My favorite fruit shrub isLamarcka lobster .It grows in front of my house. In the summer, under its openwork foliage, we sit down for an after-dinner coffee. The plant does not form dense bushes, but has its own charming, subtle habit.
Abroad you can buy various species and varieties, but the most popular here isLamarcka 'Ballerina'It has low requirements and grows well in sandy loam soils with a pH of 6- 7.5. Likes sunny or semi-shaded positions. It is frost resistant to -40 ° C. It just hates flooding and wetlands.
Bushes start bearing fruit in the third year after planting.They are self-pollinating, so one plant is enough for us to enjoy a delicious harvest. However, we have to hurry, because the fruit is eagerly eaten by starlings.
The care of the bitternessis fabulously easy. In spring, the shoots can be shortened by 1/3 of their length so that they can branch better. For older plants, we only perform sanitary pruning. I have never had to use chemical sprays to grow porcini mushrooms before, but I have read that thisspecies can be attacked by brown rot, fire blight and fine leaf spot in stone trees.
Fruits gathered in clusters ripen gradually from the end of June. Apple-shaped, black-blue in appearance resemble a chokeberry. They are tasty and sweet. My husband compares them to raisins, and the children - reluctant to eat other fruits - love it. I make jam, juices and compotes from part of the harvest.
Mirosława Bogut
