Chokeberry (chokeberry) is a shrub with erect stems and gray bark. In culture, chokeberry is the most valuable. In mid-April, bushes 1 to 2 m high are still bare, only reddish tips of leaves break through from brown-brown buds.
It looks like chokeberry
By the beginning of May, green buds are already visible on shortened shoots among the leaves. With the establishment of warm weather, the leaves turn green and acquire an oval shape on short petioles, leathery, shiny on top, serrated along the edges.
The fruits are black, shiny, juicy. Ripens in the southern regions in mid-August. The size and shape of the berries are similar to blackcurrants. The seeds of chokeberry are very small. During the ripening period, the leaf outfit changes color. Yellowed and reddened leaves appear, which is very decorative in combination with black fruits.
Planting chokeberry
Rowan can be planted both in spring and autumn, preferably in pre-prepared planting pits. If the soil on the site is bad and it is possible to bring humus and fertile black soil, pits should be dug 50 cm deep and 50 cm in diameter. Fill them with excavated soil mixed with black soil and 1-2 buckets of humus. It is good to add 200 g of superphosphate, 100 g of potassium chloride and 200-300 g of wood ash to each pit.
When planting seedlings, they make a cone-shaped mound and put a seedling on it, fall asleep root system, slightly compacted, watered, and after soaking the water, the pit is filled up to the top without watering.
In the proposed video, the cultivation of chokeberry is literally laid out on the shelves. A plant expert explains in great detail how to plant and care for chokeberry.
The technology of growing chokeberry
Aronia has a number of unique requirements for growing conditions. The main thing is to remember that this shrub belongs to light-loving crops. The bulk of the flower buds are laid on the periphery of the crown. Thickened and shaded plantings noticeably reduce the decorative effect. When planting chokeberry in a sunny place, the distance between plants should be at least 2-2.5 m.
Aronia care.
This type of mountain ash is absolutely frost-resistant, does not freeze in any winters. In the first years after planting, it grows rapidly, starts fruiting early, from 3-4 years of age, the yield of berries is stable. In favorable conditions, it blooms and bears fruit up to 20-25 years and does not require careful care.
Due to the superficial location of the roots, it grows well in places with a high standing of groundwater, where fruit trees practically do not grow. Given the structure of the root system, regular watering should be carried out when caring for chokeberry. She loves organic top dressing, mandatory mulching. It is impossible to dig the soil under the bush, it is necessary to limit yourself only to loosening to a depth of no more than 8-10 cm.
Reproduction of chokeberry.
Aronia has the ability to self-pollinate, so you can grow one bush of chokeberry in the garden and it will still bloom and bear fruit.
Propagation of chokeberry by layering.
Aronia is propagated by layering or root offspring. Independent roots on layering and offspring are formed only in the second year, and then subject to regular watering and preliminary preparation by constriction, on the border with the mother bush.
Other methods of reproduction are also known - by seeds, green and lignified cuttings, but for amateur gardeners it is difficult. However, you should be aware that when seed propagation most seedlings retain the characteristics of their parents.
Crown formation.
Considering that chokeberry loves good illumination of the entire crown, leave 12-15 shoots when forming a bush, and remove the rest. First of all, it is necessary to cut out the old, broken, damaged, thin and undersized shoots at the very base of the bush.
All kinds of vaccinations can be done on the chokeberry. It can be grafted into the crown or seedlings of mountain ash.
It is very important when harvesting to cut or pluck rowan brushes without leaves, because the leaf at the base of the brush in its bosom carries the flower buds of the crop next year.
Berries, even when fully ripe, do not crumble, remain hanging until winter. With a dry and warm autumn, if not removed in time, they lose their juiciness and wither. In early October, orange-yellow prevails inside the bushes, and blood-red coloring at the ends of the branches.
Useful properties of chokeberry
What diseases are treated with chokeberry:
Aronia is native to eastern North America. Aronia is grown not only because of the high decorativeness of the plant, but also for the extraordinary value of the fruit. Mature chokeberry berries contain 2-4 times more iodine compared to other crops.
The therapeutic and prophylactic value of chokeberry is due to the high content of organic acids, tannins, sugars and vitamins. Of the trace elements stand out: iron, manganese, iodine.
Aronia helps to reduce cholesterol in the blood of patients with atherosclerosis. It is used for gastritis with low acidity.
How to use chokeberry in landscape design
Aronia is the best way to decorate the garden. This plant is beautiful early spring until late autumn. In the spring, its white inflorescences stand out brightly against the background of dark green foliage.
Black chokeberry blossoms.
And in autumn, red-yellow leaves are perfectly combined with black, shiny berries.
You can grow chokeberry in separate bushes and group plantings. In addition, it makes a beautiful and practical hedge. A chokeberry hedge grows very quickly, in just 3 to 5 years. Given that this plant reproduces easily, planting material can be grown independently.
A hedge of chokeberry.
Of course, this will take additional time, but as a result you will get a beautiful hedge, which will supply you with extremely useful berries. In addition, caring for such a hedge is not at all difficult.
The plant is native to North America. At first, this plant was used both in Europe and in Russia only as an ornamental. Only in the 19th century did Michurin pay attention to chokeberry, realizing that it bears juicy fruits, is suitable for selection and is very unpretentious. And now chokeberry (the scientific name of chokeberry) grows almost everywhere.
Chokeberry (lat. Aronia melanocarpa). © Tappinen Content:
Description of chokeberry
Rowan chokeberry, Latin - Aronica melanocarpa L.
Chokeberry, or chokeberry, is a shrub up to 3 m high, with a compact, and then spreading (up to 2 m in diameter) crown. There can be up to 50 stems of different ages in a bush. Rowan chokeberry is winter-hardy, undemanding to soils, photophilous, resistant to pests and diseases, tolerates transplantation well. One of the most fast-growing crops, since 1-2 years after planting, the plants begin to bear fruit.
Rowan chokeberry is widely known and is grown in gardens as a fruit and medicinal crop.
The fruits are round, up to 1.3 cm in diameter, black, shiny, juicy, sour-sweet with astringent tart taste. The fruits contain many useful substances- sugar, pectin, malic, ascorbic, folic acids, carotene, citrine (vitamin P). As well as trace elements - iron, iodine, manganese, etc. The fruits of Aronia chokeberry are useful for hypertension, diabetes, gastritis with low acidity, kidney disease, rheumatism, to lower blood cholesterol, etc.
Jam, compote, jam, jelly, juice are cooked from fruits, while all medicinal properties are preserved.
Chokeberry (lat. Aronia melanocarpa). © BotBln History of chokeberry
In swamps, along the shores of lakes and streams in vast areas of eastern North America, there is a low shrub that forms a lot of growth, with small, almost black fruits - black chokeberry.
Probably, only a specialist would be able to find a similarity between this shrub and that popular plant that has been grown in our gardens for half a century and is commonly called "chokeberry". In total, up to 20 species of chokeberry are found in the USA and Canada. Some who are too "active" are treated like weeds. But when the culture came to Europe (and this was three hundred years ago), the black chokeberry, plum-leaved chokeberry and aronia arbutus-leaved chokeberry, the first to settle in the Old World, became the pride of botanical gardens. Another century passed - and chokeberry reached Russia.
In our country, too, for a very long time it was perceived exclusively as a decorative culture. But the ability of chokeberry to survive harsh winters, its stability and unpretentiousness interested Ivan Michurin.
Having received the seeds of chokeberry from Germany, he began to cross seedlings with distantly related plants (presumably mountain ash). As a result, a new culture was created, which Michurin called chokeberry - for the similarity of fruits with the fruits of mountain ash. (In fact, it is not a mountain ash, although in a number of ways it is close to both mountain ash and pears. For fifty years now, chokeberry has been separated into an independent genus - Aronia.)
The resulting culture "grew up" to 2–2.5 m and turned out to be very attractive in appearance: flexible shoots, leathery dark green rounded leaves that take on a variety of shades in autumn - from bright orange to purple and ruby; delicate, white, lush inflorescences, turning into large clusters of shiny black berries by September. And most importantly, Michurin's chokeberry is even more winter-hardy than its progenitor.
In the 1930s, it passed a “strength test” in the Altai and, starting with the conquest of Siberia, gradually spread throughout Russia. As predicted by its creator, chokeberry is successfully cultivated where it is difficult to grow other fruit and berry crops: in the north of the European part, in the harsh conditions of the Urals and Siberia, even in the Arctic: it withstands frosts down to minus 35 ° C.
Not many inhabitants of the garden can compete with the "chokeberry" in terms of productivity. From a 6-9-year-old bush, you can get 9-10 kg of berries. It produces a crop every year and in any weather. Aronia flowers very rarely freeze slightly - late flowering protects them from spring frosts. It is pollinated with the help of insects and wind, while up to 90% of fruits are tied. It enters fruiting early: seedlings delight with the first berries already a year or two after planting, when grafted with a cutting - in the same year. Under suitable conditions, the productive period can last up to 20–25 years.
The fruits are large, up to 1.5 cm, shiny, juicy, sweet and sour, tart, do not crumble until frost. There is no need to hurry with the collection - in September the berries become tastier.
Over time, it turned out that chokeberry berries are not just useful - they are healing, and this is recognized by official medicine. The composition of its fruits is unique. The combination of vitamins P and C is of particular value. Moreover, in terms of the content of the first chokeberry, it is unmatched among all fruit, berry and vegetable crops of the middle zone (1 g of fresh berries completely satisfies daily requirement), and in terms of vitamin C content it approaches lingonberries and cranberries.
Berries are rich in vitamins A, E, B, PP, contain trace elements, including fluorine, iodine, copper, iron, zinc, boron. They are used for the prevention and treatment of atherosclerosis and hypertension. They improve brain activity, have a positive effect on immune system and the activity of gastric enzymes, help with diabetes, sleep disturbance, overwork, treatment of radiation sickness, relieve allergic reactions.
Most of the biologically active substances are concentrated in the skin. Not only fresh fruits are useful, but also frozen, dried, juice and even processed products such as jam, jelly, jam, compote. But the fermentation process greatly destroys the complex of useful compounds, although it must be admitted that very tasty wine is obtained from the "chokeberry".
A contraindication to the use of chokeberry is increased blood clotting, hypotension, peptic ulcer of the stomach and duodenum, gastritis with high acidity.
Aronia is not only an excellent honey plant, but also a bee healer - its phytoncidal properties are detrimental to many pests and diseases that bees suffer from, including such dangerous ones as bee mites.
Aronia can be used in group plantings, in hedges and as a tapeworm. Particularly impressive are plants grafted at a height of 1.5 m on a stem of mountain ash or hawthorn. You can form them in the shape of a ball.
Chokeberry (lat. Aronia melanocarpa). © Tie Guy II Planting chokeberry
Aronia is an unpretentious and winter-hardy plant.
Aronia is best planted in the fall. It is not difficult to choose a place for planting, since any soil is suitable for it, except for saline ones. The bulk of the roots is within the projection of the crown at a depth of up to 50 cm, so it is quite tolerant of the close standing of groundwater.
The distance between plants should be at least 2 m, so that the bushes do not shade each other. The size of the planting pits is 60x60 cm, the depth is 40–45 cm.
The planting mixture is prepared by mixing the top layer of the earth with 1-2 buckets of humus, compost or peat, add 150 g of superphosphate and 60-70 g of potassium sulfate. The root neck is deepened by 1–1.5 cm. Immediately after planting, it is recommended to cut the seedlings, leaving stumps 15–20 cm high with 4–5 buds.
In the first two years of planting, they are fed with ammonium nitrate (50 g per pit). From the age of five, 1-1.5 buckets of humus or compost, up to 70 g of superphosphate and up to 30 g of potassium sulfate are added to the trunk circles. The soil is maintained in a sufficiently moist state - this is a necessary condition for a bountiful harvest.
Starting from the seventh or eighth year of fruiting, the crown must be thinned out. In old, neglected plantations, rejuvenating pruning is done, cutting down all the shoots to the soil level. This stimulates the growth of coppice shoots, of which no more than ten of the most developed ones are left.
Caring for chokeberry
Chokeberry is an exceptionally light-loving crop. It is also demanding on soil moisture. It can be planted in those areas where an apple or pear tree will not grow - where they come close ground water. It tolerates a slight acidity of the soil, but bears fruit better on a neutral one. Therefore, when planting, lime or wood ash must be added.
Chokeberry is an early crop. In the third year after planting in a permanent place, it already gives the first harvest. Differs in the big pobegoproizvoditelny ability. The most productive of her are the branches of age from 4 to 7 years. Fertilization of flowers occurs with the help of insects and wind. The root system of the chokeberry is highly branched, fibrous and penetrates to a depth of 2-3 m. However, their bulk lies in the soil layer up to 60 cm.
It is easy to propagate by root offspring, parts of the bush, layering, cuttings. Seedlings can be grown from seeds. Planting pits are dug 40 cm deep, 50 cm in diameter. Soil preparation is no different from preparation for other berry crops. A bucket of humus and 60-80 g of superphosphate are introduced into each hole. Aronia is planted at a distance of 2x2.5 m from each other.
Caring for chokeberry consists of tillage, weeding, fertilizing, pruning and shaping bushes, pest and disease control.
Chokeberry (lat. Aronia melanocarpa). © Sanja Reproduction of chokeberry
Chokeberry is propagated by seeds, root offspring, layering, dividing the bush, lignified and green cuttings and grafting into the crown or seedling of ordinary mountain ash. The seed method of propagation, based on the property of the chokeberry to produce relatively identical plants in terms of growth, yield and quality of fruits, has received the greatest distribution. Since this crop still does not have varieties, propagation by seeds remains the main method.
Seed propagation is not difficult, but requires great attention and adherence to a certain order of stratification. Dry seeds are stored in bags made of dense fabric at a temperature not exceeding 5 °C. Before stratification, seed bags are placed in water at a temperature of 18 ° C for a day. Then they are stored for 10 days on racks at room temperature, moistened periodically, or placed in a box filled with moss or sawdust.
After that, the seeds in the box are placed on ice with a layer of 15-20 cm. The bottom is made with a groove for draining melt water. Seed bags are also layered with pieces of ice. The filled box is buried for 3-4 months in a 2 m high snow pile and covered with plastic wrap, and on top with sawdust or straw. Three to four days before sowing, the seeds are applied to warm room and ventilate.
Seeds can be stratified within 90 days in a basement with a constant temperature of +4…+5 °C. To do this, they are mixed with coarse sand in a ratio of 1:4 or peat - 1:2. During stratification, the substrate is kept moist.
For sowing seeds, light, fertile soils, cleared of weeds, are selected. Seeds are mixed with sawdust, evenly sown in grooves 6-8 cm deep, covered with soil 0.5 cm and mulched with a layer of sawdust or humus. To obtain good planting material, the first time the seedlings are thinned out when two true leaves are formed, leaving a distance of 3 cm between them, the second time - in the phase of four to five leaves at a distance of 6 cm. The last thinning is done in the spring of next year with a distance of 10 cm.
For growing two-year-old seedlings without transplanting, the distance between rows is 70-90 cm. ridges with placement in three or four lines at a distance of 25 cm, in a row - 5-7 cm.
You can grow seedlings by rooting annual lignified and summer green cuttings. The propagation methods are the same as for other berry bushes.
Chokeberry produces rhizomatous offspring that can be used for planting. After planting, the upper part of the shoot is cut off, leaving 3-5 buds. It can be grafted onto an adult mountain ash tree by the bark or into a split. The first way is more accessible.
Aronia pests
rowan moth
This pest is widely distributed. More than 20% of rowan fruits are damaged per year. Sometimes found on an apple tree. Pupae overwinter in the soil and fallen leaves, so plant debris should be destroyed. The brown-winged butterfly often appears in early summer. Approximately a week after emergence, it begins to lay eggs in several pieces on the top of the fetus. One female is able to lay up to 45 eggs.
Caterpillars are pale red or gray in color. They leave the eggs after two weeks and penetrate the fruit, making narrow passages, the caterpillars get to the seeds and gnaw them out.
Cherry slimy sawfly
It usually appears around the beginning of July, and by autumn the sawfly already seriously damages the leaves of the tree, destroying them completely less often. The mid-grown insect has a shiny black color, its wings are transparent. The larva is up to 9 mm long, greenish-yellow in color, covered with black mucus. The pupa is white in a dense oval-shaped cocoon. The female lays her egg on a tree leaf, thereby making an incision inside the leaf. One female can lay up to 70 eggs.
The eggs are oval and pale green in color. About 10 eggs can be found on one leaf. The hatching of larvae occurs in about a week. The larvae feed on the leaves for 1 month, then go into the soil, where they overwinter. To kill the pest, plants are pollinated with lime or sprayed with a solution of soda ash.
The benefits of chokeberry
Aronia berries have a pleasant sour-sweet, tart taste. Aronia is a real storehouse of nutrients! It contains a rich natural complex of vitamins (P, C, E, K, B1, B2, B6, beta-carotene), macro- and microelements (boron, iron, manganese, copper, molybdenum, fluorine), sugars (glucose, sucrose, fructose), pectin and tannins. For example, in the fruits of aronia, vitamin P is 2 times more than in black currants, and 20 times more than in oranges and apples. And the iodine content in chokeberry berries is 4 times higher than in strawberries, gooseberries and raspberries.
The pectin substances contained in the chokeberry remove heavy metals and radioactive substances from the body, retain and remove various types of pathogenic microorganisms. Pectins normalize the functioning of the intestines, eliminate spasms and have a choleretic effect. Medicinal properties Aronia helps to strengthen the walls of blood vessels, improving their firmness and elasticity.
Also one of the most useful properties This berry is the normalization of blood pressure and lowering cholesterol levels in the blood. Chokeberry fruits are prescribed for various disorders in the blood coagulation system, bleeding, rheumatism, atherosclerosis, diabetes mellitus and allergic diseases. Recent studies have shown that chokeberry improves liver function, and regular use of this berry improves immunity and has a positive effect on the endocrine system.
But, unfortunately, with some diseases, chokeberry may be contraindicated. So, it is not recommended for gastric ulcer and duodenal ulcer, gastritis, frequent constipation, hypotension, increased blood clotting and thrombophlebitis.
We are waiting for your comments!
Chokeberry (chokeberry) is a powerful shrub with beautiful dark berries used in folk medicine. You won't find it on every suburban area, but in vain: caring for it is simple, and the yields are stable and plentiful. Rowan adorns the garden during flowering and in September, when the berries ripen and the leaves gradually turn red.
Brief history, description and characteristics of the plant
Chokeberry is also called Aronia chokeberry. It grows wild in the eastern regions of North America. This is a shrub reaching 3 meters in height, with a crown diameter of more than 2 m. It is very winter-hardy. The root system does not spread far, but some roots penetrate deep into 1 meter or more, although their bulk reaches a depth of about half a meter. An adult bush has numerous thick branches-trunks. The leaves are simple, broadly oval or oblong. The leaf edge is serrated. The leaf blade is shiny on top, dense, slightly pubescent on the underside, whitish.
Blooms in May-June. Flowering lasts about 10 days. Flowers medium, white, bisexual. The corolla has five petals. Peduncles in aronia in the form of a shield containing from 15 to 35 flowers, respectively, berries also grow: in the form of small clusters-scutes. It takes about three months for the fruit to grow and ripen.
When planting a bush of chokeberry in the country, you must understand in advance that it will take up a lot of space
The fruit is round, black, with a slight bluish bloom, strongly wrinkled at the end, rather large (0.5 to 1.5 cm in diameter), sour-sweet, astringent, tart in taste. The mass of one berry is 1.0–1.5 g. Each berry contains 4–8 small seeds. Fruits contain up to 10% sugar, 1.3% acids (mostly malic), pectin and other useful substances. The flowers and fruits of the chokeberry resemble the flowers and fruits of the common mountain ash.
This mountain ash enters fruiting in the fourth year of life. The berries ripen at the end of September and do not fall off for a long time. Aronia is a completely winter-hardy crop. It grows especially well on moisture-intensive, fertile soils. In dry years, the berries are less juicy and small, so they plant it in well-lit places.
I. V. Michurin drew attention to this valuable shrub and recommended it for cultivation for economic purposes. In 1900, he purchased cuttings of chokeberry in Germany to cross with red rowan.
The initiator of the widespread introduction of chokeberry in agricultural production is M. A. Lisavenko (Altai). In 1935, he took cuttings in Michurinsk, propagated, and then planted a plantation of a thousand bushes. Numerous amateur gardeners who began planting soon after the war also contributed to its wide distribution. Then the seedlings were brought to the north, to the Leningrad region, from where the mountain ash came to the Baltic and other regions. In Russia, in our time, chokeberry is common as a fruit and medicinal crop. It is grown everywhere, especially in middle lane and northern regions.
Varieties of chokeberry
Half a century ago, one could read that there were only a few varieties of chokeberry. Now this is not true: through the efforts of breeders, varieties have been bred that differ not only in early maturity or different growing conditions, but also in the taste and even color of the berries, although outwardly most of them are very similar to each other and practically indistinguishable. However, the list of the most popular varieties of chokeberry among amateurs is still small.
The appearance of chokeberry berries of various varieties differs little, they are known “by sight” only by specialists
The unpretentious Rubina variety is characterized by increased resistance to diseases, pests and frost. The berries ripen in September, have a rounded shape, up to 1 cm in diameter, low astringency.
Rowan Chernoookaya is also very unpretentious, similar in characteristics to Rubina, but loves more sunny areas. Diseases most often bypass the Black-eyed side. Its berries, unlike most varieties, have almost no astringency. They hang on the branches for a long time without crumbling, so they can be collected in one go.
In shaded areas, it is recommended to plant the Czech variety Nero. It withstands the most severe frosts, the bush is not too large, the maximum height is up to 2 meters. The color of the flowers is interesting: the main one, like in most varieties, is white, but red stamens stand out. The berries are distinguished by an improved taste, aroma and increased vitamin content, they are well suited for making juice, they ripen somewhat earlier than other varieties.
One of the most winter-hardy and late varieties is Aronia Michurina, which can withstand temperatures down to -40 ° C. It grows in a very large bush, above 3 meters. The berries are also larger than usual, not quite round, slightly flattened, very juicy, do not crumble. It is quite suitable for direct consumption, having a sour-sweet taste.
Aronia Michurina - one of the most well-deserved, traditional varieties
Variety Viking (Finnish origin) - also highly winter-hardy, but different compact size bush and rather small berries, 10-20 pieces in a shield. At the same time, the total yield of fruits that are not quite black in color, with a shade of purple, is still very considerable. The shape of the berries are slightly flattened, can hang on the bushes until the end of October.
Bushes of medium height with a round crown in the Swedish variety Hugin. The berries are red-black, below average size, ripen a little later than other varieties, not very juicy. Hugin is relatively capricious in care: he does not like radical pruning of bushes. In autumn, chokeberry bushes of this variety are very decorative: dark green shiny leaves are adjacent to bright red ones, with a gradual shift in the general color background towards crimson tones. The winter hardiness of the variety is high, but the ground around young plantings should be well mulched for the winter.
Healing properties of the plant
Healing properties of chokeberry lies mainly in the fact that its berries contain a lot of vitamin P. The composition includes active coloring and colorless substances (catechins, red anthocyanins, yellow flovones). Other vitamins are also present in the fruits - C, PP, B 2, B 9, E, but in relatively small quantities. Aronia fruits are a rich source for obtaining natural food dyes, they contain a lot of tannins. Aronia berries are useful in the treatment of certain diseases, including radiation, since vitamin P is an antiradiant. Berries and juice are best consumed along with the fruits of other plants rich in vitamin C.
Chokeberry juice contains useful for the human body chemical elements: iodine, iron, manganese. Quite good wine is made from it, and is also used to tint light wines, sparkling water and other drinks. The yield of juice from fruits is high - 68–75%.
Chokeberry tincture is easier to prepare than classic wine, and is appreciated by lovers no less
For preventive and therapeutic purposes, they use juice, fresh, frozen or dried berries, various culinary products from mountain ash. It is useful in hypertension, bleeding, diabetes, kidney disease, rheumatism, hepatitis and many other cases. Aronia favors the reduction of cholesterol in the blood. When fresh, this mountain ash is not very tasty, so they prefer to make jam, marmalade, compote, etc. from it. Subject to the rules of preparation, it does not lose its healing properties.
Planting chokeberry at their summer cottage: step by step instructions
Growing chokeberry does not cause any particular difficulties. It gives stable high yields. For laying plantings of chokeberry, it is necessary to select appropriate places. The best - on average, moisture-intensive, fertile loams. Slightly lowered relief places are more suitable for this culture. In more elevated dry places, the berries are smaller and less juicy. Aronia does not respond well to lack of moisture, especially during fruit ripening.
This mountain ash should not be planted near swamps, in low places where late spring frosts are possible. Shrubs are also demanding on illumination, even minimal shading significantly reduces productivity. And heavily shaded bushes bear fruit several times worse than those that grow in the sun.
Throughout his life, the author of these lines observed three bushes of chokeberry growing in radically different conditions. As a child, a huge bush grew in partial shade, but it was the west of the Bryansk region, with a not very hot and rather humid climate. Harvests were going to be huge and stable. Then, in his youth, there was a bush in a dacha in the Saratov region. It was well lit, but frequent summer droughts and unbearable heat made it possible to harvest a much more modest crop than in the conditions of the more northern Bryansk region. Now the neighbors in another dacha (also Saratov) have a chokeberry bush growing in the shade and without much care. It also bears fruit normally, but even less than the second one, which had plenty of sun.
It is better to plant mountain ash in the fall, but you can also in the spring. When preparing the site, half a bucket of rotted manure is introduced into the soil for square meter. When planting several bushes, the optimal scheme is 3 x 3 m. A planting pit is preliminarily prepared: a width of 60 cm, a depth of 40 cm. Humus or peat-dung compost (1.5–2 buckets) and two liters of wood ash are introduced into it, having previously mixed everything with the soil taken out of the pit.
The roots of the seedling are slightly cut, dipped in a mash of clay, mullein and water. Planting is similar to planting most garden plants. It is necessary to lower the seedling into the prepared hole, straighten the roots well, gradually cover them with soil and water. Aronia is planted 5-6 cm deeper than the seedling grew in the nursery. In the spring, the bush is heavily pruned.
Thus, in order to plant chokeberry in the country, you must do the following:
- In the summer we choose a place: sunny, but not too dry.
It is advisable to plant chokeberry away from other shrubs and trees.
- At the end of summer, we dig up the site of the proposed plantings, applying fertilizers and destroying perennial weeds.
- In September, we dig a planting hole (60 x 60 x 40 cm), introducing two buckets of humus and a good jar of wood ash into it.
The landing pit under the shrub should not be very deep, but it must be filled with fertilizers.
- In early October, we purchase a chokeberry seedling with good roots and come to the site with it.
A good seedling should have a powerful root lobe
- We cut too long roots (up to 20-25 cm, and if they are shorter, then only the very tips) and lower them into a mash of mullein and clay, in last resort Let's swim in the water.
If the roots are dipped in a talker, the seedling will take root easier
- We put the seedling in the hole so that the root neck is just below the soil level.
- Gradually we fill the roots with fertile soil, trampling with our feet, we check that in the end the root neck does not stick out.
After backfilling with earth, the root collar must be completely immersed in the soil.
- Gently pour a bucket of water around the seedling.
- We mulch with peat or dry earth with a layer of 2-3 cm.
After planting and watering, you need to throw a little peat or other mulching material around the bush
- We winter calmly.
- In the spring, on the very first visit to the dacha, we cut the bush. We leave stumps no higher than 20 cm.
Unfortunately, in the spring the shoots will have to be greatly shortened.
In the first four years, the aisle can be occupied with potatoes, lupine for green manure or strawberries. Such use of the place is advisable, since the chokeberry begins to bear fruit only in the third year after planting the bushes, and during this time it is possible to harvest other crops next to it, making additional fertilizers for them.
As for trees and shrubs, it is better not to plant anything like that nearby, especially hawthorn as a neighbor. Of course, such giants as apricot and, moreover, Walnut: from their neighborhood, the chokeberry will not have any food or moisture left. Chokeberries have common pests with cherries: the slimy sawfly and aphids, so it is absolutely impossible to plant them nearby either.
How to properly care for chokeberry: rules for watering, fertilizing, preparing for winter, harvesting
Watering chokeberry requires moderate, in rainy seasons they can be omitted. The most active growth of the bush occurs in cool weather, about 15 ° C. Aronia does not like elevated temperatures, but short-term heat has almost no effect on productivity. Watering in case of dry weather is necessary at the stage of fruit formation, since usually there is enough moisture from melting snow just before this time. Shallow grooves can be dug around the bushes, and 2-3 buckets of water can be poured into them. Loosening the soil after watering is highly desirable. During the summer it is repeated several times. The depth of loosening is small: up to 5–6 cm.
For annual fruiting, fertilizers must be applied. It is recommended to alternate organic with mineral.
Nitrogen fertilizers should be applied every spring (on thawed soil) at a dose of 20 g per square meter, phosphorus and potash fertilizers - a year later (30 and 20 g, respectively). Manure (rotted) or peat-dung compost is applied at a dose of 2-3 buckets per bush. Bird droppings diluted with water 1:10, or slurry (1:3) are also used.
In the first years, vegetables or flowers are planted around the bushes, but as soon as the aisles begin to be shaded by overgrown bushes, they are kept under black fallow. The soil around the bushes during the entire growing season is weeded and loosened.
In addition to soil care and fertilization, thinning of bushes is also required. They give a large number of shoots that quickly thicken the bush. Shoot growth begins at an average daily air temperature of about 5 ° C. New, most valuable shoots, as well as rhizomatous offspring, grow from the root part of the shoot.
After planting a two-year-old seedling with 4–6 trunks, their number soon doubles, and by the age of seven, the base of the bush is about a meter in diameter and about 50 trunks.
The main trunk grows in length up to 8 years, but the growth rate decreases from the age of four. The main fruiting is observed on annual branches. When fruiting falls, the fruits become much smaller. Thus, old trunks become ballast, impairing the growth and fruiting of other, younger ones. Therefore, they are cut down at the very roots.
Like the black currant, the chokeberry bush is formed in such a way that it consists of trunks of different ages. In addition to cutting down old trunks, thinning of young shoots is also carried out, which thickens the bush. Pruning should be aimed at creating optimal conditions for the illumination of the bush. A properly formed adult bush can consist of 50 or more trunks. At proper care it annually produces at least 5–6 kg of fruit.
Ripe berries (black and soft to the touch) ripen by early autumn. But you should not take them off at this time, since the berries acquire color early, and the real taste qualities are much later. It is better to harvest the crop towards the end of September, preventing the birds from pecking at the berries. Berries are collected in wicker baskets or small buckets. They can remain on the bushes until frost. For drying, the crop is removed in whole shields, which are dried at room temperature, freely hanging, or in the oven. Fresh berries at a low temperature can be stored for up to two months.
Shields with chokeberry berries are usually cut with scissors so as not to injure the fruits and tear off the excess from the bush
Chokeberry does not require special preparation for wintering, it withstands frosts down to -30 ° C, suffering from them only in the most severe winters. But if the roots remain intact, then the entire frozen above-ground part is quickly restored. The root system freezes only when the soil temperature is below -12 o C, and good layer snow reliably protects it in the most severe frosts. Light shelter is required only for young, not yet strong bushes. It is best to simply mulch or spud them well; in the most northern regions, a layer of non-woven material can be added to this shelter.
Diseases and pests, their control
Of the pests, the most dangerous for chokeberry is the cherry slimy sawfly, which skeletonizes the leaf blade. Aronia is harmed by its larva (false caterpillar). She appears at the beginning of August. Against this pest, the bushes are sprayed with a solution of chlorophos during its appearance. To prevent diseases in the spring and after flowering, spraying with a 1% solution of Bordeaux liquid is carried out. Brief information about the main pests is given in table 1.
Table: the most dangerous pests of black mountain ash
| Name | Nature of action | Recommended measures | Prevention |
| Cherry slimy sawfly | Winged insect, slimy larva. Appearance - mid-summer, damage leaves | 0.7% soda solution or 0.3% chlorophos solution after flowering, then twice more with a weekly interval | Digging the soil, loosening row spacing |
| moth | Night butterfly, large caterpillars gnaw leaves and flowers | Before the awakening of the kidneys - nitrafen, before flowering - karbofos, spraying according to the instructions | |
| Belyanka | Diurnal white butterfly white with a spot on the wing, caterpillar up to 4 cm long, gnaws whole leaves | Spraying with dendrobacillin or fitoverm according to the instructions in late spring | Weed control, caterpillar collection |
| spider moth | White shiny small butterfly, yellow caterpillars braid the leaf with cobwebs, the leaves fall off | 0.2% solution of chlorophos in early spring or nitrafen before bud break | Collection and burning of affected leaves |
| beetle weevil | A small brown beetle eats away the buds, the larva gnaws on the buds, the petals dry up | Karbofos, Spark during budding according to the instructions. Shaking off and killing bugs | In early spring, spraying with a 1% solution of copper sulphate |
| rowan moth | Small butterfly, damages berries. Larvae harms similarly | 0.2% solution of chlorophos at the end of June | Digging the soil, destroying fallen berries and leaves |
| Apple fruit sawfly | Small brown insect, yellow larva destroy flowers | Treatment with 0.2% mustard solution | Loosening the trunk circle in autumn |
| Shchitovka | Larvae up to 5 mm, suck juices from wood | Treatment of trunks and branches with Bi-58 or Pirinex preparations before bud break according to the instructions | Thinning bushes |
Aronia is characterized by both fungal and viral diseases, but under the condition of proper agricultural technology, plants of modern varieties become infected quite rarely. Some diseases are listed in Table 2.
Table: main diseases of chokeberry
| Name | Nature of action | Recommended measures | Prevention |
| powdery mildew | The spores of the fungus appear in the form of a white coating on the leaves, which is easily removed by hand. Infected fruits rot | 0.02% potassium permanganate solution or strong infusion of ash or foundationazole according to the instructions. Spraying several times. Pruning damaged branches, sprinkling the near-stem circle with ash | Weed removal, crown thinning |
| Rust | The bush is covered with a red bloom, then dries up and dies | 1% solution of Bordeaux liquid before and after flowering, cutting out infected areas | Timely destruction of infected areas |
| Scab | The bush is abundantly covered with dark or green spots, the skin of the berries peels off, they and the leaves crumble | Preparation Gamair or Rayok according to the instructions, before flowering, immediately after it and during the growth of berries | Removal of all plant waste, early spring spraying with 1% Bordeaux mixture |
| black necrosis | First, the bark of trunks and branches turns yellow, then cracks. The number of cracks grows rapidly, they widen, the bark exfoliates | 0.2% solution of foundationazole, drug Skor according to the instructions. Cutting and burning diseased areas | Zircon - 1 ml of the drug per bucket of water |
| Septoria | Small white spots on the leaves, also called white spot, sharply reduces the yield | Preparations Profit Gold, Skor before and after bud break, then after another 20 days according to the instructions | Thinning bushes |
| Viral circular mosaic | Yellow spots with a green border on the leaves, then a mosaic pattern. Leaves die and fall | Treatment is impossible. Sick bushes are destroyed | Proper agricultural technology |
Problems that arise and how to solve them
Experienced gardeners do not have unexpected problems when growing chokeberry, all agricultural technology is quite simple, but novice amateurs may encounter seemingly unsolvable issues. So, for example, often when transplanting another, it seems, a young bush to a new place, it refuses to continue growing. This may be due to the wrong choice of transplant time or place for a new bush residence. Usually additional feeding and autumn pruning can help chokeberry to return to normal life over time.
Sometimes the bush dries up for a completely incomprehensible reason. Even an experienced owner cannot find it until he pays attention to the heaps of land nearby. It turns out that moles that settled nearby, and, moreover, mole rats, can greatly disrupt the root system of chokeberry. The capture and destruction of a mole rat is a daunting task, but this must be done, otherwise it will be possible to be left without a crop in the garden.
Inexperienced gardeners harvest as soon as the berries turn black and become disillusioned with it. This should be done no earlier than a month after the berries acquire a characteristic color, and everything will be fine. So this is not a problem either!
Methods for propagating chokeberry
Chokeberries are often propagated from seeds, although this is a laborious process. Its seedlings are quite even, but among them there are plants with larger fruits and a very high yield. Such bushes should be distinguished. For growing planting material, in addition to sowing seeds, they use the ability of lignified and green cuttings to take root, as well as the tendency of the bush to give rhizomatous offspring and take root by layering.
seed propagation
With seed propagation, a high yield of planting material is obtained, but heterogeneous in biological value. Sowing seeds seems to be simple, but it requires a lot of attention, adherence to a certain order of stratification. This is a very difficult matter.
Propagation by woody cuttings
You can grow seedlings by rooting annual lignified cuttings. This is done very simply.
Propagation by green cuttings
You can also grow seedlings with green cuttings. Doing this is much more difficult.
Chokeberry gives numerous rhizomatous offspring.
Reproduction by horizontal layering
Reproduction by grafting
Chokeberry can be grafted onto an adult mountain ash tree using methods for the bark, in the butt or split. The easiest way is to graft into a split. You can also graft on a specially prepared rootstock of ordinary mountain ash, as is done on apple trees. The working technique is as follows:
All diseases of mountain ash are caused by fungi, viruses or bacteria.
rowan rust
The causative agent is a fungus Gymnosporangium juniperi Link.
A heterogeneous fungus, the main development cycle of which occurs on juniper, and pome crops are intermediate hosts: apple, pear, quince, hawthorn, mountain ash. Separate rounded yellow spots without bordering appear on the leaves of mountain ash, on the underside of which orange pustules with powdering spores grow. Affected leaves are covered with numerous scattered yellow spots, prematurely dry out and fall off, which negatively affects the maturation of shoots and their winter hardiness. The infection persists in the affected plant debris, in the affected branches of mountain ash and on juniper.
Control measures. Pruning of affected branches, collection of plant debris, spatial isolation with juniper plantings. Spraying trees until the leaves grow back with 1% Bordeaux mixture or its substitutes (HOM, Abiga-Peak).
Phyllostic blotch of mountain ash
This disease is caused by 2 types of pathogenic fungi. First - mushroom Phyllosticta aucupariae Thum. - causes the formation of gray spots on the leaves of mountain ash with a wide dark brown border. In the necrotic tissue, over time, flattened black fruiting bodies of the overwintering stage, pycnidia, are formed. The second is the mushroom Phyllosticta sorbi West. - causes the formation of ash-gray spots with a black-red border. The spots are scattered, often merge, black dotted fruiting bodies - pycnidia are formed in the necrotic tissue.
Affected leaves turn yellow prematurely and dry out, which affects the maturation of shoots and their frost resistance. The infection persists in the affected plant debris.
Control measures. Preventive spraying of trees in the spring, when the leaves grow back, with a 1% Bordeaux mixture or its substitutes (HOM, Abiga-Peak).
Septoria Leaf Blight
The causative agent is a fungus Septoria hyalospora Sacc. f. aucupariae Thum. - causes brown spots on the upper side of the leaf. In the necrotic tissue, black dotted flattened pycnidia form over time.
The causative agent is a fungus Septoria sorbi Lasch . - causes the formation of dark brown spots on both sides of the leaf blade, on which black fruiting bodies of the wintering stage are also formed. The infection persists in the affected plant debris.
Control measures.
Rowan leaf ramulariasis
The causative agent is a fungus Ramularia sorbi Karak. Numerous vague reddish-brown spots appear on the leaves. On the underside of the leaf blade, on necrotic tissues, a grayish coating of sporulation is formed, the spores of which recharge neighboring leaves. With a strong spread of the disease, the affected leaves turn yellow and dry out prematurely, which affects the maturation of young shoots and the frost resistance of the bushes. The infection persists in the affected plant debris.
Control measures. Spraying the bushes in the spring, before the leaves bloom, with a Bordeaux mixture or its substitutes (HOM, Abiga-Peak). With a strong manifestation of spotting, spraying with the same preparations is carried out in summer and autumn, taking into account the waiting time. Collection and destruction of fallen affected leaves.
The causative agent is a fungus Cladosporium orbiculatum Desm. (syn. Fusicladium orbiculatum (Desm.) Thum.). Small, brown to black, merging spots form on the leaves on both sides. On the necrotic tissue, olive-brown tufts of sporulation are formed, the spores of which re-infect neighboring leaves. Affected leaves dry out prematurely. The infection persists in the affected plant debris.
Control measures. Same as against phyllostic spotting.
Mountain ash pests are divided into isolated and common species. The former live only on this culture, the latter can freely adapt to existence on other shrubs and trees.
Mountain ash mite
Mountain ash mite Eriophyes piri var. sorbi Nal. - a very small cylindrical pest with two pairs of legs. Ticks live and feed in the tissues of the leaves, making moves and sucking out the juice. In places of feeding on the leaves, irregularly shaped bulges are formed - galls. Galls on both sides of the leaf blade, numerous, yellow-green at first, later becoming red-brown and drying out. Adult mites hibernate under the scales of the buds; in spring, when blooming, they penetrate into young leaves and feed on the juice of tissues. Over the summer, several generations of ticks develop.
Control measures. Preventive spraying during bud break with one of the drugs: Fufanon, Kemith, Aktellik. Spraying is repeated immediately after the flowering of mountain ash with the same preparations.
Rowan edge mite
Rowan edge mite Eriophyes goniothorax sorbea Nal. - a small pest that causes the formation of galls in the form of felts more often on the underside of the leaf blade. The galls are white at first, later turning brown. Adult mites also hibernate under the scales of the kidneys.
Control measures. The same as against the mountain ash mite.
Rowan aphid
Rowan aphid Yezabura sorbi Kalt. (syn. Dentatus sorbi Kalt.) - a small sucking insect of yellow-green and yellow-brown color. Often forms large colonies on rowan leaves. As a result of damage, young leaves are severely deformed. Damaged leaves are wavy, bent down, twisted spherically, often creating a large clump of leaves.
Control measures. Preventive spraying when the leaves bloom and, if necessary, in the summer with one of the preparations: Fufanon, Kemifos, Aktellik, Kinmiks, Spark, Fitoverm, Inta-Vir.
Large aspen sawfly
Large aspen sawfly Clavellaria amerinae L. - Hymenoptera insect 16-21 mm long. Upper lip and clypeus white, hind femora simple. The abdomen of the female has white spots on the sides of the 3rd-4th segment and white stripes on the following ones, the male's is black with a rufous underside. The flight of insects is observed in May-June, after fertilization, the female lays eggs 3-4 in one slot of the leaf pulp. Hatching larvae are bluish-green with a whitish coating, without warts, with a small lighter head, triangular black spiracles. Having finished feeding, the larvae pupate in a transparent reticulated cocoon in crevices of the bark and in hollows. The sawfly damages the leaves of willow, poplar, less often mountain ash.
Control measures. Preventive spraying when the leaves bloom and after flowering with one of the preparations: fufanon, kemifos. With a large number in summer time you can also use kinmix, actellik, spark, Inta-Vir, taking into account the waiting time.
Rowan brown sawfly
Rowan brown sawfly Tenthredo fagi Panz. - Hymenoptera insect 12-15 mm long. Head and thorax black, pterostigma brown-black, scutellum white, abdomen black in females, pale rufous in males. The spots on the sides of the metathorax and the first segment of the abdomen are white. Flight of insects occurs from May to July. After fertilization, the females lay their eggs on rowan leaves. Hatching larvae are brown, with dark stripes on the back and 2-3 transverse rows of brown stripes bearing hairs of warts on all segments.
Control measures. Same as against large aspen sawfly.
Leaf gall midge
Leaf gall midge Contarinia sorbi Kieff. - a small mosquito up to 5 mm long, with a narrow body and transparent wings. The females have a needle-shaped ovipositor. Larvae are spindle-shaped, legless, white. The pupa is closed, in a weblike false cocoon. Females lay their eggs in folded young leaves, hatching larvae live and feed in the tissues of the leaf, causing their abnormal growth. The leaves damaged by larvae become slightly thickened, the midrib is bent, and transverse folds directed upwards are formed.
Control measures. Preventive spraying at bud break and immediately after flowering with one of the preparations: fufanon, kemifos.
Moth-baby mountain ash
Moth-baby mountain ash Stigmella sorbi Stt. - a very small butterfly with thin narrow lanceolate wings fringed with shiny hairs. Wingspan 5 mm, head covered with dense hairs, first segment of antennae widened. The caterpillar is greenish-white with a darker line on the back and a dark head, flat, legless, feeding on the leaf parenchyma, making a mine. The mine is narrow at first, then passes into a wide spot, usually at the edge of the leaf blade. Feeding and development of caterpillars is observed in June-July. With a large number of pests, damaged leaves dry out prematurely.
Control measures. Preventive spraying of trees during the growth of leaves with one of the preparations: Fufanon, Kemifos, Aktellik, Kinmiks, Spark, Inta-Vir.
Moth-baby mountain ash winding
Moth-baby mountain ash winding Stigmella aucupariae Frey. - a very small butterfly with a wingspan of 5 mm. The caterpillar is green with a brown head, feeds on the parenchyma of the leaf, making a mine. The mine is strongly twisted, serpentine, at the edge of the leaf, with a black line of excrement. Two generations of the pest develop. Feeding and development of caterpillars is observed in June-July and in September-October.
Control measures. The same as against the baby rowan moth.
white-winged case
white-winged case Coleophora anatipen nella Hb. - a small butterfly with a wingspan of 11-12 mm. The forewings are snow-white with sparsely scattered dark ocher scales more densely arranged at the apex. The hindwings are silky gray with a light golden fringe. The fore-back and head are white, the abdomen is gray, the antennae are in alternating yellowish and white rings, and the legs are white. The eggs are orange, ribbed, hemispherical, with a hole at the top. The caterpillar of the first age is orange-yellow with a gray-black head, a dark gray pectoral shield, with dark spots on the second segment. The adult caterpillar is yellow; head, thoracic and anal shields black. The case is 7 mm long, cylindrical, with a cochlear-shaped twisted top.
The pupa is yellow, the dorsal side is darker than the ventral side, the last segment has a bifurcated spine. Developed over two years. Caterpillars overwinter, from early spring they damage buds, leaves and flowers. In June-July, they switch to branches, attach the cap to the bark, and enter diapause until the next spring. In the spring they feed, then attach the cap to the leaf, stay in it in a stationary state for 2-3 weeks, and in June the butterflies fly out. After fertilization, the female lays her eggs on the leaves. The hatched larvae gnaw through small star-shaped mines, and after a month they make a small twisted cap. In the case, the caterpillars move along the leaves and feed by gnawing round mines. In autumn, caterpillars move to branches and hibernate. The white-winged case-bearer damages mainly the apple tree, but is also found on stone fruits and deciduous trees and shrubs, including mountain ash.
Control measures. Preventive spraying of trees during bud break with Fufanon and Kemifos.
Ringed silkworm
Ringed silkworm, or ringed cocoon moth Malacosoma neustria L. (syn. Castropacha neustria L.) , - a butterfly with a thick pubescent body, yellow-brown. The forewings are larger than the hindwings, their wingspan is 30-40 mm. In females, the antennae are comb-shaped, in males they are feathery, there is no proboscis, since adults do not feed. Caterpillars up to 55 mm long, have 8 pairs of legs covered with thick hairs, with blue, brown and white stripes along the body, the head is blue. The pupae are brown, develop in pale yellow double cocoons between the leaves fastened with cobwebs. Eggs in oviposition in the form of a ring on thin branches of 200-300 pieces. Eggs overwinter, caterpillars hatch during bud break and, feeding, form large cobweb nests. At first, the caterpillars live in broods, and from the third age they crawl along the branches. During the summer, one generation of the pest develops. With a large number of silkworm eats leaves, completely exposing the crown of trees. Damages all fruit crops and deciduous species.
Control measures. Preventive spraying in the spring, when buds open, with preparations: Fufanon and Kemifos. With a large number of caterpillars, spraying is repeated in the summer, taking into account the waiting time
