2024 Author: Gavin MacAdam | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 13:38
Sorbocotoneaster (Latin Sorbocotoneaster) - a flowering edible plant from the Rosaceae family.
Description
Sorbokotoneaster is a monotypic hybrid genus obtained in natural conditions by crossing the black-fruited cotoneaster with Siberian mountain ash. The height of this bush endowed with thin trunks is usually within two to three meters. The length of the leaves of sorbocotoneaster reaches three to seven centimeters, and these leaves are very similar to both cotoneaster leaves (if their edges are whole) and mountain ash (if jagged edges are present) leaves.
Sorbocotoneaster inflorescences can be both corymbose and racemose, and the color of its flowers is most often either cream or white. As for flowering, it usually occurs in May.
The diameter of the globular fruits of sorbocotoneaster can reach one centimeter. All fruits are colored either red or almost black with a characteristic bluish bloom. They are not bitter at all and boast a pronounced mountain ash taste and aroma. And the ripening of these fruits occurs in July.
The brightest representative of sorbocotoneaster is Pozdnyakov's sorbocotoneaster.
Where grows
The natural area of distribution of sorbocotoneaster is very limited - this plant can be found only in Eastern Siberia, on the Aldan River. That is, it is almost impossible to find sorbocotoneaster outside of Russia. This species, unique in its kind, has been included in the Red Book for a long time.
Usage
Sorbokotoneaster can be planted both in single plantings and in groups with almost any other shrubs: flowering and decorative leafy. The autumn color of the leaves makes this beautiful plant especially decorative, because it can be either red, orange or pink. Luxurious white inflorescences or many edible red fruits give it no less decorative effect.
Growing and caring
Sorbokotoneaster is a shade-tolerant, but at the same time, a very light-loving crop that will thrive best on fertile garden soils with moderate moisture. Ideally, the soils should be well-drained and thoroughly calcareous, with the addition of gravel, humus and sand.
The winter hardiness of sorbocotoneaster is so high that it will not be difficult to grow it even on the territory of Yakutia. And in central Russia, this plant does not need shelter at all.
With the onset of spring, sorbokotoneaster is recommended to be fed with good complex fertilizers. And plants older than five or seven years of age are also pruned from time to time - in this case, pruning is carried out by analogy with the pruning of most other types of mountain ash.
Reproduction of sorbocotoneaster occurs either by summer cuttings, or by seeds, or by grafting. The seeds of this plant are able to germinate well only after a very long cold stratification, which is carried out for six to nine months - the seeds are kept all this time at a temperature of two to five degrees. Seed reproduction allows you to preserve traits of both mountain ash and cotoneaster in the offspring. Moreover, it is the easiest and most effective way to quickly propagate a beautiful plant. Rooting of cuttings in sorbocotoneaster is very weak, and even in the case of treatment with various growth stimulants, only half of them manage to develop a full-fledged root system. If the choice fell on reproduction by grafts, then for grafting it is best to take seedlings of ordinary mountain ash.
