Content
Planting and caring for chokeberry does not require special skills and skill. The vigorous, vigorous chokeberry thrives on the minimal maintenance typical of fruit trees and shrubs in the garden. Correct planting largely determines the further development of the black mountain ash. Culture has few features and whims. But only considering them, you can grow a really beautiful, healthy and productive black chokeberry.
How to plant chokeberry
Mistakes made when choosing a time or place, insufficient soil preparation, improper embedding of a black chokeberry seedling in the ground may not immediately affect. Correcting such shortcomings can be difficult.
For the successful cultivation of chokeberry, the main requirement for the planting site is sufficient lighting. Chokeberry lays fruit buds along the entire periphery of the bush; for full flowering and uniform growth, a lot of sunlight is needed. Even partial shading has a bad effect on the decorativeness of the black mountain ash.
Self-pollinating black chokeberry is able to bloom and bear fruit in single plantings. Nevertheless, the proximity to related crops (for example, red rowan) has a beneficial effect on productivity. The ability of the blackberry to tolerate pruning well and grow in dense groups is used when creating free-form hedges.
Where to plant chokeberry
The unpretentious blackberry is able to take root on a variety of soils. It grows on sandy, rocky slopes, in wetlands. But nevertheless, the best results are obtained by growing black chops on drained loams, with low acidity. Loose fertile soil and a sunny place will be the best choice for chokeberry.
The bulk of the root system of the black mountain ash lies no deeper than 50 cm. Spring flooding is not terrible for it. Groundwater close to the surface does not cause any harm to black chokeberry.
When to plant chokeberry
Chokeberry is suitable for planting in early spring. When choosing the timing, they pay attention to the climatic conditions in a particular area: the duration of the warm period, the severity of the climate, the presence of recurrent frosts.
A healthy chokeberry planting material for spring work should be with swollen, lively buds, but still without leaves. Aronia should be planted in spring after the soil has thawed completely. It is advisable to have time with the work before the start of the active growing season. Most often, this period is observed in April. Planting in spring gives the young black chokeberry an entire season for vigorous growth before hibernating.
Spring sudden cold snaps are dangerous for young shoots.With the threat of return frosts in spring, black chokeberry seedlings are sheltered.
How to plant chokeberry correctly
The planting site, as well as the nutrient substrate for the roots, is prepared in advance. The minimum size of a hole for a chokeberry seedling is 50 cm in width and depth. Even if the roots of the mountain ash are small, the place is prepared in a standard way. The entire volume of the planting pit will be used by the chokeberry during the growth of the bush.
The soil taken out when digging a hole is mixed with humus (10 kg), wood ash (about 2 tbsp.) And 1 tbsp. superphosphate. The seats are located at a distance of 3 m from each other. When forming a hedge from black mountain ash, a slight thickening is permissible, but not closer than 2 m.
The process of planting chokeberry step by step:
- The planting pit is filled with the prepared nutrient substrate by 1/3.
- Spill with well-settled water and wait for it to be completely absorbed into the ground.
- The blackberry seedling is placed in the center of the pit so that after planting, the root collar is above the soil.
- The pit is completely filled with a fertile substrate, the soil is squeezed around the seedling.
- The planting site of the blackberry is watered abundantly. After the soil has shrunk, it is mulched with a layer of about 2 cm.
What can be planted next to chokeberry
An important factor when choosing a neighborhood for a chokeberry is the height of the plants. Chokeberry's exactingness to light requires making sure that the surrounding trees and bushes do not even partially shade it.
So when planting next to blackberry and red rowan, the first is located to the south. She is harder to bear the shadow of a tall relative. Any species of wild and cultivated rowan varieties get along well side by side and benefit from cross-pollination.
Black chokeberry easily tolerates any neighborhood in the garden. They do not plant it only near cherries, due to the presence of pests (aphids and sawfly) that infect both plants. Other garden trees and shrubs do well for planting next to the black chokeberry.
Garden crops also have no contraindications for growing in the same area with chokeberry. However, sometimes there is a mutual infection of aphids in a blackberry with berry crops: strawberries, raspberries, currants.
Is it possible to plant a blackberry near an apple tree
The apple tree is one of the most tolerant trees in the garden. Like chokeberry, it is undemanding to the neighborhood. Planting together can be beneficial for both crops, provided each other is not shaded.
Leaving some of the black berries on the chokeberry, birds are attracted to the garden. This natural destruction of pests is good for the apple tree. Preventive treatment of crops against diseases can be carried out together, at the same time, with the same preparations. Therefore, the neighborhood of black rowan and apple trees can be called successful.
How to transplant chokeberry to a new location
With timely planting and good care, the black mountain ash quickly turns into a large bush, and after 2-3 years it begins to bear fruit. But sometimes there is a need to move an adult plant to another place. It is better to do this work in early spring, before the leaves bloom on the blackberry.
The vitality of the chokeberry allows it to take root successfully even in adulthood. If a well-developed, dense bush is transplanted, then at the same time the chokeberry can be propagated. To do this, the dug plant is divided into several parts by the root, and the resulting "delenki" are planted as independent seedlings.
Painless chokeberry transplant with a whole bush:
- The plant is deeply dug around the perimeter of the trunk circle (at least 1 m in diameter).
- Using a shovel, cut out as large a piece of soil with roots as possible.
- A clod of earth should be carefully removed from the ground, slowly lifting the mountain ash by the branches.
- Having laid the roots on burlap or other dense material, they transport the black chokeberry to a new place.
The landing pit is prepared according to the size of the resulting coma. Having abundantly moistened the soil, the roots of the blackberry are placed in it no deeper than in the previous place.
A correctly carried out transplant will not shock an adult black mountain ash. According to gardeners, chokeberry bushes can bear fruit in the same season.
How to grow black chokeberry
Black chokeberry is tolerant of frost and drought, and can grow on its own without much attention. But really gorgeous bushes and an abundance of berries are received by gardeners who observe the necessary agricultural technology. Regular pruning of blackberry, weeding, loosening, several waterings per season, a little feeding - all that is required for the normal development of the culture.
How to prune chokeberry
The first shaping is required for the chokeberry even upon planting. The branches are shortened to reduce the load on the root system and to give the black chokeberry bushes the desired shape in the future. The position of the last bud on the stem determines the direction of growth of future shoots.
An adult, well-formed black chokeberry consists of 10–12 skeletal branches. To rejuvenate the plant, replacing old shoots with young shoots, they begin at the 8th year of life of the chokeberry. Even a weakened, thickened black chokeberry can be brought back to life. Bushes completely cut to the ground are restored in a season. Black berries will appear on such a chokeberry in a year.
The main work on pruning chokeberry is carried out in early spring. All old, cracked, dried branches are subject to removal. Aronia lends itself well to shaping: in a few years it can be given the appearance of a spherical bush or a miniature tree.
It should be remembered that the next year's harvest is the black rowan planting on the tips of the branches. Therefore, cutting off the tops of the shoots, one should come to terms with a temporary loss of yield.
How can you feed chokeberry
Spring work on the care of chokeberry can begin with the introduction of nitrogen fertilizing in the near-trunk circle. The blackberry reacts well both to organic matter and to mineral compounds.
Rowan is fertilized again during or after flowering. For blackberry, potash preparations and ash pollination are preferable. The third top dressing can consist of a mixture of phosphorus and potash complex fertilizers. It is important not to fertilize chokeberry with nitrogen from the second half of summer. Even manure applied at a later date can slow down the preparation of branches and lead to the freezing of non-lignified shoots.
Proper watering rules
A viable blackberry when planting and nursing in the open field can do without watering for a long time. Most often, a resistant crop has enough rainfall to survive. But luxurious flowering, bright foliage and an abundance of black fruits can be achieved only with abundant moistening of the chokeberry at such times:
- in early spring, if there is little thawed snow, and there is not enough precipitation, the first deep watering is carried out;
- in the summer, if the period of fruit filling coincides with the dry time, the chokeberry is watered a second time.
The bulk of the roots of the black chokeberry lies shallow, nevertheless, each plant requires at least 40 liters of water for full irrigation.
Mulching and loosening the soil
Watering can be combined with chokeberry feeding and weeding weeds... The moistened soil is loosened and covered with a layer of mulch. A layer of grassy residues (without seeds) protects the soil from drying out, and also significantly reduces the time spent on subsequent loosening and weeding around the blackberry.
Is it possible to grow chokeberry from seeds
The chokeberry shrub is propagated in different ways: by cuttings, layering, root division, offspring. But even having only the fruits of the variety you like, it is quite possible to grow chokeberry from seeds. This method is more difficult than vegetative propagation and has several features.
Rules for seed growing of black mountain ash:
- purchased or own planting material needs cold stratification for at least 90 days;
- before being placed in the refrigerator, black rowan seeds are soaked for a day, then dried a little;
- before planting, the material should be warmed up at room temperature;
- sand, sawdust is added to the substrate for blackberry seedlings to lighten the structure;
- buried the seeds of chokeberry into the soil by 5–7 cm.
The emerging blackberry sprouts should be regularly watered and planted, as they grow, in separate containers. Plants will be ready to be taken out into the open ground by the fall of next year.
Diseases of chokeberry
With proper planting and minimal care for chokeberry, a resistant plant does not get sick. A healthy bush shows high immunity to viral, bacterial infections, pests are of little interest. Most of the diseases of black chokeberry noted by gardeners are caused by various strains of fungi:
- peripheral rot - affects wood;
- cytosporosis - leads to wilting of branches, death of the bark;
- ramularia, septoria, phylostictous spots - first of all, the leaves of the blackberry are destroyed;
- fruit rot chokeberry appears on berries.
The provoking factors for the appearance of a fungal infection on chokeberry can be cracking of the bark, weakening of the plant during a drought period or after wintering, as well as thickening of the bushes. Diseases are especially activated during cold, prolonged spring with heavy rainfall.
The methods of dealing with all fungal lesions of black chokeberry are the same:
- Two-time prophylactic treatment of rowan bushes with Bordeaux liquid (1%): before leafing out and after flowering.
- Destruction of all contaminated residues during sanitary pruning of black chops.
- At the first sign of infection in the garden, the soil around the chokeberry is spilled with copper-containing solutions.
If the defeat of the blackberry could not be avoided, the treatment with iron vitriol is continued. Diseased berries, stems, leaves should be collected and destroyed. Dead plants of black mountain ash are removed from the site along with the roots and burned. Of the chemical preparations for spraying, they use: HOM, foundationazol, Abiga-Peak, and other systemic fungicides.
Chokeberry pests
Black chokeberry has no specific pests; all insects are capable of damaging other garden and wild crops. Therefore, their appearance, even in small numbers, should not be ignored.
Chokeberry pests:
- rape bug - a black beetle with a metallic sheen of the elytra, appears en masse in August;
- willow weevil - a jumping black insect with a rostrum bent downward, appears at the end of May, whitish larvae eat leaves from the inside;
- different types of sawflies, affecting wild trees, horticultural crops, berry fields;
- beech moth and leafworm - small butterflies that appear in April, their caterpillar larvae do a lot of damage to foliage.
To protect the blackberry, as well as other garden plantings from pests, you can regularly carry out such activities:
- When the buds swell and after flowering, the branches are sprayed with one of the drugs: Karbofos, Kemifos, Fufanon, Aktellik.
- Fallen leaves, blackberry fruits are collected and burned.
- With the massive appearance of pests, the treatments are repeated, observing a break before picking berries.
Spring treatment of all plantings in the garden is an important measure of protection against pests.Prevention is not only required for fruit trees or berry bushes.
Conclusion
Planting and caring for chokeberry does not cause problems even for novice gardeners. Viable chokeberry, with competent agricultural technology, is decorative from early spring to the very frost. Yields of black, useful berries increase markedly with appropriate care and timely prevention of diseases.
