Aronia

2024 Author: Gavin MacAdam | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 13:38

Aronia (lat. Aronia) - berry culture; perennial shrub of the Pink family. The name of the plant comes from the Greek word "aros", which in translation means - help, benefit.

Characteristics of culture

Aronia is a deciduous, strongly branching shrub with a height of 2-4 m, less often 6 m. In young plants, the crown is compressed, with age it becomes spreading. Shoots at a young age are reddish-brown, later dark gray. The root system is powerful, highly branched, the main part of the roots lies at a depth of 40-60 cm. The leaves are wide, petiolate, oval or ovoid, 5-9 cm long, 5-6 cm wide, arranged alternately. The edges of the leaf blade are crenate or serrate, in the summer the leaves have a rich green color, in the fall they are purple.

The flowers are small, five-petaled, collected in racemose or corymbose inflorescences of 15-30 pieces, can be white or pale pink. Flowering takes place in late May - early June. Fruits are spherical, up to 1-2 cm in diameter, red or black with a bluish bloom, have a pleasant sweet taste with hints of astringency. The mass of one berry is 1-1, 3 g. The seeds are small, wrinkled, dark brown, up to 2 mm long. The berries ripen in late August - early September, keep on the branches for a long time. Chokeberry begins to bear fruit at 4-5 years of age.

The eastern states of America are considered the birthplace of culture. In Russia, the plant began to be cultivated only at the beginning of the 20th century. Chokeberry gained particular popularity among gardeners in the 1950s. At present, chokeberry is widespread in Russian gardens, or, as it is also called, chokeberry, it is mostly grown in the Non-Black Earth Zone, southern regions of Siberia and the Urals. It attracted gardeners with its medicinal properties, high yield and unpretentiousness. It is hard to imagine, but the crop gives high yields for 20-30 years.

Growing conditions

Aronia refers to light-loving crops; in shaded areas, the plants practically do not bear fruit. The culture is not demanding on the soil, it grows well even on sod-podzolic soils, but it does not tolerate too waterlogged places. Chokeberry also negatively relates to stony saline soils, as well as to thickening of bushes, otherwise the productivity of plants is significantly reduced.

Reproduction and planting

Aronia propagates by seeds, cuttings, green cuttings, root suckers and dividing the bush. Before planting, the seeds are subjected to stratification, the duration of which should be at least 90 days. For stratification, seeds are laid in early January, they are scattered in bags of 300 g and soaked in warm water for 24 hours. Then the seeds are kept at a temperature of 12-14C for a week, all this time they carefully observe that the bags are wet.

Next, the bags with seeds are placed in boxes with ice so that they do not come into contact with the walls, and they are kept in this state for a week. The cooled bags are again laid out in a room with a temperature of 12-14C. This alternation is carried out until more than 60-70% of the seeds of the culture hatch.

Store prepared seeds in a snow pile until sowing. There the seeds are covered with mucus, which prevents further germination. Periodically, the seeds are rinsed in clean water on a sieve, then folded back into bags and placed in a snow pile. A week before planting, the seeds are kept at a temperature of 18-20C. Sowing is carried out in early spring, the planting depth is 1-1.5 cm. When the seedlings have 3-4 true leaves, the plants dive to a permanent place.

Among gardeners, the method of planting with rooted lily and summer green cuttings is also common. They are planted in early summer in pre-prepared, well-drained and fertilized soil. Immediately after planting, the plants are covered with special material or jars. The first two months, the cuttings are shaded, after 25-30 days the covering material is removed, and covered again at night. This is necessary in order to accustom the seedlings to open air.

Care

There are no particular difficulties in caring for chokeberry. Every year in early spring, pruning of thickening and unproductive shoots is carried out, as well as the removal of old, dry, damaged and frostbitten branches. When the shrub turns 13-15 years old, rejuvenating pruning is performed.

Top dressing with mineral and organic fertilizers is carried out once every 2-3 years. Chokeberry is not prone to diseases and pests. For the winter, the plants are bent to the ground or covered with spruce branches.