Rowan

Rowan is widespread in our country. Despite this, every year, thousands of specimens of this plant appear in gardens and local areas. Rowan attracts not only with its appearance but also with body beneficial properties.

What is rowan

Rowan ordinary – a fruit plant belonging to the Pink family, apple tribes.

What does it look like

Rowan can grow as a tree or shrub, grows slowly, the usual height is up to 10 meters. It has large green leaves and bright round fruits of bright orange, red or dark red color.

Where grows rowan

Due to its unpretentiousness, it is growing everywhere, from the south to the extreme north. Can grow in mountainous areas, at the edge of trees, or in households. Chokeberry is common on the American continent.

Types and varieties of mountain ash

Firstly, in nature, you can find wild mountain ash and cultivate it. All known varieties of cultivated mountain ash come from two varieties: Moravian and Nevezhinsky. The names are associated with their original habitat. So, the Moravian was found in one Czech region – Moravia, and the non-gentile – near the Russian village of Nevezhino. And, these species were independently discovered in different parts of the European continent in the 19th century. Therefore, from that moment, gardeners began to grow sweet varieties of mountain ash.

Scarlet rowan, Ruby mountain, and Liqueur ash varieties

Scarlet rowan is a Michurin variety. It features large red berries that can weigh up to two grams each. The taste has more acidity than other varieties, but there is no bitterness. Trees of this variety reach five meters in height, are practically not susceptible to diseases, and tolerate prolonged low temperatures up to 40 degrees.

Ruby mountain ash is a medium-sized tree up to three meters in height. This variety gives juicy fruits with light astringency notes, good to use in cooking and preparations for the winter. It lends itself well to drying and subsequent long-term storage.

Liqueur mountain ash has dark red berries; the color reaches almost black at the peak of maturity. Plants of this variety are trees up to five meters high. The berries of liqueur mountain ash are widely used for the preparation of liqueurs and wine products, as well as for jam from mountain ash.

Bead variety

Due to its qualities, the bead has become the most common variety of mountain ash. Representatives of this variety are trees up to three meters high. Fruits of red beads are round in shape, have absolutely no astringency and bitterness, good to use for multiple purposes. The plants have very high yields and are early ripening – already at the end of summer; the harvest is ready for harvest. Rowan of this variety is unpretentious to moisture, droughts, low temperatures.

Ogonyok and White swan vearieties

Variety Ogonyok stands out for its bright color of berries – during the period of full ripening, they become fiery orange. Plants are highly resistant to temperature extremes, do not require constant watering, and tolerate prolonged droughts.

The fruits of the White Swan variety are white, very bitter, and not suitable for consumption. Most often, these plants are good to use for decorative purposes.

Because of the consonant name, many consider chokeberry as a type of red. These plants belong to the same Pink family, but a different genus: red mountain ash to the genus Sorbus, black chokeberry, and Aronia. Aronia is a dense shrub with good reproductive ability.

Chemical composition and nutritional value

The chemical composition of mountain ash berries largely depends on their growth, variety, and level of ripeness of the berries. Rowan is rich in amino acids and organic acids: grape, malic, citric, and tartaric. The composition also contains vitamins A, B, C, carotenes, sugars, and anthocyanins and useful elements such as calcium, magnesium, phosphorus, zinc, manganese, and iron. Rowan takes the leading place by the content of the P-active substance among fruit plants.

The rowan leaf contains vitamin C and flavonols, the bark contains tannins, and the seeds are a quarter of fatty oils.

100 grams of fresh berries contain 1.3 g of protein, 0.2 g of fat, and about 9 g of carbohydrates. Dried rowan fruits contain 5.1 g of proteins, 52 g of carbohydrates, and 1.2 g of fat.

The chemical composition and nutritional value of chokeberry are very similar to the composition of mountain ash. It contains 1.5 g of protein and about 11 g of carbohydrates.

Rowan calories

The calorie content of fresh rowan berries, depending on the variety, ranges from 50 to 55 kcal, dry rowan – 270 kcal.

Features of the rowan tree

Red rowan varieties are woody plants. The mountain ash tree produces several types of fruit formations: spear, twigs, and ringlets. From a scientific point of view, it is incorrect to call rowan fruits berries, they are more likely apples, but the name has been already taken.

The plant’s vegetation begins in spring. At a temperature of 5 to 7 degrees Celsius, flowering occurs at the beginning of summer. When the mountain ash ceases to be afraid of sudden frosts, the tree begins to bear fruit in 2-3 years.

Rowan is the leader in frost resistance among fruit trees, surviving low temperatures and droughts.

Planting rowan in open ground

The quality of the seedlings ib highly important. Choose those free from damage and cracks, and the rhizome should be juicy, with branches. It would help if you did not plant mountain ash, where wrinkles appear on the bark; this indicates it’s drying out; such plant will take root with difficulty. The height of the seedling should be within 30 cm.

Young green leaves are the first to take up any incoming nutrients, so you should remove them before planting. This action will allow the tree to direct all its power to develop and adapt to a new place.

Rowan loves sunlight, so it does not take root well in the shade. The soil for planting should be sandy loam or loamy; it must have a sufficient amount of moisture. The distance of rowan from other plants should be at least four meters.

More tips on planting rowan

A few weeks before planting is the optimal timing to prepare a seedling hole. In the selected place, a hole is dug half a meter deep and the same width, but it is necessary to focus on developing the rhizome and its size. It would help if you covered the pit with fertilizers and earth up to half. It would help if you did not use manure, as it can harm young mountain ash roots.

Immediately before planting, it is necessary to remove all dry parts of the seedling and cut off the root system parts that have damages. A bucket of water should be in the planting hole, waiting for absorption, after which you should be placing the plant in the hole, straightening the rhizomes. The root neck must be left 5 cm above the ground. At the end of the procedure, you should temp the soil, watering abundantly, and mulching.

In autumn, you should plant rowan a few weeks before the first frost, in spring – before the buds swell. If the planting date was over, it is better not to risk the plant and postpone the planting to the next season.

Rowan care

Although wild mountain ash is an unpretentious plant, proper care for home varieties is essential. The fruitfulness and development of mountain ash depend on it. When caring for mountain ash, you need to pay attention to the fact that the root system of the plant is very close to the surface of the soil. Therefore, careless actions in the zone of the near-stem circles can damage the roots and ruin the young plant.

It would help if you did not fertilize rowan for the first few years. It lives off the recharge that you invested in the landing pit. In summer, optimal watering is about 5 times, each using up to three buckets of water per plant. If the season is rainy, then the amount of watering can lower. You should mulch the soil after each watering erosion root system; you should water the rowan using a small canal or trench.

Planting rowan in autumn

In autumn, you should dig up the soil around the plant, and it’s good to loosen and keep it clean throughout the season by removing weeds. To prevent sunburn, you should whitewash the pillar of the plant.

When planting mountain ash in the fall, it is necessary to prepare it for wintering. If you do not perform several specific actions, the cold will destroy the plant. It is good to wrap the tree trunk with a cloth, and you should bury the part of the post closest to the ground with a layer of snow. To protect the plant from rodents and parasites, it’s good to scatter special preparations around it.

In early spring, before the buds swell, it is good to cut the rowan branches. This promotes an even distribution of sunlight and stimulates the growth of young branches.

The benefits of rowan for men

In the treatment of a strong half of humanity, rowan is good to use to restore potency. Doctors advise men after 50 years to use half a glass of black chokeberry berries every day. Along with this, insomnia goes away, the nervous system calms down, and vision improves. For the prevention of the genitourinary system, men should drink mountain ash jelly.

The benefits of rowan for women

The role of fruits, bark, leaves of mountain ash is enormous in the treatment and restoration of the female body.

Rowan bark contains an abundance of astringent substances, therefore it is a good solution to stop uterine bleeding, with painful and heavy menstruation. Also, rowan berries are especially valuable during menopause for women, play a huge role in the regulation of hormones. Without chemical hormones, mountain ash leaves can restore hormonal levels.

Benefits in case of menopause

With menopause, a sharp increase in blood cholesterol happens rather often; in this case, chokeberry juice is good to use; it can reduce harmful cholesterol, increase the elasticity of the walls of blood vessels, and stabilize the general condition of the body.

There are many recipes for infusions, syrups, decoctions for obesity, high blood pressure, endocrine system diseases. Pregnant women should have rowan berries for vitamin deficiency. Rowan berries have a beneficial effect not only on the internal state of the female body; they also rejuvenate and whiten the skin well.

The benefits of rowan for kids

In pediatrics, mountain ash comes as a recommendation for children from 3 years old to strengthen the immune system. Especially in the spring-winter period, when the risk of respiratory viral infections increases, it is good to add rowan jam to cereals, fruit drinks. Rowan has a general strengthening effect on the child’s body, saturates it with vitamins and microelements.

You can use mountain ash gruel as a wound-healing and antibacterial agent for cuts and scratches on the child’s skin at home. It is necessary to lubricate the surface with damage several times a day; the wound heals quickly and does not fester.

Rowan harm

Like any other product, mountain ash, if misused, can harm the body. Rowan is capable of causing individual intolerance in the form of an allergic rash on the body, itching, and gastrointestinal upset.

With excessive use, increase of blood pressure and diarrhea may occur.

Contraindications

It is not recommended to take mountain ash for people with high acidity of the stomach, suffering from gastritis, and hypotension. The use of mountain ash is contraindicated for people who have had a heart attack or stroke and those who have poor blood clotting.

How to harvest and store mountain ash

The easiest way to store mountain ash after harvest is to keep the berries fresh. To do this, you should collect rowan branches in bunches and left them in a cool, dry place. In this form, rowan is suitable for consumption within two months.

How to dry a mountain ash

When drying mountain ash, all the beneficial properties inherent in fresh berries are still there. You can naturally dry mountain ash; for this, you should lay the fresh berries on a cloth or paper and leave it in a well-ventilated area.

If you cannot find a suitable place to dry, the mountain ash is good for drying in the oven. This process consists of three stages; you must heat the oven to a certain temperature, after which you should cool the berries for 12 hours. At the first stage, the temperature should be 60 degrees, at the second – 50, at the third – 40. After drying, the mountain ash can be stored in paper containers or containers of any other material for up to three months.

Many gardeners prefer to keep the rowan in a dry state. It would be best if you dried the berries in a few steps. First, you need to wash berries and dry them; after that, cover them with sugar for 12 hours or longer. After that, you need to drain the juice, cover it again with sugar for the same time, drain all the liquid again, and then pour berries with boiling syrup and leave for 10 minutes. Next, you need to rinse the mountain ash and put it in an oven to preheat to 60 degrees to dry. Rowan berries in a dry form are ready to eat.

You can store rowan in a frozen form for up to six months. To do this, rinse the berries thoroughly, dry them, distribute them in packages of a convenient capacity for you, and put them in the freezer.

Its processing will help to preserve the beneficial properties of mountain ash. Jam, drinks, liqueurs, tinctures are great to make from the fruits of the plant.

Rowan jam

Homemakers have long known the benefits and taste of chokeberry jam. Making such a jam is easy. You will need 1.2 kg of sugar per kilogram of berries. Boil a glass of water and pour it into the washed mountain ash. Stir the fruits gently for a few minutes, until each berry comes into contact with hot water. This simple action will make the fruit softer and allow them to absorb the syrup better. After that, add sugar to the mountain ash and put on medium heat; after boiling, set aside and let cool and repeat the procedure. You can pour the jam into sterilized jars.

Interesting facts about mountain ash

Rowan is famous for its extraordinary legends about its strength; its history has multiple secrets and legends to this day. Interesting scientific facts are close to popular observations. We can only wonder and benefit from the features of this beauty.

Since ancient times, people have noticed the healing powers of mountain ash. When summer came, the sick and the weak were laying under the crown of trees and awaited recovery.

There is a belief that if you plant a tree near the house, it will protect the family from evil forces, misfortune, disease.

There is also a belief that a rich harvest of rowan fruits is a harbinger of rainy autumn.

The mountain ash is one of the 12 sacred cult trees of the Scandinavian countries.

Rowan wood is widely used in the manufacture of musical instruments. The wood is solid, durable; in the old days, parts for carts and carriages were carved from it. Simultaneously, wood is surprisingly flexible, which makes it suitable for weaving in various household items.

People use the property of mountain ash to disinfect and disinfect water even today. They put a branch of mountain ash in the dirty water for several hours; the water becomes drinkable.

Rowan is the main food for migratory waxwings and field thrush. The berries have a strange effect on these birds – after eating enough, the birds begin to get drunk.

The use of mountain ash in cosmetology

Berries of red and black chokeberry are very popular to use in home cosmetology. They have a beneficial effect on the skin by stimulating collagen and preventing aging.

Rowan sap ice will remove traces of fatigue on the skin, get rid of age spots. To prepare it, slightly dilute the rowan juice with water, pour it into ice molds, send it to the freezer and wait until it completely freezes. Rub the prepared ice cubes over the face every evening after washing, avoid freezing of the skin. To achieve a visible effect, the procedure is carried out in two weeks of daily use several times a year. This will help even out the complexion and reduce wrinkles.

Mountain ash scrub is widely used for skincare at home. Grind dry rowan berries in a coffee grinder, mix with a small amount of cream or shower gel, and then massage into the skin. At the end of the procedure, rinse the area with water. Mountain ash scrub tightens the skin, helps in the fight against cellulite.

Combinations

Rowan berries are good to combine with any ingredients to make face masks. Mixing them with yeast can be an excellent acne-fighting remedy, and mountain ash juice with cornstarch can help reduce the appearance of wrinkles on your face. A mountain ash-curd mask can become a storehouse of vitamins for your skin. Rub cottage cheese with rowan berries, add a little milk and apply to your face. All-mountain ash masks are good to keep on the skin for 15-20 minutes, after that you should wash off with warm water.

Means with the addition of mountain ash perfectly nourish the hair, and it’s good to use for winter care, removing excess fat. A mountain ash hair mask will help moisturize the hair in the summer, prevent it from drying out and brittle. To prepare it, you will need the juice from a bunch of medium-sized mountain ash; it should go in a mix with several types of vegetable oil at home – olive, vegetable, burdock, etc jojoba oil are suitable. Separate the rowan juice from the pulp and mix with warmed oils. Apply the resulting mixture to the hair, avoiding the scalp and roots, and leave it overnight. Rinse your hair thoroughly with your favorite shampoo in the morning.

The use of mountain ash in medicine

Rowan decoction is most valued in folk medicine. It is used for digestive disorders, other diseases of the gastrointestinal tract, obesity, and the prevention of viral diseases because mountain ash is having an immunostimulating effect. To prepare it, pour a spoonful of clean berries with a glass of water and keep it in a water bath for 25 minutes. Let the broth stand for a while, then strain and take half a glass before each meal.

Rowan decoction is effective in the treatment of atherosclerosis, migraines; it stimulates the brain and nervous system.

Rowan juice regulates the acidity of the stomach, so it is good to use it to increase acidity; for this, you should drink one spoonful of juice half an hour before meals. It is also good external use for the treatment of warts, skin diseases, for the rapid regeneration of wounds.

For the treatment of kidney stones and diseases of the genitourinary organs, rowan syrup is good to prepare. You will need half a kilogram of sugar per kilogram of berries. It would be best if you used the syrup in a tablespoon several times a day. This remedy is good to go with fresh berries drenched in honey.

Rowan in landscape design

Chokeberry is often planted as a hedge. Its dense shrubs grow over time, turning into a full-fledged fence of the site or its individual parts. It is loyal to the haircut, so you can make any shape from the chokeberry that suits the chosen style.

Weeping rowan varieties add privacy and mystery to the landscape. They are planted near gazebos, benches, and separate the quiet zone of the site.

The variety of shapes and colors of berries, plant heights, and crown outlines allows designers to use mountain ash to embody a wide variety of ideas and projects. Thanks to its bright berries, rowan can become an amazing individual element in a landscape. Also, it goes well with other plants; it is planted in group compositions with conifers and flowering trees. Against the background of evergreen junipers, spruces, and firs, red rowan berries look very beneficial.

A common way to decorate a site is to graft several different varieties onto a rowan tree trunk. This method allows you to achieve bizarre shapes and combinations in one plant.