Contents
Shepherdia Silver is similar to sea buckthorn. But this is a completely different plant. It is worth finding out how these plants differ, what characterizes the American guest, the reasons for her appearance in gardens.
Description of berry culture
A plant of the Lokhov family, which also includes sea buckthorn. It is also known as red-fruited sea buckthorn. This is a tall shrub, thorny, sometimes not. The plant is dioecious. Female specimens require a male pollinator.
General idea of the plant
Bushes grow to a height of 4 meters. The branches are thin, crooked, often prickly. The leaves are oblong, covered with a silvery fluff. Small yellow flowers appear before the leaves open in April.
Distinguish male and female plants by the type of flower buds. Female bushes cover small pointed buds, in the male species they are large and rounded. The plant is very decorative at any time of spring and summer. The silver bush is adorned with yellow flowers in spring and red berries in summer.
Berries
Berries appear in the second year after planting. The berries are round, up to one and a half centimeters in diameter. Bright red, finely speckled, edible for humans and birds. Taste – sour with bitterness, tart. Ripe by early September. The tasting score is low, it’s impossible to eat them just like that.
They glued the red Shepherd presented in the photo.
Characterization
Shepherdia Silver is a deciduous plant. The zone of its growth is quite wide. This is due to its winter hardiness. Other American varieties of these berries are less popular in Our Country. Shepherdia Canadian bears fruit with berries unsuitable for food, and Round-leaved has low frost resistance.
Main advantages
Sheferdia Silver has taken root well in the European climate. This is a frost-resistant plant, it is not afraid of drought. It is not affected by diseases and pests. Unpretentious, requires a minimum of care. Quietly adjacent to various plants.
Flowering period and ripening period
Shepherdia Silver blooms in April before the leaves appear. Brushes of small flowers stay on the branches for no more than 10 days. Berries reach maturity by the end of August. If you leave them on the bush until frost, they will become sweeter.
Yield indicators, fruiting terms
With proper care, the plant will bring a bountiful harvest. A young bush 2 years after planting will give 15 kg of berries. Fruits every year up to 30-50 years. Every year the yield increases and can reach 30 kg per tree.
Scope of berries
It is almost never used fresh because of the astringent tart taste. Cooked desserts, sweet preparations in the form of jam or compote, low-alcohol drinks are popular. The benefits of Shepherdia are invaluable. It is added to sauces for meat and fish dishes.
The benefits and harms of Shepherdia
Shepherdia berries contain more vitamin C than sea buckthorn, blackcurrant, lemon. Contained carotene, tannins, vitamins A, E, P have a positive effect on the human body. Useful properties of Shepherdia Silver for humans are as follows:
- Improves tone.
- Strengthens immunity.
- Slows down the aging of the body.
- Prevents and treats viral infections and inflammations.
- Strengthens blood vessels, prevents hypertension, atherosclerosis.
- It has a choleretic and diuretic effect.
Harm can cause people with an allergic reaction to berries.
Disease and pest resistance
Shepherdia is highly resistant to various fungal and viral plant diseases. Pests also do not annoy her. This characteristic of Shepherdia allows you to exclude the treatment of shrubs with insecticides and get an environmentally friendly crop.
Advantages and disadvantages of the variety
The advantages of Shepherdia are as follows:
- Unpretentiousness.
- Frost resistance
- Easy reproduction.
- Immune to diseases and pests.
- Useful medicinal properties.
- Good transportability.
The disadvantages include the self-fertility of the plant, the mandatory selection of a male plant for pollination.
Rules of landing
The Shepherdia tree does not require special growing conditions. Its branched root system allows it to grow in rocky and steep areas.
Recommended dates
The best time to plant is spring. This is especially true in the Urals and Siberia. In the spring, Shepherdia is planted in April, when the soil thaws, but the buds have not yet woken up.
Choosing the right place
Shepherdia bushes are planted in sunny places. She needs space. Low swampy places where fog and stagnant groundwater are possible will not work.
Soil Preparation
Sandy and loamy soils will be good. They are quite nutritious and loose. Shepherdia itself can improve the soil on which it grows. Bacterial balls located on the roots provide the soil with nitrogen.
Selection and preparation of seedlings
For planting, seedlings with a developed root system are used. Cut off dry and diseased roots. Healthy pruned by 3 cm, without touching the nodules. The branches are shortened by 1/3. The seedlings are placed in a solution of “Epin”, “Heteroauxin” or potassium permanganate.
Algorithm and landing scheme
Planting and caring for Shepherdia is nothing special. First of all, they prepare a landing pit 50 x 50 x 50 cm. A hill of fertile land is poured into the middle. A seedling is placed on it, the roots are straightened.
The seedling is sprinkled with earth, while it is easily shaken to compact the soil. Landings are watered and mulched. 1,5-2 m are left between seedlings. If they plan to make a hedge, half a meter is enough.
Culture aftercare
Any plant requires care. And for shepherdia, a number of activities should be carried out in order to get a harvest of sea buckthorn.
Necessary activities
Shepherdia responds gratefully to fertilization. In the spring, rotted manure containing nitrogen, urea or ammonium sulfate is introduced. In the middle and at the end of summer, superphosphate, potassium sulfate, and ash infusion are added.
During the formation of berries, the bush is watered, especially in dry summers. Young trees loosen and mulch. This protects the shallow root system. An adult plant does not require this.
shrub pruning
Shepherdia grows quickly and branches intensively. Pruning is essential for this plant. It should be formed. The central shoot is cut at a height of 2,5 m, the side shoots are cut at the first branch. This is done every 3-5 years, preventing the tree from growing and facilitating the conditions for picking berries.
Every 7 years, anti-aging pruning is carried out. Branches older than 7 years are pruned, giving room for the growth of young shoots. And another important point is sanitary pruning, removal of diseased and broken branches. It is held every spring.
Preparation for winter
The winter hardiness zone of Shepherdia Silver is quite wide. These are all regions of Our Country, except for the Far North. It tolerates frosts down to -40 0C. Winter shelter for shrubs is not required. Only young seedlings are insulated and mulched.
How Shepherdia breeds
The main methods of reproduction of Shepherdia:
- Seeds.
- Root scions.
- Cuttings.
Reproduction by seeds
Shepherdia seeds can be obtained independently. To do this, the berries are ground into porridge and dried in the sun, then the grains are separated. They are planted in the year of collection, as they quickly lose the ability to germinate.
Seeds are planted in an unheated greenhouse in November. Planting depth – 2-3 cm. Shoots appear at the end of April. By autumn, the seedlings reach a height of 15 cm, they are transplanted to the chosen place. Shepherdia from seeds retains all the varietal characteristics of the plant. Begins to bear fruit after 5 years.
Reproduction by root shoots
Use shoots that form at a distance of 1,5-2 m from the tree. Choose 2-year-old plants. Having dug up the soil, cut off the shoot from the main bush, dig it out. Cut points are disinfected. Bushes are planted immediately in a permanent place. They are watered and protected from the heat.
Reproduction by cuttings
As a cutting, use the top of the green shoot or its middle part. It is necessary to choose not yet lignified shoots. Cuttings are prepared in early July. Further actions are fully consistent with the principles of propagation by cuttings of berry bushes.
Shepherdia in landscape design
This shrub is often used to decorate the garden and landscape in urban and home gardens. Shepherdia is suitable for arranging a hedge, strengthening the slopes.
In single plantings, the tree becomes a noticeable accent, covered with silvery foliage and red berries. Varieties of Shepherdia Silver for the Moscow region include a decorative look of Goldenia. The tree is covered with bright yellow berries.
A photo of Shepherdia the Silver can be seen below.
Diseases and pests, methods of control and prevention
No matter how hard you try to find diseases that affect Shepherdia, it must still be recognized that they are absent. The same can be said about pests.
Conclusion
Shepherdia the Silver was also noticed by Michurin. Currently, it is not very popular with gardeners. Sea buckthorn is better known. But Shepherdia deserves to be used to get healthy berries and decorate the garden.
