2024 Author: Gavin MacAdam | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 13:38
Alpine currant (Latin Ribes alpinum) - berry culture; a representative of the genus Currant of the Gooseberry family (Latin Grossulariaceae). It occurs naturally in the Caucasus, North Africa and Turkey, as well as in European countries and the European part of Russia. Typical habitats are mixed forests, sunny meadows, forest edges and coastal areas. It was introduced into culture in 1588.
Characteristics of culture
Alpine currant is a deciduous shrub up to 1.5 m high with a densely leafy compact crown. The leaves are small, dark green, glossy, three-lobed, covered with rather stiff bristles. On the reverse side, the leaves are smooth, glabrous, light green. The flowers are greenish-yellow, sitting on pedicels equipped with glandular bristles, collected in racemose inflorescences. Fruits are pinkish or red berries, with a mealy taste, up to 0.8 cm in diameter.
Alpine currant blooms in May (usually within 10-12 days), berries ripen in July or August (depending on climatic conditions). The considered variety of currants is unpretentious to soil conditions, shrubs develop freely even on rocky areas, which is why they are often used to decorate such areas. Alpine currant berries are edible, they are good both fresh and canned.
Forms
Alpine currant has a number of forms, differing in the shape of the bush and leaves. The most popular forms are:
* Aurem - dwarf form, represented by low shrubs with a wide crown and golden foliage. Flowers pale yellow, numerous, collected in short brushes. Ruby berries, without a pronounced taste, often tasteless at all.
* Pumila - represented by shrubs up to 1.5 m high with a wide crown. Differs in slow growth and good winter hardiness. Begins fruiting in the fifth year after planting. It is widely used in ornamental gardening. Easily propagated by green cuttings, rooting rate is 80-90%.
Growing conditions
Alpine currant actively blooms and develops in sunny areas. A light openwork shadow is possible. Despite the fact that the species under consideration is unpretentious to soil conditions, the best for it will be loose, fertile, drained, air- and permeable substrates with a neutral or slightly acidic pH reaction. Alpine currants do not tolerate areas with stagnant cold air or flooded with melt water in spring. Heavy clayey, highly acidic, waterlogged and saline soils.
Reproduction
Alpine currant propagates by seeds, layering and cuttings. The last method is the most effective. Cuttings are cut from annual shoots or branches of the first order. The optimal cutting length is 20-25 cm. Cuttings can be cut from the top of the shoot, they also take root easily. Each cut should have several well-developed buds. For rooting, cuttings are planted in ridges filled with humus or compost, superphosphate, wood ash and washed river sand.
It is important to plant the cuttings immediately after cutting, in which case the degree of survival increases. It is not forbidden to treat cuttings with a solution of heteroauxin or any other growth stimulator, they will accelerate the rooting process. Cuttings are planted in an inclined position, 1-2 buds are left above the soil surface. Successful rooting requires careful care: watering and removing weeds. Young plants propagated by cuttings are transplanted to a permanent place in the fall or spring of the next year.
Alpine currants are often propagated by layering. To do this, shoots lying closer to the soil surface are laid in prepared grooves, pinned with wooden staples, spud and watered. The rooting time of cuttings directly depends on irrigation and climatic conditions. As a rule, the layers take root closer to autumn, then you can separate them from the mother bush and transplant them to a permanent place. You can postpone the transplant for the next year.
Seed propagation is rarely used. Both spring and autumn sowing is possible. But during spring sowing, seed stratification is required, which consists in their long-term storage in wet sand at low temperatures, for example, in a refrigerator. Seedlings need careful care, if some of the intricacies of cultivation are not followed, it will not work to get strong and healthy seedlings. Plants obtained in this way are planted in a permanent place for 2-3 years.
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