Highbush blueberry bears tasty and valuable fruit, which is why it is often found in our gardens and allotments.The main problem in growing it is to provide a very acidic substrate.A plant is slowly entering the Polish market, which releases us from the obligation to acidify the substrate.
Świdośliwa Amelanchier belongs to the Rosaceae family and is a close relative of apple, pear and hawthorn. The Latin name comes from the French "amelanche", meaning a small apple. The Polish name is misleading because the fruit looks more like blueberries than plums. Sometimes we come across incorrect terms such as "blueberry" or "sweet chokeberry".The genus Amelanchier includes about 25 species.
Grape varieties found in Poland
In Poland, we most often meet the alder leaf beetle Amelanchier alnifolia and the Canadian Amelanchier canadensis. Usually, it is difficult to determine the identity of the specimen, because the species are very similar to each other and hybrids often form between them.Świdośliwa takes the form of a slender shrub or a small tree, usually growing up to 2-3 m.
Creates numerous root suckers with time. The leaves are ovate, 5 cm long, mostly finely toothed at the edges. They change color to yellow and red in autumn beautifully. The bark on young shoots is reddish brown, and on older shoots it is smooth and gray. White ornamental flowers collected in inflorescences appear from early to mid-May.
The plant is self-pollinating. Flowers tolerate frosts down to -5 ° C well.After pollination, fruits similar to blueberries develop. They are dark purple, gathered in clusters, covered with a strong wax coating. They are juicy and very tasty, with a few seeds inside.They ripen depending on the weather from mid-June to mid-July.They can be eaten raw or processed into jams, juices, tinctures and preserves.
Apart from taste, their he alth value is invaluable. They contain significant amounts of anthocyanins, which are strong antioxidants, a lot of B and C vitamins, pectins, organic acids and carotene.The fruits are harvested 1-2 times a season, as they ripen evenly.They develop on two-year-old and older shoots.
Contrary to the blueberry, the signaling beetle does not have high soil requirements. It will grow on almost every plant, except for waterlogged, very sandy and dry ones. Older specimens are resistant to water shortage, younger ones need to be watered regularly, especially in the first year after planting. The site should be sunny or semi-shaded, exposed to ensure good circulation.Plants should be planted at a distance of 1 m in a row and 3-4 m between rows. Lychee is frost-resistant and can withstand temperature drops down to -40 ° C. It does great in places where other shrubs or fruit trees cannot survive the winter.
Ringworm
The Świdośliwka is rarely attacked by diseases and pests, but it often has to deal with leaf rolls, spider mites, flowers, rust or brown spot. However, they never do much damage to it and do not significantly reduce the yield.Due to the fact that it belongs to the rose family, fire blight is a potential threat to the plant.The infested bush should be dug up and burned.
Propagation of the porcupine
In order to obtain the Raspberry ourselves, we can sow seeds from ripe fruits, but the obtained specimens will vary greatly in terms of habit, fertility and quality of the fruit. It is better to reproduce the bitterness by separating the root suckers in the spring. We can also take herbaceous and semi-woody cuttings, as well as use layering. Occasionally, grafted specimens on the rootstocks of Irgi Cotoneaster are commercially available, but plants on their own roots are usually offered.
