2024 Author: Gavin MacAdam | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 13:38
Houseplum (lat. Prunus domestica) - fruit crop; a representative of the genus Plum of the Pink family. The species under consideration does not occur in nature; it is a natural hybrid of cherry plum and blackthorn. Valuable and interesting varieties of home plum in horticulture were bred in the Mediterranean, after which they spread throughout Europe and North America, and were also introduced to Asian countries. Home plum is considered one of the most popular species of the genus. Today, a huge number of varieties are presented on the garden market, differing in the taste and quality characteristics of the fruits, winter hardiness, resistance to diseases and pests and other signs.
Characteristics of culture
Home plum is a deciduous shrub or tree up to 15 m high with a narrow ovate or wide crown and tap root system, the bulk of the roots of which is located at a depth of 30-40 cm. The leaves are simple, green, obovate or elliptical, alternate, serrate or crenate in the edge, up to 10 cm long. The flowers are white, up to 2 cm in diameter, single or collected in bundle-shaped inflorescences.
The fruit is a round or ovoid odnostienka, can be yellow, pale green, red, violet, lilac, pinkish or black-blue, usually with a waxy coating. The pulp is sweet or sour-sweet, greenish, yellowish, brownish or reddish (depending on the variety). The stone is light brown, elliptical, slightly flattened, pointed at both ends.
Home plum blooms in May (before the leaves bloom), flowering duration is 10-12 days. The flowers of the considered plum species are pollinated by insects, however, the presence of 2-3 varieties on the site contributes to an increase in yield. The average life expectancy is 25 years. The culture enters fruiting in 2-7 years (depending on the early maturity of the variety). Plants are productive for 10-15 years, then the quantity and quality of the crop is significantly reduced.
Application
Homemade plum fruits are a storehouse of vitamins and nutrients, they are used both in natural form and for making jams, jams, compotes, juices, pastilles, marmalade, sauces, liqueurs, wine, etc. Fruits are well stored in freezing. Plum seeds are used for the production of special medical oil. The species in question is also appreciated as an ornamental culture, shrubs are especially noteworthy during flowering.
Growing conditions
Home plum is an adherent of loose, moist, water and air permeable, rich in mineral and organic substances, weakly acidic or neutral substrates. Cultivation on strongly acidic soils is permissible subject to prior liming. It is undesirable to cultivate a crop on compacted, heavy clayey and waterlogged soils. The location is welcome to be sunny or with a light openwork shade. Plants need protection from the gusts of cold northerly winds. Buildings (fence, wall of a house, tall trees) located on the north side and not blocking access to the sun can act as a windproof curtain.
Common varieties and their description
* Akimovskaya - the variety is represented by low trees with a spreading drooping crown with medium foliage. Fruits are oval, with a prominent abdominal suture, weighing up to 30 g. The skin is thin, delicate, purple, dark red, marbled, with a waxy coating, is removed from the fruit with a slight movement. The pulp is yellowish, often with a pink tinge, sweet, with a weak aroma. Flowering occurs in the first decade of May, the fruits ripen in early August. The yield per adult tree is 23-25 kg. A relatively winter-hardy and pest-resistant variety.
* Moscow Hungarian - early-growing variety; represented by medium-sized trees with a sprawling spherical densely leafy crown. Fruits are round-oval or ovoid, with a pronounced abdominal suture. The skin is rough, dense, dark purple or violet-red, with a bluish waxy coating. The pulp is juicy, harsh, amber-yellow, sweet and sour, easily separating from the stone. The variety cannot boast of winter hardiness and resistance to pests and diseases. Average yield - 25-35 kg per adult tree.
* Kazanskaya is a self-fertile variety; represented by trees with a broadly oval medium leafy crown. Fruits are round, with an inconspicuous side seam, weighing up to 35 g. The skin is dark red, thin. The pulp is yellow or light yellow, granular, fibrous, juicy, aromatic, sweet and sour, with an easily separated broad-oval bone. It blooms in the second decade of May, the fruits ripen at the end of August. Low yield - up to 18-20 kg per tree. The variety is winter-hardy and large-fruited. Yields a harvest of fruits only if there are other varieties of home cherries on the site, otherwise the fruits are not tied.
* Tatar yellow - self-fruitless variety; represented by medium-sized trees with a wide densely leafy crown. Fruits are small, unequal, weighing up to 15 g, with a weakly pronounced lateral seam. The skin is yellow, with a waxy coating, of medium thickness. The pulp is yellow, juicy, sweet and sour, fibrous-granular, with an ovoid light brown stone. It blooms in mid-May, the fruits ripen in early September. Differs in drought resistance and average winter hardiness. Pollinated by the following varieties: Rakitovaya, Sineglazka, Tenkovskaya blue, etc.
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