2024 Author: Gavin MacAdam | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 13:38
Schizandra (lat. Schisandra) - woody vine from the Schisandra family. The second (Russian) name of this plant is lemongrass.
Description
Schizandra is either a deciduous or curly evergreen shrub with whole short-petiolized leaves. The shoots of this plant are covered with a yellowish smooth bark. The obovate or elliptical leaves of the schizandra reach three to five centimeters in width and five to ten centimeters in length. Their bases are wedge-shaped, and the tops are pointed. A very pleasant lemon aroma emanates from both the stalks and the leaves of the schizandra!
Schizandra dioecious flowers reach one and a half centimeters in diameter and boast a fairly pronounced aroma. At first they are white, but closer to the end of flowering they often turn pink. The flowers of this plant are dioecious, and in some years only male flowers can form on the schizander. And when all the flowers have faded, the receptacle gradually begins to grow, and in place of each flower a prefabricated racemose polyberry is formed, the length of which can reach ten centimeters. And each polyberry, in turn, is formed by a fairly large number of red juicy berries.
In total, the schizandra genus includes fourteen independent species.
Where grows
The homeland of schizandra is considered to be East Asia and the Far East. And on the territory of Russia there is only one species of it - the Chinese lemongrass.
Usage
Schizandra is widely used in ornamental gardening - it can easily decorate even the most ordinary-looking area!
The edible fruits of schizandra boast a fairly high vitamin content. And they make wonderful jams and jelly! By the way, the Chinese called lemongrass fruits "fruits with five flavors"! And all because their shells are sweet, the pulp is characterized by a sour taste, the seeds can be both bitter and tart at the same time, and all kinds of drugs prepared from these seeds acquire a salty taste during storage.
Eastern medicine puts schizandra in second place after the well-known ginseng - its fruits perfectly help relieve fatigue, and not only physical, but also mental. And they have proven themselves very well in curing a number of different ailments!
Growing and caring
Schizandra boasts good shade tolerance and an average demand for moisture and soil fertility, but it will grow best in well-drained moist soils. At first, young plants develop well in the shade, however, as they grow, especially closer to the fruiting stage, they are characterized by an increased need for light - at least the tops of the shoots should already be in the sun by this time. Ideally, this plant should generally be planted in such a way that its bases are in the shade, and the apical parts are in the sun. And excess shoots, too thickening plantings, in late autumn or winter must be cut out.
In summer, this plant responds very well to spraying with water and foliar feeding. And with the onset of autumn, the schizandra also needs abundant watering. At about the same time, it should be mulched with dry foliage or peat - this approach will provide reliable protection to the roots of the plant.
Schizandra can be propagated both by root suckers or seeds, and by dividing bushes, layering, as well as green cuttings, but the latter method of propagation is rarely used. The easiest option is to propagate this beauty by root shoots (as a rule, this is done in early spring): after two or three years, it will be possible to harvest the first fruits from the trees!
