2024 Author: Gavin MacAdam | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 13:38
Lingonberry (Latin Vaccinium vitis-idaea) - evergreen undersized dwarf shrub of the genus Vaccinium of the Heather family. Under natural conditions, lingonberry grows in coniferous and mixed dry forests, sometimes in dried peat bogs, swampy forests and tundra in the Far East, Western Siberia and the Caucasus.
Characteristics of culture
Lingonberry is a small shrub with a horizontal rhizome and rising shoots. Leaves are leathery, short-petiolate, frequent, elliptical or obovate, shiny, with solid curved edges, up to 3 cm long, on the inner side are equipped with punctate pits. In the pits, there are clavate formations, the cells of which are filled with a mucous substance that is capable of absorbing water.
The flowers are regular, bisexual, collected in drooping apical racemes. Corolla pale pink or white, campanulate, spine-petal, has four slightly deflected lobes. Lingonberry blooms in May-June for 15 days. The fruit is a red berry that does not fall off until next spring.
Growing conditions
Lingonberry is a light-loving plant, it gives good yields of berries in open sunny areas that are not subject to flooding and the accumulation of cold air. The optimum level of acidity is 4, 5-5, 5. These include well-drained, peaty soils, rich in minerals and retaining productivity for a long period. Also, light loamy and acidic sandy loam soils are suitable for growing crops. The content of organic matter in the soil should be above 15-20%, this is one of the most important conditions.
Site preparation
On any types of soils that do not have an acidic reaction, in addition to organic matter, clean acidic peat, coarse sand or mineral soil (2 buckets per square meter) are introduced. Additionally, they bring in forest land collected in plantations where lingonberries or blueberries grow. Fertilizing with mineral fertilizers is not prohibited, however, an overabundance should not be allowed, this will adversely affect the growth of plants and the formation of berries. Before planting the material, the soil must be leveled, this avoids the accumulation of water after heavy rainfall, in particular rains.
Landing
Depressions are formed on the ridges, they are filled with a peat-sandy substrate, seedlings are planted, and the voids are compacted. The edges of the ridges are strengthened with boards, the edges of which should protrude by 5-10 cm. This approach will also protect the plants from excessive waterlogging. The distance between the rows should be about 30-40 cm, between the plants - 25-30 cm. After planting, the near-stem zone is mulched with sawdust or peat. For the first 7-10 days, young lingonberries are watered abundantly.
It is advisable to purchase planting material in specialized nurseries, as a rule, such plants can easily tolerate transportation, even long-term ones. You can also propagate the culture with stem cuttings, they take root easily and grow quickly and give good yields of berries. Cuttings are cut in early summer, the lower cut is placed under the bud or knot. Cuttings are planted in nurseries before rooting. A transplant to a permanent place is carried out in 1-2 years.
Care
Lingonberries need regular watering throughout the season, but at least 2 times a week. During a prolonged drought, the amount of irrigation and the volume of water is increased. The plantings are regularly loosened and weeded, and after carrying out these procedures, they are mulched with sawdust, which not only fertilizes the soil, but also acidifies it.
Lingonberries are sensitive to spring frosts, especially during flowering, so at night the plants are covered with plastic wrap or heated with smoke. Lingonberries are fed only if they grow on poor soils, but not earlier than 4 years after planting. For fertilization, it is best to use an aqueous solution of trace elements. After 6-8 years, rejuvenating pruning is carried out, which consists in removing non-fertile and old shoots.
Popular varieties
Today there are about 20 varieties of lingonberry. The most popular are considered to be:
*Coral
* Sanna
*Ruby
* Kostromichka
* Sussie
* Erntesegen
