Content
Rowan is most often used for ornamental cultivation, since its fruits are practically inedible when fresh. But to date, breeders have obtained many cultivated varietal rowan trees with sweeter fruits. Liqueur mountain ash is one of the cultivars that are popular with gardeners.
Description of Rowan Likernaya
Rowan Likernaya is considered the brainchild of IV Michurin. He created this variety by crossing the common mountain ash with chokeberry, otherwise called black chokeberry. True, for a long time the variety was considered irretrievably lost, until it was possible to renew it. So it is still 100% unclear whether it is a complete copy of the liqueur mountain ash that Michurin managed to get. Or is it just some kind of mountain ash, obtained much later, which is successfully promoted and sold, using Michurin's name to attract buyers. Further in the article you can find a description of the rowan liqueur variety with photos and reviews of gardeners.
It has the shape of a medium-sized tree, growing up to 5 m in height. The crown diameter can reach 4 m. The liqueur mountain ash is distinguished by a rather rapid growth and development rate, the growth rate is about 25-30 cm per year. The tree looks quite impressive, having almost correct oval crown shape, though slightly sparse.
Unpaired dark green leaves are arranged alternately on the branches. In the autumn, the leaves are colored in all shades of yellow, orange and red, which makes the tree even more attractive.
Small white-pink flowers are collected in dense corymbose inflorescences. The diameter of the inflorescences reaches 10 cm. The flowering of this variety of mountain ash can be observed at the very end of spring or at the beginning of summer.
The fruits are spherical, dark purple, almost black in color. They slightly resemble the fruits of chokeberry. The ripening period is around mid-September. The weight of one fruit is about 1 g, the size is 12-15 mm. The cutaway of the liqueur rowan fruit pulp is shown in the photo, it is sweetish, with a slight tart aftertaste.
The table below shows the composition of rowan fruits of this variety.
Sugar | 10, 8% |
Cellulose | 2.7 g / 100 g |
Vitamin C | 15 mg / 100 g |
Carotene | 2 mg / 100 g |
Organic acids | 1,3% |
The berries can be kept fresh for up to one month.
This variety requires cross-pollination for good fruiting. This means that other varieties of mountain ash should grow nearby. The best variety for cross-pollination is Burka and other varieties of Nevezhinskaya mountain ash.
Rowan liqueur is characterized by high winter hardiness (zone 3 b).
The fruits are well suited for making jam, rich color of compotes, as well as a variety of wines, liqueurs and liqueurs.
Pros and cons of the variety
The advantages of this variety of mountain ash include:
- attractive look of the tree;
- high frost resistance;
- moderate drought resistance;
- dessert taste of fruits, without bitterness.
Planting and caring for rowan Likernaya
Rowan liqueur is most closely related to such famous fruit trees as apple and pear. Therefore, planting and caring for trees are very similar in their agricultural technology.
Landing site preparation
It is better to choose a sunny place for planting a fruit tree. Although the plants can tolerate partial shade, they will bear fruit less well under these conditions.
This variety of mountain ash does not impose any special requirements on the soil, although it is better to avoid excessively heavy soils with excessive moisture. Saline soils will also not be the best option for her. The best yields can be achieved by planting the tree in well-drained, loamy fertile soil with a slightly acidic or neutral reaction.
Landing rules
Given the good resistance of this mountain ash to cold weather, it is possible to plant it in the ground in a permanent place in two terms. Either in early spring, before bud break, or in autumn, after all the leaves have flown around.
The roots of the tree are located quite close to the surface, so the planting hole must be prepared not so much deep as wide. That is, the depth of the planting pit can be 60 cm, with a diameter of 100 cm. Before planting a tree with an open root system, it is soaked in a bucket of water a day before the process itself.
Then the roots of the seedling are placed in a prepared hole, straightened and carefully covered with the removed soil mixture. For better development of the tree, wood ash, sand and compost or humus can be added to the soil mixture.
If several liqueur rowan trees are planted, then the distance between them should be at least 4-5 m.
It is customary to mulch the root zone with accessible organic material: rotted sawdust, mown hay, straw or tree bark. This will help retain moisture at the roots, protect against the most aggressive weeds, and provide additional nutrition. In addition, due to the shallow location of the root system, loosening can be an unsafe procedure for the roots of the tree. And mulching will take over all its functions.
Watering and feeding
In the first few years after planting, young trees need regular but moderate watering. This should be done especially during the hot and dry summer period. Mature trees over the age of 5 years do not need additional watering, except during a period of special drought.
Fertilizers are usually applied when planting rowan liqueur. In addition to a bucket of humus, she needs 500 g of superphosphate, 1000 g of wood ash or 250 g of potash fertilizers per tree. Further feeding is carried out once a year in the spring. You can use both organic and mineral fertilizers.
Pruning
In liqueur rowan, all types of pruning are performed in the early spring period. Moreover, this should be done as early as possible, because the buds of these plants wake up quite early, already in April.
Formative pruning is especially important in the first years after planting. It is necessary to shorten or cut off all branches that thicken the crown, as well as growing at an acute angle to the trunk. This will allow to avoid further trunk breaks and increase the illumination of the central part of the crown. Which in turn will lead to higher yields.
At an older age, thinning and rejuvenating pruning is carried out. After these procedures, the trees need additional care: top dressing, regular watering, mulching.
Sanitary pruning should be carried out annually, trying to timely remove dry, damaged, diseased and rubbing branches.
Shoots of rowan grow and ripen quickly, therefore, even after strong pruning, there should be no problems with ripening by winter.
Preparing for winter
Rowan liqueur can withstand frosts down to -40 ° C and therefore does not need special shelter for the winter. It is much more important to protect young plantings from damage by rodents and hares, as well as from possible sunburn in early spring.For this, the trunk is whitewashed in autumn using a special garden composition and, in addition, it can be wrapped in burlap to protect it from small mammals.
Pollination
As mentioned above, the rowan of this variety belongs to almost self-fertile trees. Therefore, for good yields, she needs several trees of other varieties growing nearby. Rowan varieties such as Rubinovaya, Kubovaya, Daughter Kubovoy, Burka will play their role well.
Harvesting
The fruits begin to ripen approximately 4-5 years after planting. They are able to stay on branches for a long time. But birds love to feast on them. Therefore, sweet varieties of mountain ash, which include liqueur, are recommended to be harvested as quickly as possible, even before frost.
Up to 20 kg of berries can be harvested from one tree.
Diseases and pests
If some care rules are not followed, especially high humidity, liqueur rowan trees can suffer from fruit rot, brown spot and powdery mildew. For the prevention of these diseases in early spring, they are treated with medicinal preparations or biological agents, for example, Fitosporin.
Some insects are also not averse to feasting on leaves and young shoots of mountain ash, for example, a moth. Spraying with insecticides is used to protect against insects. To keep the fruits edible, it is better to use biological agents such as Fitoverma.
Reproduction
Rowan liqueur, if desired, can be multiplied by all possible means. The seed method is too laborious and does not allow preserving the original properties of the mother plant.
Layers can be used if there are branches growing low from the ground. In this case, they are tilted, instilled, and after the appearance of the roots, they are separated from the mother plant.
Green cuttings are cut and rooted during flowering. The rooting rate is small, ranging from 15 to 45%.
The easiest way to propagate a plant is by grafting. But this procedure needs to be learned first. Rowan seedlings usually act as rootstocks. It is advisable to use the sweeter Nevezhin and Moravian varieties.
Conclusion
Liqueur mountain ash is an interesting variety that inspires many gardeners. It is distinguished by its unpretentiousness and a plentiful harvest of fruits, if you create suitable conditions for pollination.
