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Rowan is most often used for ornamental cultivation, as its fruits are practically inedible fresh. But today, breeders have received many cultivated varietal mountain ash with sweeter fruits. Liquor rowan is one of the cultivars that are popular with gardeners.
Description of rowan liquor
Rowan Liquor is considered the brainchild of I. V. Michurin. He created this variety by crossing ordinary mountain ash with chokeberry, otherwise called chokeberry. True, for a long time the variety was considered irretrievably lost, until it was possible to renew it. So it is still not 100% clear 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 the name of Michurin to attract buyers. Further in the article you can find a description of the variety of mountain ash liquor with photos and reviews of gardeners.
It has the shape of a medium-sized tree, growing to a height of 5 m. The crown diameter can reach 4 m. The liqueur rowan is characterized by a rather fast growth and development rate, the growth is about 25-30 cm per year. The tree looks quite impressive, having almost the correct oval crown shape, though slightly sparse.
Unpaired dark green leaves are arranged alternately on the branches. In autumn, the leaves turn into all shades of yellow, orange and red, making 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 mountain ash of this variety can be observed at the very end of spring or early summer.
The fruits are spherical in shape, dark purple, almost black. They slightly resemble the fruits of aronia chokeberry. The ripening period is around mid-September. The weight of one fruit is about 1 g, the size is 12-15 mm. The pulp of the fruits of mountain ash liquor in the context 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% |
Fibre | 2,7 g / 100 g |
Vitamin C | 15 mg / g 100 |
Carotene | 2 mg / g 100 |
organic acids | 1,3% |
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 Nevezhinsky mountain ash.
Rowan liqueur is characterized by high winter hardiness (zone 3 b).
The fruits are well suited for making jam, rich color compotes, as well as a variety of wines, liquors and liqueurs.
Pros and cons of the variety
The advantages of this variety of mountain ash include:
- attractive tree view;
- high frost resistance;
- moderate drought resistance;
- dessert taste of fruits, without bitterness.
Planting and caring for rowan liquor
Rowan liqueur is in the most related relationship with such well-known fruit trees as apple and pear. Therefore, planting and caring for trees are very similar in their agricultural technology.
Site preparation
It is better to choose a sunny place for planting a fruit tree. Although plants can tolerate partial shade, they will be less likely to bear fruit in such 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. Salt soils will also not be the best option for her. The best yields can be achieved when planting a tree in well-drained, loamy fertile soil with a slightly acidic or neutral reaction.
Rules of landing
Given the good resistance of this mountain ash to cold weather, it can be planted 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.
The roots of the tree are located quite close to the surface, so the pit for planting 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 the prepared pit, straightened and carefully covered with the removed soil mixture. For better tree development, wood ash, sand and compost or humus can be added to the land mixture.
If several rowan liquor trees are planted, then the distance between them should be at least 4-5 m.
It is customary to mulch the root zone with available organic material: rotted sawdust, mowed hay, straw or tree bark. This will help retain moisture at the roots, protect against the most aggressive weeds, and provide extra nutrition. In addition, due to the shallow location of the root system, loosening can be an unsafe procedure for the roots of a tree. And mulching will take over all its functions.
Watering and top dressing
In the first few years after planting, young trees need regular but moderate watering. This is especially true during hot and dry summers. Mature trees over the age of 5 years no longer need additional watering, except perhaps during a period of special drought.
Fertilizers are usually applied when planting rowan liquor. In addition to a bucket of humus, she needs 500 g of superphosphate, 1000 g of wood ash or 250 g of potash fertilizer per tree. In the future, top dressing is carried out once a year in the spring. Both organic and mineral fertilizers can be used.
Trimming
In rowan liquor, all types of pruning are performed in the early spring. Moreover, this should be done as early as possible, because the buds of these plants wake up quite early, already in April.
In the first years after planting, shaping pruning is especially important. 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 avoid further breaks in the trunk 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 against each other branches.
Rowan shoots grow and ripen quickly, so even after heavy pruning, there should be no problems with ripening them by winter.
Preparation for winter
Rowan liquor is able to endure 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. To do this, the trunk is whitewashed in autumn with the help of a special garden compound and, in addition, it can be wrapped in burlap to protect it from small mammals.
Pollination
As mentioned above, the mountain ash of this variety is practically self-fertile trees. Therefore, for good harvests, she needs several trees of other varieties growing nearby. Such varieties of mountain ash as: Ruby, Kubovaya, Daughter Kubovaya, Burka will play their role well.
Harvesting
The fruits begin to ripen approximately 4-5 years after planting. They are able to stay on the branches for a long time. But birds love to eat them. Therefore, sweet varieties of mountain ash, which include liquor, are recommended to be collected as quickly as possible, even before frost.
From one tree you can collect up to 20 kg of berries.
Diseases and pests
If some care rules are not followed, primarily high humidity, liquor rowan trees can suffer from fruit rot, brown spot and powdery mildew. To prevent these diseases in early spring, they are treated with copper-containing 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, moth. To protect against insects, spraying with insecticides is used. To keep the fruits edible, it is better to use biological agents, such as Fitoverm.
Reproduction
Rowan liquor, if desired, can be propagated 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, added dropwise, and after the roots appear, they are separated from the mother plant.
Green cuttings are cut and rooted during flowering. The percentage of rooting is small, ranging from 15 to 45%.
The easiest way to propagate a plant is by grafting. But this procedure must first be learned. Rootstock seedlings usually act as rootstocks. It is advisable to use the sweeter Nevěžinsk and Moravian varieties.
Conclusion
Liquor rowan is an interesting variety that inspires many gardeners. It is characterized by unpretentiousness and a plentiful harvest of fruits, if you create suitable conditions for it to pollinate.
Reviews about mountain ash Likernaya
