Uncomplicated shrub careHaving begun to bear fruit in a relatively late( compared to other cultures) age of about 10 years, he gives his tasty and healthy berries more than 2/3 of his life span and only the last few decades the bush has been resting. How to grow such a culture in your area and what needs to be taken into account when planting and caring for her, let's talk about this today. "Who is a" dogwood?
Cornel is a fairly tall shrub whose height depends on the climate in which it grows. On average, the "growth" of the bushes is about 3 m, although often longer, 8-meter-long comrades are more like trees.
Regardless of the species, a tree-like variety or a bushy variety, in the “childhood” age, all plants actively grow young shoots, painted in yellow-green color, but, as they mature, the branches become covered with gray wrinkled bark, which eventually turns red. The crown of the bush is round or in the form of a pyramid, and the leaves have an elongated shape and a sharp tip.
The sheet plate on top is painted in bright green light with a slight gloss, but on the bottom it is lighter and matte. Flowering dogwood is no less decorative: yellow lush umbrellas of inflorescences bloom in early spring, in March, and before the leaves look out on the branches from the buds.
Is there a sweet berry?
At the end of summer - in early autumn, elongated berries begin to ripen on shrubs: they are small, up to a maximum of 4 cm in length and up to 8 g each, but with very tasty and juicy flesh. The taste is dominated by sourness and a tart note is clearly felt. It is noticed that the berries remaining on the bushes during the autumn frosts become sweeter.
The color of the berries depends on the variety, but they are mostly bright red, although breeders have deduced yellow, white and different shades of red dogwood. All of them are very tasty and extremely healthy due to the rich composition of trace elements. Dogwoods make excellent compotes and preserves, wines and syrups, and also dry, crumble and freeze. In addition, cornel has a number of medicinal properties, which makes it an indispensable aid in the treatment of many diseases.
To prepare berries for future use, they are best picked when the cornel is just beginning to ripen. Green berries folded in boxes or wicker baskets ripen right into them.
Where can I find dogwood?
Perennial prefers heat-loving climatic conditions and among the places where the dogwood grows, it is worth noting, above all, the mountain forests of the Caucasus, the Caucasus and Transcarpathia. Also a lot of wild growing dogwood is observed on the territory of Crimea. In this area, the culture has the most optimal conditions in which it successfully bears fruit.
The persistent nature of the perennial does not prevent it from growing even among the rocks, although it leaves an imprint on the appearance of the plant. For example, in Armenia, a cornel in the form of a short-barreled low tree looks out of the rock crevices.
On the territory of Russia, as a decorative plant, perennial is also used everywhere, as it has good overall frost resistance. However, the characteristic nuances of the growing season require a certain approach to cultivation, especially if you plan to not only get a beautiful hedge, but also wait for ripe red berries.
The blooming of the cornel comes very early, and the crop ripens over a long time( more than 200 days).
In this connection, it is better to plant early ripening varieties of dogwood in central Russia, otherwise the ovary may suffer from recurrent frosts, or the berries will not have time to ripen before the onset of autumn frosts.
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and why features of cultural cultivation
Planting and caring for cornels will not cause much trouble if you take a responsible approach to the choice of variety and place for shrubs. Definitely plant only those varieties of cornels that are able to grow and bear fruit in the local climate. For example, in mid-latitudes, late-ripened species of cornels do not have time to mature before the arrival of winter, which means that early varieties should be preferred.
When choosing a place for perennial planting, it is better to stop at the southwestern section that meets the following requirements( cornel will grow well and bear fruit abundantly):
- groundwater is located no closer than one and a half meters;
- soil is fertile and not acidic.
Planting dogwood is necessary at a distance of at least 5 meters from fences and trees so that the crown can receive full coverage, and the bush has room to grow.
Dogwood in the gardens of Belarus
Separately, it is worth mentioning the cultivation of thermophilic dogwood in Belarus - the local cold climate requires a special approach, in particular, it is better to start planting seedlings in springtime so that they can get stronger by the winter. Those plants that are shaped like a shrub are best experienced in the winter, but even they need to be sheltered if the average temperature in winter falls below 30 degrees below zero. To do this, shoots bend down to the ground and cover the bush with spruce branches.
As an orchard crop, the main purpose of which is fruiting, on the territory of Belarus such early varieties of cornel with ripening at the end of summer have proven themselves:
- Coral Brand. Unusual dark pink berries with an orange tint ripen in the second half of August.
- Elegant. The first harvest is already at the end of July. Cherry color berries have the form of a bottle with a narrow neck and do not crumble to frost. Differs in small growth( no more than 2 m in height).
- Mid-season variety Vladimir. One of the most large-fruited dogwood species, the weight of one almost black berry is about 10 g, the shape is rounded, slightly flattened. Maturation occurs in the third decade of August.
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Dogwood in the Moscow Region
Spring planting is recommended for growing cornels in the Moscow Region, where winters are also cold. But local gardeners can boast an abundance of snow precipitation, which simplifies measures to protect shrubs from frost: if the winter temperature averages up to 30 degrees frost, the bushes are enough to “barricade” with a snowdrift.
Of frost-resistant varieties that grow and fruit very well in the Moscow region, it is worth noting:
- Nikolka. Dark red sweet berries ripen in early August.
- Grenadier. High-yielding variety( up to 45 kg of berries from one bush).Red elongated berries ripen in the first decade of August, the taste is sweet and sour.
- Elena. At the end of August, you can collect dark red, slightly oval, berries with sweet pulp.
How to plant a sapling?
The most convenient way to grow dogwood is with seedlings, which can be purchased at a local nursery, where there is always a large selection of zoned varieties. What does a cornel sapling look like? It should be:
- not older than and not less than 2 years old:
- with a well-developed root system;
- up to 1.5 m;
- with stem diameter up to 2 cm;
- with at least 5 formed skeletal branches.
The optimum landing time is autumn. For a seedling, dig a planting hole with dimensions of 60 * 60 cm. Mix the top layer of soil with mineral fertilizers and humus and cover the bush, deepening the root neck no more than 3 cm above the soil level( after the ground subsides, the neck should align with it).After watering, mumble the tree trunk and it is advisable to shorten the shoots in the bush, leaving 2/3 of their length.
Planting of dogwood should be carried out in pairs, at a distance of 3 to 5 m from each other. This is necessary for pollination, because in early spring, when the perennial blooms, it is still cold outside and the bees have not started their work yet.
Nuances of dogwood seed cultivation
For those who like to experiment, you can try to grow a useful perennial from the farms. This procedure is quite long, as they are very long to germinate, but it is useful in the event that buying a ready seedling is problematic.
So what should be paid attention to and how to grow cornel from a stone? First of all, this is the stratification of seeds: after harvesting, remove the pulp from ripe berries, wash them and place in a container with sawdust. Over the next year, the stoneworms should be there, while it is important to constantly maintain a high level of humidity, regularly moistening sawdust.
Stratified bruises sprout in the year of planting, whereas without this procedure, it is necessary to wait for seedlings for at least two years.
Prepared dogwood seeds should be planted in the nutrient soil and take care of them, as usual: water, fertilize. It is necessary to take into account the pace of how the cornel grows from the seed: in two years after germination the seedling will stretch only 15 cm. But the harvest from such a plant can be obtained not earlier than in 7 years. For this reason, gardeners are looking for every opportunity to buy seedlings. Buying full-sized dogwood bushes allows you to save yourself from the hassle of growing and bring fruiting closer.
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Simple care for the shrub
Growing and caring for cornels in general is not a troublesome thing. In the first year, young bushes need frequent watering, but with age the perennial is already capable of longer time without additional moisture. After each watering, it is necessary to loosen the ground in order to avoid the rapid evaporation of moisture. You will also need to pluck the weeds so that they do not choke the plant. In general, everything, like the rest of garden crops.
Separately, it is worth highlighting the formation of the crown - its future contour is set when it is planted or in the first year of the seedling’s life, leaving a 50-centimeter stem and from 5 to 7 skeletal branches. In the future, every spring it is necessary to carry out sanitary pruning, cutting out young shoots, damaged and thickening crown branches growing inside the bush or intersecting with each other.
When the dogwood is about 20 years old, the bush can be rejuvenated by cutting branches at the age of 4 years - this will stimulate the formation of new shoots.
As for fertilizing, the perennial develops well without them, especially in fertile soil, but for good yields, it is recommended to fertilize the cornels. The feeding scheme is as follows:
- in the spring - nitrogen-phosphorus preparations;
- in summer - organic( an infusion of chicken manure);
- in the fall - humus and potash fertilizers, as well as ash for digging around the stem.
The dogwood growing in the home garden is most often propagated by vegetative means as the most effective and giving quick results, namely:
- cuttings;
- layering;
- inoculation.
In conclusion, I would like to say that the tasty and healthy berries of the cornel must necessarily be on the site of every summer resident. This perennial not only decorates it, but also provides its owners with natural vitamins, and more than one generation will enjoy them.
The most important thing about cornel - video
