Almost every adult remembers from childhood a pleasant taste of candy caramel called "Barberry". This sweet is named after the shrub of the same name, which recently became popular among gardeners of our country.Barberry ordinary - a rather decorative shrub, especially during flowering and ripening of fruits.
The plant is grown not only to decorate the country plot, but also for harvesting, because of its sour berries are obtained excellent compotes and syrups, jams and kissels, liqueurs and liqueurs, pastilles and jelly.
Armenian and Georgian cuisine can not do without barberry, the pickled berries of which give a special note to dishes from mutton, poultry, veal, rice and vegetables.
.Table of contents
- Botanical description
- Conditions for growing barberry common
- Landing in open ground
- Beneficial features
- Caring for barberry
- Watering and weeding
- Additional fertilizing
- Trimming
- Protection against diseases and pests
Botanical description
According to the description, Barbaris is an ordinary
a spiny shrub that reaches a height of 2 m. Its elongated shoots and trunks are covered with spines, which allows the plant to be used as a reliable hedge, planting several bushes in a row at close range.On the shortened shoots, the next leaves form an obovate or elliptical shape. The leaves are not large in size: the average length is 4 cm, width - 2 cm.
Especially beautiful looks foliage in autumn, when its color becomes bright red or red-burgundy.
Barberry shoots grow arched in different directions, creating a sprawling crown, which can be easily shaped by trimming.
Creeping rhizomes of the bush are located in the surface layer of the soil and eventually become lignified. The bark of the trunks is light brown.
Blossoms barberry in April-May, forming a brush of 15-25 yellow flowers. The plant is an excellent honey-bearer - from the pollen turns out fragrant tender-sweet honey. You can admire the flowering of shrubs for three weeks.
In place of flowersin September-October ripen bright red oblong berries, tart-sour for taste. The average length of each berry is, cm, and weight - about 4 g.
Conditions for growing barberry common
Barbaris grows almost everywhere: in Central Asia, southern and central Europe, Eastern Siberia and North America. There is a plant in the mountains of the Caucasus and Crimea, which, according to biologists, is his homeland.
Barberry has a good winter hardiness and heat resistance, so among gardeners has gained fame unpretentious and easy-care culture, which is undemanding to the fertility of the soil and can be successfully grown on poor soils.
The plant is more suitable neutral soils with an acidity index not higher,. The sour soil before liming is limed with slaked lime, wood ash or ground chalk.
The only requirement that barberry makes to the place of growth- the deep occurrence of groundwater and the absence of prolonged seasonal rains, since excessive moisture is harmful to the plant.
Barberry can be successfully grown in megacities. If many plants do not tolerate the pollution of urban air, they wither and die of dust and gas, thenbarbaris "bad" ecology is not terrible.
An important condition for abundant fruiting is good illumination, so it is recommended to choose a sunny place for planting. If the plant is planted in partial shade, it will significantly reduce the volume of the crop.
.Landing in open ground
The landing of barberry in the open ground is carried out in both autumn and spring.
2-3-year-old saplings are suitable for planting, although more mature plants (6-7 years) are also well received. For the future of the bush, a pit is prepared with a depth of 40 cm and a diameter of about 50 cm.
Fill soil fertile soil and fertilizer at the bottom of the pit:
- reparted manure or compost;
- potash fertilizer - 2 tbsp. l (or 2 cups of ash);
- superphosphate - 1 glass.
Fertilizers are mixed with fertile soil so that the roots of the seedling are not in contact with chemicals. After this, the barberry is placed in a prepared pit, covered with earth and ground the soil with a foot.
In conclusionThe trunk circle is watered and mulched by humus or peat.
Beneficial features
Having planted barberry on the site, you can get medicinal raw materials, becauseall parts of the bush contain useful substances. The healing power of the plant has been known since ancient times and was used by the healers of Babylon and India.
Leaf preparationfor the preparation of medicinal potions are carried out during the budding and flowering of the plant. They contain vitamin C, carotenoids and mineral salts.
Barberry rhizomealso used for treatment, they are harvested in the early spring, until the buds are blossomed, or in the autumn after harvesting the fruits.
Drugs based on barberry have different therapeutic properties:
.- reduce the tone of the gallbladder;
- stimulate muscle contraction;
- reduce blood sugar;
- have analgesic effect;
- able to narrow vessels and stop bleeding;
- are an anti-inflammatory agent;
- lower blood pressure;
- destroy the infection in the intestines and liver;
- are an effective antiparasitic agent;
- cope with psoriasis and eczema;
- have bactericidal action;
- relieve general fatigue.
Depending on the treatment goalsuse decoctions of leaves, bark or rhizomes. Decoctions are not only taken orally, but also used externally for rinsing of wounds and inflamed eyes.
Effective drugs with barberry in compresses and fritters for osteochondrosis, radiculitis, rheumatism and arthritis. Water infusion from the bark is used for sore throat with sore throat.
Berries of barberry contain acids- lemon, tartar and apple. Juice of berries improves appetite and helps with constipation, providing a mild laxative effect.
The reception of fruits of barberry with honey is prescribed after radioactive irradiation as a means of increasing the body's defenses.
Even plant flowers are used for medicinal purposesat problems with the cardiovascular system, preparing from them water broths.
We cultivate barberry in the country:
Caring for barberry
Caring for barberry is not a big problem. The plant needs infrequent irrigation, loosening and weeding, feeding and shaping pruning.
Watering and weeding
Given the intolerance of shrubbery stagnant moisture,often water barberry is not necessary. In normal weather with sufficient rainfall, the plant does not need additional moisture.
In the process of growing barberry,regularly remove abundant root shoots and weeds. After weeding, it is desirable to loosen to a depth of 5-8 cm to ensure access of oxygen to the roots.
Additional fertilizing
If recommendations for the introduction of complex and organic fertilizers were observed when planting barberries, in the first year after planting, the plant should not be fed.
Next yearstarting from spring, for each bush of barberry, 20-30 g of urea, diluted in 10 liters of water. This fertilizer is carried out every three years.
When growing a plant to produce a crop,barberry are fed after flowering and early autumn potassium and phosphorus.
For these purposes, ready-made complex fertilizers ("Kemira universal" and analogues) or potash fertilizer and superphosphate of 10-15 g of each substance are used.
Trimming
The shrub grows rather slowly, giving an annual growth of 30 cm, but already from the first years it needs pruning.
Sanitary pruning.Regularly cut out sick, dry and thickening bush branches.
Forming pruning.The formation of the crown of barberry is reduced to regulating the number of branches. To do this, you need to decide for what purpose the bush is grown.
Rejuvenation.Over time, the barberry grows old and needs rejuvenating pruning, in which old branches are cut out entirely and form new ones instead.
Carry pruning early in the spring before the kidneys begin to bud. Do not get carried away and do not shorten the branches much. remember, thatbarberry blossoms and fructifies mainly on annual shoots.
Protection against diseases and pests
Barberry is susceptible to attack by various insect pests and fungal infections, but the main danger to the plant isrust, powdery mildew and barberry.
Rust and powdery mildew. Rust is shown by orange spots on the upper side of the leaves. On the underside of the leaves appear convex "pads" of orange color, in which spores of fungus pukcinia are formed.
If the disease takes a threatening character, then the shoots begin to dry up, and the leaves fall off. The immediate proximity of barberry bushes with fields of wheat, oats and other grains threatens the spread of rust.
Treat infection with a solution of colloidal sulfur (,%) or Bordeaux liquid (1-3%). The treatment is started in the first days after the leaves are blown and repeated twice more every three weeks.
Powdery mildew appears white or greyish and attacks not only the leaves, but shoots with berries.
To combat the disease use colloidal sulfur (,% solution) or fungicidal drugs, the choice of which is quite large. Affected leaves and shoots must be cut out and burned.
Barberry Aphid. Beach barberry - aphids, which settles in flowers and on the underside of leaves. If the time does not hold medical measures, the plant will lose its decorative effect in a few days.
Methods of fighting barberry offal are several:
- For the prevention of the spring barberry is sprayed with a solution of laundry soap (1 piece per 10 liters of water).
- To prevent the attack of aphids, bushes are treated with a tobacco solution made from, kg of tobacco and 10 liters of water. For better adhesion, a laundry soap is added to the solution.
- Effective folk remedies: decoctions and infusions of bitter pepper, garlic, marigold and other plants that repel small pests.
- The insecticidal preparations ("Fitoverm "Decis" and similar), which are used both for prophylaxis and for the destruction of colonies of barberry aphids, are of great help.
Barberry - a beautiful shrub with an Arabic name. It is used in landscape design as an ornamental plant or a hedge, which thanks to spikes serves as a reliable protection.
Given the unpretentiousness of the plant, even an inexperienced summer resident will cope with it, and for a simple care the plant will thank the harvest of useful berries.
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