root area. You can take arcuate and horizontal well-developed annual shoots and biennial branches with powerful growths on young bushes. The procedure is carried out in early spring, as soon as the ground under the bushes can be dug. Experts advise taking 2-3 branches, it is no longer necessary, otherwise the bush will become weak and powerless. Shallow grooves are dug, the selected shoots are made shorter by 2 cm, then they are tilted to the ground and cracked, it is in the fractured place that roots will then begin to form. In order to fix it on the surface of the soil, the layers are pinned with staples, or pressed down with stones. The grooves are covered with loose and fertile soil. Rooting takes place within 2 months. By the onset of autumn, new plants will have formed a good root system, but experienced gardeners are not advised to separate them from their mother. This work must be left until spring.
Where can I get cuttings?
First of all, ask your neighbors or other correspondence gardeners. If the neighbors refuse you a twig, then you should ask for at least a few buds, and then in August carry out the inoculation with an eye. If you have not yet learned how to graft plants, then you should do this business, because it is not so difficult. Root shoots of wild mountain ash that grows on your site can be safely used as a stock. In order to do this, it is removed from the mother plant and grafted onto cultivars. Do not forget that it is forbidden to propagate already grafted rowan trees in this way, since it has root shoots from the scion, wild. Rowan is excellent, propagates by cuttings and layering.
Seeds
The plant also reproduces from seeds. To collect planting material, ripe and crushed fruits are taken. Planting can be done in the spring, after the ground warms up. Seeds, which are harvested in autumn, are stored in wet sand in winter. The basement is chosen as the storage location. With the arrival of spring, 6-8 cm of furrows are dug, where seeds are sown, sprinkled with a small layer of soil, then a layer of humus or sawdust is placed. As soon as the seedlings form 2 true leaves, thin out. The seedlings are left at a distance of 3 cm. The second thinning is performed with 4-5 leaves, increasing the distance to 6 cm. The last work is carried out in the spring of next year, making a distance of 10 cm. The land must be regularly watered, pulled out weeds, and loosened. In early spring, fertilize with slurry. In the second year in the fall, seedlings can be planted in a permanent place.
Attention!
For better reproduction of mountain ash by seeds, it is advised to stratify them before planting.
Rowan care
Rowan care consists of timely watering, weeding and loosening the soil surface, pruning and removing dry and damaged branches, as well as fertilizing and treating crops from pests and diseases.
It is necessary to water the mountain ash if:
- prolonged drought;
- at the beginning of the growing season;
- after planting in open ground;
- 20 days before harvest;
- 3 weeks after harvest.
Before watering, make a small indentation in the circle near the trunk, then pour a bucket of water into it. 1 mountain ash will require 20-30 liters of water.
In early spring, loosen the surface of the trunk circle, during the summer repeat the procedure 2-3 times.After harvesting, be sure to loosen the topsoil in the trunk circle.
It is best to loosen the soil the day after watering or rain. Remove all weeds while loosening as they interfere with crop development. After loosening the trunk circle, cover this area with a layer of mulch.
To increase the yield of mountain ash, carry out its systematic feeding. From 3 years of age, add compost (5–8 kg) and ammonium nitrate (50 g) to the soil. In early June, pour a bucket of bird droppings or mullein solution under the tree. If desired, replace the organic fertilizer with Agrolife solution. At the end of summer, add 0.1 kg of superphosphate and 0.5 kg of wood ash to the trunk circle.
Outcome
Chokeberry is one of the most beloved plants by gardeners, which is an excellent decoration for a summer cottage, and also has rare medicinal properties.
Chokeberry fruits are not only unusual in taste, they are also very useful for human health. Its berries are widely used in folk medicine to treat a wide variety of diseases.
If you want to grow this tree on your site, use the tips outlined in this article, and then you will definitely be able to grow beautiful and healthy trees. Do not spare your time and energy for this!
