2024 Author: Gavin MacAdam | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 13:38
Bearberry (lat. Arctostaphylos) - a genus of undersized and creeping evergreen dwarf shrubs and shrubs of the Heather family. Bearberry is widespread throughout Russia, North America and the Caucasus. Typical habitats are burnt-out areas, clearings, scree, coastal dunes, deciduous and pine forests.
Characteristics of culture
Bearberry is a perennial highly branched plant up to 30 cm high with recumbent, ascending and easily rooting stems. Leaves are leathery, whole, dark green with shine, obovate, oblong, rounded, alternately sitting on short petioles. A net of depressed veins is visible on the upper side of the leaves.
The flowers are medium-sized, drooping, white-pink, collected in short apical brushes. The corolla is jugular, pubescent with hard hairs on the inner side. The fruit is a drupe cenocarp, berry-like, bright red in color, 6-8 mm in diameter, contains 5 seeds. Bearberry blooms in May-June, fruits ripen in August-September.
Growing conditions
Bearberry actively develops in poorly shaded or intensely illuminated areas with well-drained and acidic soils. Bearberry is a weak competitor, so it is not recommended to plant other crops in the immediate vicinity that can suppress the plant. Bearberry does not accept heavy loamy and clayey soils, it also has a negative attitude to waterlogging and stagnation of water.
Reproduction and planting
Bearberry is propagated by seeds and cuttings. Experienced gardeners consider the seed method inappropriate, despite the fact that the seeds of the crop have a high viability. Seeds are sown in autumn in seedling boxes under plastic wrap or glass. Young plants are planted in the ground next spring. Cutting is the more common method. Rooting rate is 90%. Cuttings are planted in early spring in greenhouses with a substrate consisting of peat and sand, taken in a ratio of 2: 1 or 1: 1. High-quality drainage is considered a prerequisite.
The seedlings are planted in a permanent place the next year. I prepare the plot for the culture in advance: they dig up the soil, bring in high-moor peat and fallen needles in a ratio of 5: 2 or 5: 1. It is also recommended to add a small amount of sand. The material is planted in grooves 15-20 cm deep, the voids are filled up and abundant watering is performed. The distance between the plants should be at least 25 cm. There is no need to apply mineral fertilizers during planting. Bearberry, grown by cuttings, blooms 5-8 years after planting.
Care
The culture is undemanding to soil fertility, so there is no need for frequent fertilizing. You can only occasionally introduce superphosphate into the soil at the rate of 5 g per 1 sq. m. Bearberry is rarely watered, only during prolonged drought. After watering, it is recommended to mulch the soil with needles, sand, gravel or crushed bark. It is best to use natural material as mulch as it acidifies the soil.
Loosening the near-stem zone, removing weeds and thinning are no less important procedures for caring for bearberry. It is important to remember that weeds can overwhelm the crop. Under favorable growing conditions, bearberry grows rapidly and occupies large areas, and to prevent this from happening, it is necessary to take measures on time.
Application
Bearberry is a plant with a wide range of activities. It is used in cooking, folk medicine, and also for industrial purposes - for dyeing woolen materials and tanning leather. For medicinal purposes, the leaves of the plant are used, collected in the spring before flowering or in the fall after the fruit is fully ripe. Bearberry-based preparations are used in the treatment of purulent wounds, ulcers, urolithiasis, chronic nephritis and neuroses, etc.
