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jujube growing in natural conditions in the Asian countries. This culture is very drought resistant and unpretentious in the care. Because of the sweet fruits and high yields, Chinese date quickly spread to the countries of America and the Mediterranean. In Japan, this culture is called unabi, in other countries it is called jujuba.
In 2016, a plantation of exotic trees was laid on the Southern coast of Crimea, which covered almost 6 hectares. Growing and caring for zifus in the Crimea does not present any particular difficulties, since the climatic conditions of the peninsula are fully suitable for the growth and fruiting of Chinese dates.
Useful properties of zizyphus
The plant belongs to the family rushinovyh, its fruit - drupe brown or burgundy. The fruits of the shrub are like dates, but their size is slightly smaller. The flesh of the fruit is yellow, the stone resembles the shape of almonds.
In the CIS countries, Chinese date is not widespread. It is grown in some suburban areas, the owners of which are addicted to exotic. Therefore, not many gardeners know what Ziziphus is. This is a very useful plant, the fruits of which are widely used in the treatment of many diseases.
China is considered the birthplace of jujuba, where the fruits of this culture are used in traditional medicine. Useful properties of the fruit noticed in ancient times.
Chinese date is called "breast berry" because it treats diseases of the lungs and the heart.
In the sanatoriums of Yalta, the fruits of Chinese date successfully treat hypertension. Unabi fruits contain a large amount of magnesium and potassium, so their use has a positive effect on the heart muscle.
A daily intake of 200–300 g of zizyphus for three months relieves heart and headaches, and also reduces the level of cholesterol in the blood.
Dignity of zizyphus for gardeners
Gardeners grow Chinese date because of its high yield. On an adult bush up to 300,000 flower buds are formed. Even with poor pollination, a three-year shrub brings up to 15 kg of berries. If you plant on the site a few bushes, the crop will multiply due to cross-pollination. Adult zizifus brings up to 50 kg of fruit.
The root system of Chinese dates extends into the soil up to 3 m, so the plant can do without watering for a long time. The bush receives all necessary moisture from the soil. Among the advantages of unabi are:
- high immunity to viral and fungal diseases;
- the ability to absorb nutrients even from poor soils;
- Jujuba bush allocates a large number of phytoncids.
Planting and growing zizyphus is not different from most garden plants. The main condition for rooting and survival of seedlings - to choose the right place for this culture.
At the same time it is important to remember that the zizifus bush, although unpretentious to the composition of the soil, the plant responds well to top dressing. It is possible to plant a seedling in sandy fertile soil, the plant is well acclimatized on the rubbly aerated soils.
Place for planting zizyphus
Zizyphus is a light-loving plant, so for its landing you need to choose a sunny place. Even with the slightest shading of the plant, its yield drops significantly.
The root system of the shrub is very developed. In the first year after planting a seedling or a grafted seedling in open ground, the growth of the aerial part of the plant slows down considerably. All nutrients zizifus unabi spends on the development of the root system. Adventitious roots spread over 7 m around the shrub.
Due to the well-developed central root, jujuba cannot be planted in wetlands and in areas where groundwater is located close to the soil surface. Shrub root system rots when water stagnates.
The aboveground part of the plant begins intensive development in the second year after planting. On fertile soil, the shrub will bloom in June of the same year, but the fruits will form only in the third year.
Planting unabi in open ground
Planting and cultivating zizyphus does not differ from planting habitual fruit crops. Under the seedling or grafted on a wild stock plant digging planting hole. It is filled with a mixture of garden soil and sheet compost in equal proportions.
The metabolism of a Chinese date is very slow, so the vegetative buds bloom on the May holidays. A plant with an open root system planted in the ground in late May or early June.
When a seedling is transplanted into the open ground, the root neck of the plant is not buried. In this case, jujuba will produce a large number of shoots that can be used to propagate this culture.
If you plant a zizifus cultivar grafted onto a wild stock at the site, do not be afraid to bury the root neck. Unlike other fruit trees, this will not affect the yield of the Chinese date, but will only bring benefits:
- Having degraded the grafted plant 40-50 cm, you will get rid of wild prickly growth.
- Juzuba can withstand temperatures down to 25 ° C.If, nevertheless, the aboveground part of the buried plant becomes extinct, the cultural stem located in the ground will not suffer and will give new shoots. Of these, you can re-form the crown.
- The cultural stem of the plant will start new adventitious roots. If the growth comes from them, it will be varietal and suitable for reproduction.
After planting of jujube unabi in the open ground and its first flowering, you can start forming the crown of the plant.
Pruning and crown formation of Chinese date
Zizifus has a strong immunity, so the plant is not prone to fungal and viral diseases. Conduct only formative pruning: remove the branches that grow inside the crown.
To form the crown of the plant in two ways: as a zizifus tree and as a shrub. In the first case, remove all the shoots on the main trunk, leaving three or four skeletal branches at a height of 50 cm from the soil surface. In the second method of formation, the lower branches are not cut off completely, but only shortened, giving the bush a neat shape.
